Scientists Figured Out Why Some Music Makes Us Want to Dance
Certain songs inspire us to bob our heads along or break out into dance, and now we know why
As I type these words, I’m listening to a song called Sensitive by Jean Du Voyage. It’s the first track on my writing playlist, and I continually find myself nodding along to it as I write, entirely unintentionally. There’s just something about the song that makes me want to bop to the beat.
Scientists call this reaction to music the “groove experience,” and it has ancient roots. You’ve no doubt experienced this situation many times yourself. So, you might be as excited as I was to learn that scientists can finally explain why certain songs urge us to dance.
A Bit of History
Before we get to the research, let’s discuss a bit of ancient history. Considering our primate cousins are prone to drumming, it’s highly probable our Hominin ancestors were drumming in some form. Researchers have also found that Neanderthals and Homo sapiens living around a million years ago had the required anatomy to “sing.”
That said, it’s just about as impossible to know whether they sang as when and how they made drums. Because here’s the thing: prehistoric hominins may have sung, and they may have…
