Emotional Changes Caused by the Change in the Tempo of
Fujime Daiko
Naoki Hirano
1
and Fumio Mizuochi
2
¹Graduate School of Literature and Social Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan
²College of Humanities and Sciences, Nihon University, Tokyo, Japan
1 OBJECTIVES
Wadaiko – Japanese drum – are at times referred to
as a “sport of sound.” This is because they require a
mobility not seen with other instruments.
Furthermore, because Japanese drum is an instrument
that does not have a musical scale, the percentage in
which rhythms and tempos determine the artistry in
its performance is high (Yamaguchi et al., 2012). The
performer experiences positive emotional expression
during performance, akin to a pleasant feeling.
Furthermore, the resonance of the sound during a
Japanese drum performance and the vibration
transmitted to the body when beating the drum
become positive stimuli, aiding in releasing stress and
sustaining concentrative ability. With Japanese drum,
sounds are created with a hitting motion, and
movement and sound stimuli from this process
influence the performers’ emotions. However, studies
on Japanese drum heretofore have mainly looked at
the biomechanics of the hitting movement or music
therapy and there have not been many studies that
focused on the emotions of the performers in
association with changes in rhythm and the tempo.
The objective of this study was to examine the
changes that appear in the emotional state, autonomic
nerve activity, and stress reaction during and after
performance of fujime daiko by changing rhythm and
tempo. Such changes were examined using
psychological examination, heart rate variability, and
saliva analysis. The change in emotional state was the
main factor examined in this study.
2 METHODS
2.1 Experiment Subjects
Eight elite wadaiko performers (4 male, 4 female;
mean age: 20.3±3.1 years old) were the subjects for
this study.
2.2 Experimental Task
(1) Experimental Task
A Japanese drum task and a rubber tube task (control
task) were set. The Japanese drum task was a
performance task lasting 5 minutes, using a fujime-
daiko in a sitting position (Fig. 1). The exercise
involving the fitness band was 5 minutes of bending
and stretching the arms, alternating between the left
and the right. The actual movement for the rubber
tube exercise was similar to that in the Japanese
drum task. A preliminary experiment was conducted
to confirm that there was no difference in heart rate
or exercise intensity between the two tasks.
Figure 1: Fujime daiko performance.
(2) Tempo
Tempos of 80 and 160 were employed. The
movement tempo was regulated using a metronome.
(3) Rhythm
The rhythm used was a 3-count drumbeat for the
Japanese drum task and an alternating left and right
movement for the fitness band task.
2.3 Measured Items
① Two-dimensional mood scale (TDMS): A
TDMS was used to evaluate moods based on
subjective levels of stimulation, stability,
pleasantness and alertness.