Recurrence dynamics and nonlinear system analysis of choral singing

Recurrence dynamics and nonlinear system analysis of choral singing | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Recurrence dynamics and nonlinear system analysis of choral singing Viktor Müller, Julia A. M. Delius, Ulman Lindenberger This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6993956/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 07 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Nonlinear Dynamics → Version 1 posted 4 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the interplay of cardiac, respiratory, and vocal activity during choral singing using recurrence quantification analysis (RQA) to capture underlying nonlinear dynamics. It was conducted to better understand how dynamic physiological and vocal subsystems interact and synchronize across different singing conditions. Our findings demonstrate significant differences in recurrence dynamics between resting and singing states and across different singing conditions. Singing altered recurrence dynamics, with increased synchronization and phase space integration compared to the resting state, especially for respiration. Subsystems exhibited distinct dynamic properties both within choir members and in interactions between them. Singing increased synchronization and reduced attractor fragmentation in the phase space, particularly for respiration. Subsystem dynamics varied by condition: singing in unison was characterized by more fragmented and irregular vocal dynamics, while singing in part led to more integrated and complex interactions. Bidirectional coupling between subsystems was observed, with the respiration and voice subsystems generally playing a leading role. The respiratory subsystem displayed stronger coupling with the vocal subsystem and often acted as the driving force in subsystem interactions. Periodic oscillatory patterns, particularly at frequencies aligning with the phrasing of the sung canon, were detected across all singing conditions, reflecting the dynamic nature of choir interactions. These findings underscore the complexity of choral singing, where subsystems interact dynamically in a context-dependent manner, with multilayered coupling mechanisms shaping overall system behavior. Our results suggest that the intricate, interwoven dynamics of choral singing can only be fully understood through detailed analysis of recurrence and coupling dynamics. dynamical system approach joint recurrence plot respiration heart rate variability voice graph-theoretic approach choir singing social interaction Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files SupplementaryMaterialNLD.pdf Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 07 Jan, 2026 Read the published version in Nonlinear Dynamics → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 27 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 04 Jul, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 28 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 27 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6993956","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":481090488,"identity":"b2c23fbf-70af-446c-84b4-e837ba7bad3b","order_by":0,"name":"Viktor Müller","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Max Planck Institute for Human Development","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Viktor","middleName":"","lastName":"Müller","suffix":""},{"id":481090489,"identity":"75ee2791-9212-4c6b-95b4-47771cedeb3e","order_by":1,"name":"Julia A. 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