A BIZARRE experiment in soundless music has revealed how people's emotions are affected by noises they cannot hear.
Scientists have begun analysing the responses of 250 people who took part in the study into the effects of infrasound, carried out at Liverpool's Metropolitan Cathedral last September.
They showed the audience's emotions intensified as the inaudible sound vibrations, too low for the human ear to perceive, were blasted out during a 50-minute piano recital.
Those feeling uncomfortable when the concert began, found their mood turning to anger.
Others, who had felt happy, started to notice sensations of joy.
Some physical affects were also experienced, including tingling in the back of the neck and a strange feeling in the stomach.
CiarĂ¡n O'Keeffe, a researcher on the project who has since taken up a lecturing post at Liverpool Hope University's Psychology department, said: "When the infrasound was switched on, people experienced different emotional responses to it.
"The feelings that the listeners recorded at the time are in line with anecdotal evidence of experiences in places that have infrasound.