Behold the Groovy Music

When you hear a musical groove, the instruments fit together in your brain. But how can you see that groove? And what can we learn by looking at it?

This two-minute film by Nicolas Lefaucheux takes three tracks—by Marvin Gaye, Bob Marley, and Michael Jackson—and shows how the groove is built based on the interaction among instruments and vocals. You can literally see how the groove works. It's not spoiling anything to say that the groove is built by the instruments fitting into pockets of time. If you don't read sheet music, this is a lovely way to understand how that timing works.

Watch, and note the choice of a circle for visualization. I conclude that the circle is the grooviest available shape.