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Can't Dance? There Might Be a Scientific

Explanation
SCIENCEALERT STAFF 12 NOV 2014

If you look more like an awkward robot than Kevin Bacon in Footloose when on the
dancefloor, don’t feel bad - there may be a scientific explanation for your inability to
dance. New research suggests that you could be ‘beat-deaf’ - which means you're
simply incapable of moving to the rhythm of music.

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To investigate if there was a biological excuse for all those clumsy dancers out there,
researchers from McGill University and the University of Montreal in Canada
compared two people with suspected beat-deafness to 32 control participants. The
participants were asked to tap their feet evenly without any sound, which they all
managed to do easily. This ruled out a general motor deficit. But when music was
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The team concluded that beat-deafness,

here. though very rare, is a disorder that affects
ACCEPT
how the body's internal biological rhythms change to react to external cues. Biological
rhythms are the natural patterns that allow us to perform activities such as eating and
sleeping. Other rhythmic behaviours are driven by external cues, such as when we
moderate our walking speed to match our partner's.

The findings suggest that beat-deaf individuals are less able to synchronise their
biological rhythms with an external cue, which could explain why they find it difficult to
tap their feet or dance to music.

“While most people can adapt their rhythms in response to an external cue, some
people are less able to do that”, said Caroline Palmer, psychologist and lead
researcher, in a press release. “We tested what makes beat-deaf individuals different,
by seeing how people whose biological rhythms may not respond normally to external
cues adapt to an external beat.”

In a separate study published last week, scientists explored the link between a child’s
ability to assess a musical rhythm and master various grammar exercises. The results
revealed that children who performed well in one skill also performed better than
average in the other skill, suggesting that music could benefit a child’s learning ability.

Many studies have shown the benefits of understanding rhythm in other aspects of
our life, such as multi-tasking and academic performance. It's fascinating that most of
us evolved to have an innate biological clock which programs responses to external
rhythms, but what does it mean for those who are beat-deaf?

While being rhythmic is a great talent to have, for all the rhythm-less people out there,
remember that there’s scientific explanation to justify your bizarre dance moves.

Source: McGill University

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