Cognitive Interaction between the Speed of Motion and the Tempo of Music

This study was designed to provide data on the cognitive interaction between the speed of motion perceived and the tempo of music heard simultaneously. Subjects choose the most suitable speed of motion displayed on the computer screen while they hear the music played at a level of tempo. We use two computer systems; one for the visual stimulus of motion and another for playing music using MIDI. We could precisely control both of the speed of motion and the tempo of music. We tested at the various levels of tempo of playing music and let subjects choose the appropriate speed of moving. We found that the strong positive correlation between the perceived motion speed and simultaneously heard music tempo. We concluded that we tend to recognize that the faster motion matches for the faster music