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1.2.4
In Music, Entrainment Is Synchronizing to an External Beat (That’s En-Train-Ment, Not Entertainment)

Humans entrain to isometric beats. A couple of definitions:

  • To entrain (from the same root as “train,” referring to being dragged or carried along) means to join in and synchronize to a rhythmic source outside the body—to play, clap, tap, sing along. Or, as a musician would put it, to lock in with the band.
  • Isometric refers to steady, evenly-spaced regular beats.

The ability to entrain rhythmically to an external beat—vital in both music and dance—has evolved only in humans. No other animal can do it. Selective pressure for teamwork and group coordination may have triggered the evolution of the rhythmic entrainment function in humans.

(Selective pressure refers to the environmental demands—including conditions in the social environment—that favour the Darwinian evolution of physical and mental traits over a long period of time. In short, selective pressure drives Darwinian evolution. For example, selective pressure for group bonding may have driven, among many other social behaviours, the evolution of the human ability to harmonize, or blend discrete pitches—a skill unique to humans.)

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