Choir and orchestra of the Music Academy of the German National Academic Foundation performed the "Football Oratorio" by Moritz Eggert under his direction in 2019 at the Philharmonie in Gasteig, Munich. The live concert has been released by NEOS.
[This contribution is based on content from my article for the program booklet of the "Moritz Eggert's Football Oratorio" performance at the Munich Philharmonie in 2019]
At first glance, music and sports seem to be two completely different worlds: Music, as an aesthetic activity, strives for perfect stage performance, serves the expression of emotions, and tells stories. Sports, on the other hand, is an individual physical activity that promotes health, excites crowds in stadiums, and provides a means for competition at international events.
Sporting and Musical Excellence
However, upon closer inspection, hobby athletes and musicians notice similarities: some find sports easier when listening to music – music motivates and activates. Conversely, musicians encounter physical limits regarding speed and strength when playing virtuosic pieces. For example, in Schumann's Toccata in C Major, Opus 7, about 24.1 keystrokes per second are achieved. Homer W. Smith, who calculated this number, estimates that approximately 400–600 individual muscle movements of the hands, forearms, and upper arms must be coordinated simultaneously or in optimal timing (cited in: Altenmüller, E; Vom Neandertal in die Philharmonie: Warum der Mensch ohne Musik nicht leben kann, 2018; pp. 321-324).
Neuropsychology of Music and Sports - Body & Mind
The mental preparation for a sports competition is similar to preparing for a concert: Stadium or concertgoers expect peak performance, and mistakes are immediately penalized by whistles in the stadium, the media, or concert reviews. If the athlete's or musician's psychological condition is not stable enough due to stress, this often results in acute or chronic pain, performance anxiety, or a phenomenon known in sports and music psychology as "choking under pressure." This term describes the situation where a previously automatic, highly trained movement – like putting in golf, shooting at an empty goal, or a violin passage – can no longer be adequately controlled under psychological pressure and thus fails.
Why is this so? The human brain is an extremely complex and fascinating collection of structures. While the cerebral cortex houses centers for perception and the initiation of movement, consciously slowly practiced processes are ultimately stored as movement programs in the cerebellum and basal ganglia, deeper regions of the brain. Emotions are typically analyzed unconsciously and very quickly by subcortical structures (amygdala). Anyone who has experienced the aforementioned "choking under pressure" or trembling hands and voice due to excitement will confirm an inseparable connection between emotions and movements. Musical expression is also conveyed through body language, facial expressions, and gestures of the musicians. Studies have shown that just watching a video of pianists playing without sound is enough to predict who will win the final round of the competition (see also: Sight over Sound in the Evaluation of Musical Performance). The discovery of mirror neurons, which fire not only when moving but also when merely observing the same movement, further suggests that perception is likely inseparable from movement. Some scientists even argue that everything in the brain is represented in the form of movement.
Music in the Stadium
Listening to and making music is thus dependent on movement, but why are there fan chants and what do football fans have in common with concertgoers? Let's start with what characterizes a fan chant. In 1979, Klaus-Jürgen Höfer first categorized musical activities in the stadium by analyzing football matches, identifying four categories: primary reactions such as calls, whistles, and noise instruments; rhythmic clapping; short chants; and songs. The core repertoire usually overlaps between clubs. A well-known phenomenon is the "re-singing" of popular songs with new lyrics, e.g., "Olé, olé, olé, olé" to the tune of "Yellow Submarine" (Beatles). Renowned music psychologist and FANomenologist Reinhard Kopiez - Music Psychology Professor at HMTM Hannover - noted as early as 1998 that fan chants do not stem from the "dull and beer-soaked fan who merely consumes his football experience," but rather express participation and influence on the sport. These songs originate from the entire music repertoire, from entertainment music to opera (trumpet theme from the Triumph March of Aida, as heard in the "Football Oratorio" by contemporary Munich composer and professor Moritz Eggert).
Musik als a Social Binder
When questioning how music finds its way into the stadium, we quickly encounter the problem of why humans have music at all. Music provides no obvious survival advantage, unlike the development of language or problem-solving thinking. The social brain theory explains the evolutionary advancement of the human brain compared to the animal kingdom through the increasing complexity of social networks, communication, and interactions (see also: Musical Attraction and the Muse Effect). Living in large groups in private and public settings requires an extreme level of memory and perceptual performance. At the same time, the social bond is crucial for human survival: We cannot fly, run particularly fast, or swim, and we need collaboration and division of labor with others. This is where music comes into play, as summarized by musician and flutist Eckart Altenmüller - Professor Emeritus of the Institute for Music Physiology and Musicians' Medicine at HMTM Hannover - in his non-fiction book "Vom Neandertal in die Philharmonie." Studies have shown that children exhibit more cooperative behavior after a musical interaction than after a non-musical group activity. Interestingly, the aforementioned brain regions of mirror neurons are also important social areas of the brain. A large and well-maintained social network is also the best predictor of mental health in old age. In short: the brain is a social brain, and humans are essentially group animals.
The relationship between the evolutionary development of the brain and the increase in the size of social groups serves as one of many pieces of evidence for the social brain theory: The larger the social groups, the greater the volume of the cerebral cortex in relation to "more primitive" regions of the brain. Modified after Dunbar, 2014.
From this, the evolutionary advantage of music in general and the benefit of music in stadiums can be derived: Music creates connections within and between groups, establishes identity, and fosters a sense of community. Supporting a football club generates an "ingroup" versus "outgroup" dynamic, just as similar musical tastes (such as classical music lovers in the Philharmonie) or practicing in an orchestra or choir does. Birgit Stieger was the first to demonstrate in 1983, through the analysis of club songs, that these serve to convey a sense of "we" and to distinguish from other clubs. A crucial aspect of music that is particularly socially binding is, of course, rhythm. Rhythmic synchronization of people through drumming, clapping, or dancing is one of the oldest cultural artifacts of human history and is found in both traditional and classical music (e.g., dances in Baroque works). During all social interactions, especially physical contact, but also musical activities in groups like choir singing, the hormone oxytocin is released, which is known for forming the parent-child bond and improving memory performance. This also contributes to the formation of a group feeling. Thus, we return to the connection between movement and music, explaining how music, especially strongly rhythmic music, can get movement-impaired Parkinson's patients moving again.
Music can unite, but it can also divide through shared opinions on musical tastes and group formation - in sports as in the music industry. It is to be hoped that the camps of fans of fan chants and those of music-making in concert halls (often perceived as privileged or even elitist) will remember the true aim of music or sports – community as well as individual and collective emotional expression. Music alone will not be able to save the world.
Sources and further reading:
Altenmüller, E. (2018). Vom Neandertal in die Philharmonie: Warum der Mensch ohne Musik nicht leben kann. Springer-Verlag.
Dunbar, R. I. (2014). The social brain: Psychological underpinnings and implications for the structure of organizations. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(2), 109-114.
Kopiez, R., & Brink, G. (1998). Fuβball-Fangesänge. Eine Fanomenologie. Würzburg.
Smith HW (1953). From Fish to philosophier, 192-199. Little, Brown and Company Boston.
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