Winterbreath – Collective breathing and music listening during a live concert

Wintercircus & IPEM organise an exploratory group breathing experiment during the lie-down concert of Mattias Devriendt in the Wintercircus on 3/5/2026.  This page provides the manditory information letter and informed consent – these describe the purpose of the study, what participation involves, how your data will be handled, and your rights as a participant.

Before deciding whether to participate, we ask you to carefully read the information below before the event.  When entering the venue for the concert & experiment, you may ‘opt in’ on the study by conforming your agreement to the informed consent.

Information for participants Download Download Information Letter & FAQ Download Download Informed consent Attention Attention Prepare your smartphone Mail Mail Contact info

Information for participants

What does the participation in the study involve?

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to:

Before the concert:

  • read this information letter
  • read and approve an informed consent form
  • install the Comote smartphone application via the App Store or Google Play Store

At the concert:

  • bring your smartphone with the Comote app installed
  • connect your smartphone to the local Wi-Fi network at the venue
  • scan a QR code to connect the app to the study system
  • lie down comfortably on a yoga mat
  • place your smartphone on your belly–chest area (aligned vertically with the body)
  • listen to the live piano performance while breathing naturally

The concert lasts approximately 75 minutes. No specific task or performance is required. We simply ask you to remain as still as reasonably possible to allow measurement of breathing-related motion.

Attention Attention Prepare your smartphone

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Information Letter

Download Download Download Information Letter (pdf)

This study investigates the relationship between music and breathing patterns in collective listening settings. In particular, we examine how rhythmic musical structures may influence breathing dynamics when people listen to music together in a relaxed environment.

During the concert, we aim to measure breathing-related body motion using motion sensors embedded in participants’ smartphones. By analysing these signals at group level, we aim to better understand how music may shape collective physiological patterns. The collected data will also be used to create a collective artistic visualization of the breathing patterns of the audience as a form of feedback and appreciation for participation. The project forms part of research conducted at the Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM), Ghent University, focusing on embodied music cognition, collective physiological processes, and art–science interaction.

You are invited because you are attending the Wintercircus concert in which this study takes place. Participation is open to adult audience members who possess a smartphone (iOS or Android) capable of installing the Comote application. Participation is entirely voluntary and independent of concert attendance.

If you agree to participate, you will be asked to:

Before the concert:

  • read this information letter
  • read and approve an informed consent form
  • install the Comote smartphone application via the App Store or Google Play Store

At the concert:

  • bring your smartphone with the Comote app installed
  • connect your smartphone to the local Wi-Fi network at the venue
  • scan a QR code to connect the app to the study system
  • lie down comfortably on a yoga mat
  • place your smartphone on your belly–chest area (aligned vertically with the body)
  • listen to the live piano performance while breathing naturally

The concert lasts approximately 75 minutes. No specific task or performance is required. We simply ask you to remain as still as reasonably possible to allow measurement of breathing-related motion.

No. Participation is entirely voluntary. Choosing not to participate will not affect your ability to attend the concert in any way. If you decide to participate, you will be asked to provide informed consent. You are free to stop participation at any moment without giving a reason. You can simply remove the smartphone or close the app.

If you wish to discontinue your participation, you can do so without having to give any reason. You will have the opportunity to ask the researcher questions after the study. If you wish, you can always contact researchers Bavo Van Kerrebroeck, Bart Moens, or Pieter-Jan Maes at a later moment in case you have further questions or concerns (see contact details at the end of this document).

We do not expect participation to involve significant risks. The procedure is non-invasive and comparable to resting while listening to music.

Possible minor inconveniences include:

  • lying down for approximately 60 minutes
  • placing a smartphone on the torso
  • installing the mobile application beforehand

You are not asked to change your breathing behaviour. Simply breathe naturally and comfortably. If you experience any discomfort, you may stop participation at any time.

If you wish to postpone your participation or stop taking part, you can do so without having to give a reason. You will have the opportunity to ask questions of the researcher after the interview. If you wish, you may also contact the researchers Bavo Van Kerrebroeck (see contact details at the end of this document), Bart Moens, or Prof. Pieter-Jan Maes.

Participation does not provide direct personal or financial benefit. However, you may find participation meaningful as:

  • a contribution to scientific research on music and breathing
  • a participation in an innovative art–science concert format
  • an opportunity to contribute to a collective artistic visualization based on the audience’s breathing patterns

Participants will receive access to the collective visualization after the study.

Your participation in the study does not entail any costs for you.  

In accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and the Belgian law of 30 July 2018 (protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data), we respect your privacy. If the results of the study are published, your identity will remain confidential information. If desired, the Data Protection Officer can provide you with more information about the protection of your personal data (contact details: Ms Hanne Elsen, tel: +32 9 264 95 17 or privacy@ugent.be, Campus Ufo, Rectoraat 2, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25, 9000 Gent). Your personal information (name and email address) will occur only on the informed consent form, which will be stored on a dedicated and password protected server at the IPEM label, accessible only by administrative personnel and the researchers involved in the study. All other data that will be collected in the study is pseudonymised. This means that all data that could directly identify you (for example your name) will be deleted. All participants receive a unique number instead (which is linked with your personal information on the informed consent form only).

The study collects the following types of data:

  • Smartphone sensor data: Motion signals from your smartphone (accelerometer, gyroscope, gravity sensors) will be used to estimate breathing-related movement.
  • Performance data: Audio and MIDI recordings of the piano performance will be collected in order to synchronize breathing data with musical features.
  • Contact details: Your name and email address will only be collected relation to the consent form so that we can document consent and share study results if desired.

The informed consent form (containing your email address) will be stored separately from the research data in secure digital format accessible only to the research team. The consent data constitute the only dataset containing directly identifiable information.

All other data collected in this study are pseudonymized and stored in digital format only. These data include smartphone sensor data (accelerometer, gyroscope, gravity), and synchronized musical performance data (audio and MIDI). Data are initially stored on a secure local server during the concert and subsequently transferred to the password-protected and firewall-protected server infrastructure of the Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM), Ghent University. Working copies of pseudonymized data may be stored on password-protected computers of the researchers involved in the project.

Only authorized members of the research team will have access to the data. No identifiable personal data will be shared with third parties.

The results of the study may be disseminated through scientific publications, conference presentations, public lectures, and artistic outputs. All reported results will be fully anonymized and presented only at group level, ensuring that individual participants cannot be identified.

Research data will be stored securely for a period of 5 years after publication, in accordance with Ghent University data management guidelines.

Only the research team at Ghent University (IPEM) has access to the pseudonymized research data. No identifiable personal data will be shared with third parties.

If you wish, you can receive information about the results of the study. This can be indicated on the consent form. Participants will receive access to the collective artistic visualization derived from the group breathing patterns.

This research is conducted by Ghent University, Institute for Psychoacoustics and Electronic Music (IPEM), in collaboration with Wintercircus. The main researcher of this study (Bavo Van Kerrebroeck) is funded by the Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, grant number 1259426N.

This study has been submitted for approval to the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Arts and Philosophy of Ghent University. Approval by the Ethics Committee does not oblige you to participate.

Attention Attention Prepare your smartphone

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Informed Consent

Download Download Download Informed consent (pdf)

Participants will be asked to agree to the informed consent:

I hereby conform that I

  1. have read and understood the information about the research. I have had the opportunity to consider the information and my participation, and to ask questions which have been answered to my satisfaction. I am aware that non-invasive physiological data (such as breathing activity and heart rate variability) will be collected during the study, and I agree to this data collection.
  2. understand that my participation in this research is entirely voluntary and that I may discontinue my participation at any time during the data collection without having to provide a reason for doing so.
  3. understand that if I stop participating in this study, I can withdraw my collected data up to 7 days after the experiment. A simple e-mail to the researcher is sufficient for this. I do not have to give a reason for withdrawing my data.
  4. understand that stopping my participation will not affect my relationship with the researcher, IPEM and UGent.
  5. understand that the data collected during this research will be processed in accordance with the legal provisions and the information provided to me.
  6. understand that I may receive a summary of the study results.
  7. hereby grant permission to the researchers to publish the research results in scientific journals and to discuss them at scientific meetings on the basis of the information that I provide, on condition that my identity cannot be traced.
  8. agree to participate in the research.
Attention Attention Prepare your smartphone

Prepare your smartphone – Participants guide

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Before coming to the Wintercircus:

  1. Read the informed consent and information displayed here at https://xrhil.ugent.be/winterbreath
  2. Download the free Comote app using the QR code or the direct links:  iOS appstore  —  Android play Store
  3. Open the app once to test, when asked to share your location, refuse or accept, either option is fine.
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At the Wintercircus, before the concert:

  1. Connect to the Wintercircus Wifi. The Wifi name will be displayed at the venue.
  2. Open the Comote app
  3. Select the QR Code tab; Allow access to camera; Scan the QR code displayed at the venue
  4. Agree to the consent and provide your email.  Check the box next to “I have read and approved the informed consent letter at https://xrhil.ugent.be/winterbreath” & enter your email address to receive the letter after the concert, and click submit.
    1. Note for iOS users: if you opened the consent, site opens inside the Comote app.  After reading, please close the Comote app and scan the QR code again.
  5. Ready to go!  You should now see the screen that tracks your phone’s orientation and transmits this to the central synchronised server.  After positioning comfortably, place the smartphone it on your belly/chest (see below), respecting the feet and head arrows, as indicated in the below image. The goal is to capture maximal breath displacement.

Click on the image above for more info & details

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During the concert:  how to place the smartphone

  1. Just leave the phone on and placed on your belly/chest. If you leave the app, or turn the phone off, no worries, you can always re-open the app and go back to the Webview tab of the Comote app.

Troubleshooting

  1. First off, no worries, whether the app works or not, it should not prevent you from enjoying the concert!
  2. If something goes wrong, you can always try the refresh button indicated below, close and re-open the Comote app, or re-try the steps listed above. If this still not solves your problem, I’m afraid you won’t be able to participate this time.  Close the app, do not worry and enjoy the concert!   Feel free to send us a short mail afterwards to let us know your problem!
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Contact & Further information

  • Bavo Van Kerrebroeck, Researcher, IPEM, Ghent University, bavo.vankerrebroeck@ugent.be
  • Bart Moens, Researcher and lab coordinator, Ghent University, bart.moens@ugent.be
  • Pieter-Jan Maes (promoter and tutor): pieterjan.maes@ugent.be
  • Name and contact details of the Data Protection Officer of Ghent University:

    Mrs. Hanne Elsen, tel: +32 9 264 95 17 or privacy@ugent.be

    Campus Ufo, Rectoraat 2, Sint-Pietersnieuwstraat 25, 9000 Gent

Day of Science 2025