Feeling the Rhythm

Attending a concert in person is a visceral experience. Sure, you hear the performer. Of course, you see them play. These sensory experiences happen even when you’re watching on a screen. What separates a streaming experience from an in-person experience is that in addition to seeing and hearing, you also feel it.

This isn't about the mild discomfort of sitting on a hard stadium bench. Rather, it is the exhilarating, soul-stirring sensation that reverberates through your body, a sensation that tingles down the back of your neck, numbs your feet, and rattles your chest when the band pushes the limits and cranks the volume up to eleven. It’s the feeling of the music. 

Yes, You Feel Music

Here's the deal: it's called synesthesia – a blend of touch and hearing at low frequencies. Basically, sounds lower than 250 Hz aren't just heard, they're felt. But fair warning, it's not always a good time. In fact, scientists say that loud low sounds can literally rattle your ears (here's the study, if you're curious). Indeed, the rumbling noise of space shuttle launches was so low and powerful it caused alligators and crocodiles to start bellowing out their mating calls due to their exquisite sense of touch (check out the study here).

However, there is just as much support for low-frequency sounds and vibrations being beneficial and pleasing. Car designers, furniture makers, and wellness practitioners are even replacing acoustic subwoofers with in-seat haptic vibrations so that people can feel the music. (take a look here). Gamers are in on it too: get your own butt kicker to really feel the effects of the game you’re playing!

There’s Music in Touch, and Touch in Music

With overlapping sensations between sound and touch, you might be inclined to think that is why we use musical notation in the vring app. In the app, we call basic vibration sensations ‘rudiments’ (which is a musical term for basic percussive rhythm patterns) and also use the term ‘motif’ (from the musical leitmotif, or recurring theme) for the screenless triggering of vrings. 

Of course, an additional influence may have been more impactful on the use of these terms: both founders of vring have music performance experience from a very young age. Steve played trumpet through primary and secondary school, adding drums in his sophomore year. Mark played clarinet and tenor sax, and added piano about the same time as Steve added drums. There’s even a video somewhere on the internet of our high school cover band killin’ it at our high school graduation.

Dance is in On The Gig

Sound and touch are intimately entwined in another performance medium: dance. What’s that you say? You don’t do partner dancing? Well, even when you take yourself dancing like Miley, your brain is activating the entire somatosensory system as you move in time. Tactile sensors in your skin and joints transmit to your brain every exacting stretch, intimately binding the sounds you hear and feel with skin sensations around your body. We could argue that dance is primarily a haptic experience supplemented by the sound you’re hearing in your ears. Add a few rudiments with a leitmotif and call it vring. You can expect more acoustic, musical, and possibly some dance references in the new features for vring coming soon.