Mankind
Quarterly, Vol. 42, No. 4 (Summer 2002)
pp. 441-454
The Role of Rhythm and Mode in
Emotional Responses to Hymn Tunes.
Adrian G. Hughes and Michael J. Lowis
Music has been described as the language of feelings,
and it is found in virtually every culture and historical
period. It has also often been cited as a trigger
for powerful emotional or numinous experiences, including
those occurring in a religious setting. This study
investigated the differential emotional-spiritual
impact of hymns in major and minor modes, and triple
and quadruple time, during regular Anglican church
services. Significantly higher scores were obtained
for hymns in triple time than in quadruple, but there
was only a non-significant trend for the superiority
of minor over major modes. There were no significant
gender differences in scores. Specific aspects of
music are difficult to partial out from the holistic
composition. Rhythm has been cited as a particularly
important element in excitement generation and tune
recognition, but research reports are sparse. The
fact that triple rhythm frees the listener from the
regular beats associated with biorhythms may be a
relevant factor in its emotional impact.
