From Lab to Concert Hall: Effects of Live Performance on Neural-Acoustic Phase-Locking and Engagement

Live music performances continue to captivate audiences despite widespread availability of high-quality recordings, yet the neural mechanisms underlying the experience of live music remain poorly understood. This study investigates the effect of live versus recorded music on neural-acoustic phase-locking, an index of neural coupling with acoustic rhythms. 21 participants listened to 2 live and 2 recorded performances of fast and slow movements of J.S. Bach’s works for the solo violin in a concert hall setting, while their EEG data were collected. Participants made behavioral ratings of engagement, spontaneity, pleasure, investment, focus, and distraction after each trial. Live performances were rated higher than recorded performances on a pleasure-engagement dimension. Live trials showed significantly higher neural-acoustic phase-locking than recorded trials in frequencies corresponding to rhythmic timescales within the excerpts. A follow-up analysis linked the effects of liveness on phase-locking to the increases in pleasure and engagement reported for live over recorded trials. Altogether, results demonstrate that live music strengthens dynamical responses to musical rhythm within the brain, which provides a candidate neural basis for the widespread appeal of live music and theories of social bonding through music.