Music and society: When music and science resonate

Although invisible and intangible, music occupies a central place in the social and emotional life of human societies. It is present in everything from personal playlists listened to on public transport to international concerts, finding its place in everyday settings as well as at larger-scale events. In 2023, according to a major study conducted by the French National Centre for Music, more than three-quarters of the French population considered that music played an important role in their lives, with this figure rising to 90% among those under 25.

However, defining music precisely remains a complex task. For Xavier Hautbois, a lecturer in musicology and member of the Centre for the Cultural History of Contemporary Societies (CHCSC - Univ. Paris-Saclay/UVSQ), music arises first and foremost from the concept of musical construction. “Music is the art of organising sounds, whether they be notes, noises or other sounds, musical or otherwise. The important thing is that these are composed, with a narrative and a deliberate sense of time.” Chloé Huvet, a lecturer in musicology attached to the CHCSC’s Research laboratory in Performing Arts and Music (RASM-CHCSC – Univ. Paris-Saclay/Univ. d’Évry), adds: “In movies, music corresponds to the organisation of sound elements according to a compositional intention. It differs from sound design, which encompasses sound effects, noises and ambient sounds, although the boundary between these twofields can be fluid.” These sound effects include, in particular, the sounds of creatures, landscape ambience, and on-screen actions such as explosions and a character’s perceptions.

Understanding the sonic complexity of films

As co-founder of the research group studying musical and sound languages on screen (ELMEC), Chloé Huvet specialises in the relationship between music, image and sound design in cinema. Alongside several works on the French New Wave cinema movement and on Spanish and Italian fantasy cinema, she specialises in contemporary Hollywood science fiction, horror and spy films. “In movies, music reveals qualities that the image alone might not have,” explains the researcher, who is herself a musician and a film enthusiast. “It reinforces the choices of framing and colour and draws the viewer emotionally and dramatically into the narrative.” In 2018, she published a study on the musical aesthetics of the film Interstellar, composed by Hans Zimmer. “This film has been widely discussed for the monumental scale of its imagery, which is characteristic of its director Christopher Nolan. But the music brings to the fore issues that run deeper than mere space exploration,” explains Chloé Huvet, for whom the film’s screenplay, direction and score are largely dominated by the theme of the father-daughter relationship.

The musicologist explains that, to emphasise these human and intimate themes in the film, Hans Zimmer used different orchestral choices to those in his previous works: “Instead of the brass and percussion used in blockbusters such as Gladiator or The Dark Knight, Hans Zimmer has here broadened his palette to include woodwinds and strings, giving the music a softer, more nostalgic feel. More ethereal and luminous textures are also achieved through the use of the synthesiser, the harp and the celesta.” Most significantly, it is to the organ that the composer entrusted the central theme of love between the father and his daughter. “This instrument is capable of the most monumen-tal and mystical effects, but is also used here against type, in a much more subtle and fragile dimension. Its use is particularly striking in a film like Interstellar, which is both spectacular and intimate,” summarises the researcher. 

Among her other analyses of film music, Chloé Huvet includes several sagas and major franchises such as Star Wars and Alien. She is particularly interested in the prequels, whose musical structures present a challenge for composers. She explains: “In immersive films such as Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, which are prequels to the Alien saga, the aim is not only to heighten the emotional impact, but also to bring to life a credible universe, supposed to take place before the original trilogy, yet using more sophisticated technical means than those available when the earlier films were made.” Furthermore, as the soundscape of the original Alien film relied heavily on suggestion – the xenomorph being rarely shown on screen – the prequels face the challenge of developing a new sonic identity, tailored to the monster’s personality and physical evolution. To integrate these two films into the saga’s universe, the team drew on certain sound elements from the previous films but also had to design new sounds. It is through various techniques such as digital distortion and acoustic repulsion – based on wet and clammy sounds – that the prequels come into their own.

On a completely different note, the film musicologist also enjoys analysing the soundscapes of the James Bond and Mission: Impossible films, particularly  the main characters’ numerous trips abroad. She is conducting research on this topic with the geographer Marie-Hélène Chevrier. “One of theaims of these spy franchises is to transport the viewer to a different world, using, in the older films, highly stereotypical tropes of exoticism,” explains Chloé Huvet. “It is interesting to trace, across the films, the evolution of these imaginaries and the way in which composers deliberately re-appropriate these clichés to create an ironic distance, or the way in which they turn away from them entirely to develop a much more subtle soundscape.” With this in mind, the lecturer is also interested in the concept of "musical postcards", through which the imaginaries conveyed are sometimes entirely fabricated and far removed from reality. As part of her ongoing research into contemporary Hollywood films, the musicologist is now focusing on films involving sensory deprivation, that is, films in which the protagonists are deprived of one of their senses. This presents an additional challenge for film soundtrack composers. It once again highlights the already crucial role of music and sound design in immersive cinema.

Musical practice decoded by neuroimaging

While music certainly has the power to convey emotions and transport us virtually to other worlds, does it have other benefits, particularly for the human brain? Théo Morfoisse, a PhD student at the Cognitive Imaging Research Unit (cognitive (Unicog - Univ.Paris-Saclay/CEA/Inserm/Collège de France) at the NeuroSpin centre, works on this very question. More specifically, his PhD thesis, supervised by Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz and Stanislas
Dehaene, examines the impact of learning a musical instrument on young children. He explains: “My research focuses on  the influence of musical practice on the developing brain. The idea is to understand whether, from a neural perspective,   this learning alters children’s cognitive development and abilities.”

To carry out their research, ThéoMorfoisse and his team are relying on the "A Violin in My School" programme, which has been running since 2014. This initiative, developed by the Vareille Foundation, involves providing a violin and music lessons to children attending schools within the Priority Education Network (REP+). The stated aim is to “achieve better results at school” through sustained, early learning of a complex instrument, from nursery school up to Year 2. By the start of the 2025 school year, the “A Violin in My School” project estimated that it had benefited 5,200 young violinists in 75 schools in France and abroad.

It now falls to the researchers at NeuroSpin to determine the impact of this programme on the children taking part. “As music has the potential to influence many areas, our research focuses on four hypotheses: its possible impact on language development, executive functions [such as attention span], mathematics, and socio-emotional skills,” explains Théo Morfoisse. To test these various hypotheses, the PhD student is conducting a series of analyses over three years on around fifty young children, using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and magneto-encephalography (MEG). “These two techniques are complementaryvbecause MRI has excellent spatial resolution, on the order of a millimetre, whilst MEG providesvhigh temporal resolution, on the scale of a millisecond.” Taken together, these two types ofvneuroimaging thus provide an excellent insight into the areas of the brain that are activated invchildren as they perform various tasks.

Based on the data collected throughout his PhD research, Théo Morfoisse reveals the initial findings: “From a behavioural and neural perspective, we find very few differences between the children in the ‘A Violin in My School’ programme and those in the control group, whether in terms of maths, language or socio-emotional skills.” However, the scientist and his team note significant– albeit small – differences regarding executive functions: children who have learnt the violinperform better and are faster than children in the control group on tasks requiring good attention span.

Beyond providing a better understanding of music’s influence on other disciplines, the data obtained by Théo Morfoisse and his team are "rare" and particularly valuable to the scientists at NeuroSpin. During his PhD research, the doctoral student observed that the brain regions used for mathematics in adults, notably the intraparietal sulcus, are already clearly identifiable in young children. “Thanks to this data, we can show that the mathematical system is already being used by children, even before they start school and their first formal maths lessons!,”says the neuroscientist.

Restoring the place of musical creation in schools

A specialist in contemporary and digital musicology, Xavier Hautbois is also interested in the influence of musical practice in schools. Since 2016, he has been developing the SoundCube, an electro-acoustic musical instrument comprising six numbered cubes, a camera-lamp connected to a computer, and software. “Each cube corresponds to a specific sound and sound effect, which can be modulated by the position and rotation of the cube in front of the camera,” explains Xavier Hautbois, for whom the educational aspect is inseparable from his research work. “The idea was to create a device that is very easy to use, both for pupils and for teachers.”

Already deployed in around ten schools, secondary schools, music colleges and, more recently, musictherapy centres, the SoundCube is now the subject of in-depth research. Several research projects are currently underway, in collaboration with the National Higher Institute for Teaching and Education (Inspé) in Aix-Marseille, to assess the impact of this instrument on children’s basic learning, language skills and creativity. An initial article, published in 2026, concluded that the SoundCube promotes the development  of concentration, attention, listening skills and cohesion among pupils. The lecturer explains: “Beyond its ease of use, the strength of the device lies in the fact that it engages the senses of sight, touch and hearing simultaneously. By focusing their attention simultaneously on the movement of their hands and the resulting sound, children thus practise active listening as well as precision of movement and musical expression in public.” Another study, currently being published, focuses more on the concept of creativity. “We provided a SoundCube and identical instructions  to several groups of pupils from Year 1 to Year 6. Starting from this same basis, it is interesting to note that all the compositions are very different and that each group demonstrates remarkable creativity,” reveals Xavier Hautbois.

For the musicologist, these findings raise broader questions about school learning and the need to build bridges between disciplines. “Our experiments illustrate a working method based on the relationship between fundamental learning and sound creation. Music is not taught here solely to enrich pupils’ musical culture, but also as part of a broader process, to help make connections between the various areas of knowledge acquired.” Furthermore, the use of different senses, including gestural expression, as well as the creation of a personal composition in the short term, seem to be more effective at motivating and encouraging pupils to persevere with these activities than traditional lessons. Théo Morfoisse, who also laments the lack of creative activities, particularly in secondary school, confirms: “Any artistic or sporting activity is good for developing fundamental skills. In the early years of a child’s life, the ideal is for them to be exposed to as many disciplines as possible and then given the opportunity to focus on one of them.”

Music as a tool for scientific mediation

Xavier Hautbois, himself a musician since childhood, is particularly keen on these bridges between disciplines and devotes a significant part of his research work to musical creation. As both a composer and an engineer, he has, since his PhD thesis, been seeking similarities between the modes of thought at workin physics and those involved in musical composition. With this in mind, he is particularly interested in the links between the visual and the auditory, which are evident today in all his creations.

In 2021 in particular, Xavier Hautbois co-created, in collaboration with his colleague Florent Di Bartolo, the immersive visual and sound work La Grande Accélération (The Great Acceleration). This installation, a winner of Université Paris-Saclay’s 2020 Experimentation call for projects and exhibited on several occasions, explores the theme of melting ice in Antarctica. Xavier Hautbois, creator of the sound elements, explains: “All the instruments used are synthetic sounds, except for the cello, which is also the main sound element. This instrument brings a very human warmth to the whole, and its different playing styles transform the images and curves projected onto the screen. It is then the audience who, using sensors placed around the room, influence both the image and the sound, reshaping the work as a whole.” To create the curves that generate the images and sound for their installation, Xavier Hautbois and Florent di Bartolo drew inspiration from data produced by scientists at the Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences (LSCE - Univ.Paris-Saclay/UVSQ/CNRS/CEA). “The idea was to take their data and use it in a completely different way,” explains XavierHautbois. “Although global warming is a disaster, we wanted to avoid shocking the audience. LaGrande Accélération favours an aesthetic approach and seeks to fascinate or captivate, through both the images and the music.”

Thanks to this project blending art and science, the two lecturers and researchers hope to raise awareness among a wider audience — and one that is sometimes less familiar with science — about this subject that is close to their hearts. “Music is a very good way of conveying scientific messages,” notes Xavier Hautbois. “Through the images and the soundscape, the aim is to transform scientific data into a sensory experience, far beyond a simple table of figures. The immersive aspect also encourages a much more introspective and profound reflection.” Building on the success of La Grande Accélération, which will be screened for a fourth time at the Humanimal 2.0 scientific and musical symposium in Maisons-Alfort in November 2026, Xavier Hautbois is currently working on a new artistic project centred on quantum computing, in collaboration with the physicist Philippe Bootz. In 2025 and 2026, he also received two awards in the United States for the animated short film TombeauX, whose sound and computer-generated imagery are inspired by the attacks of 11 September 2001.

In movies, at school and in everyday life, music proves crucial for conveying emotions and strengthening certain fundamental abilities. Beyond a mere pastime, it is perceived as a universal language, conveying feelings and values that are understandable to all human societies. For Chloé Huvet, it is precisely this notion of shared emotions that gives music its central role in society. She sees in the recent success of film concerts a genuine desire among audiences to connect with one another through music. “Even though each listener brings their own life experiences and personal memories to the music, music — particularly film music — has this wonderful ability to bring people together around a shared world and to recreate a collective imagination,” concludes the researcher.

References :

• Marie-Hélène Chevrier, Chloé Huvet. Musique de film et construction des imaginaires touristiques dans les blockbusters hollywoodiens. De James Bond à Mission : Impossible. Via Tourism Review, 2023, 23.
• Morfoisse, T., Becuwe, S., Palu, M., Potier-Watkins, C., Dehaene-Lambertz, G., & Dehaene, S.(2025). Impact of education and music training on the development of early abstraction abilities. bioRxiv, 2025-03.
• Pascal Terrien, Éric Tortochot, Xavier Hautbois, Thomas Fernandez, Aymeric Rodriguez. De la création sonore du SoundCube aux compétences langagières à l’école. L’éducation musicale des enfants autour de la Méditerranée, Delatour France, 2026.