Dr. Sophie Stévance (PhD) and Dr. Serge Lacasse (PhD) are full professors of musicology at Laval University (Quebec City). Dr. Stévance is an athlete, opera singer and violist who has practised professionally. She is also the Canada Research Chair in Research-Creation in Music. Dr. Lacasse is a national archery champion, music composer, director and producer. As researchers, both are interested in popular music and the relationships between music and sport.
Sophie & Serge have teamed together for their project “Hits for HIIT”. This project offers free music specifically designed for High-intensity interval training (HIIT). Current research on the relationship between music and sport and the emotional impact of music in sports training has focussed on the relationships between tempo and movements without considering other important parameters that would need further analysis (melody, harmony, but also vocal and instrumental performances, as well as technological parameters such as reverb, echo, timbral modification, etc.). This project enriches existing research—mostly conducted by sports psychologists—by measuring the impact of a musical programme adapted to HIIT on the listener-athlete, but also to offer free playlists of original and truly adapted the music for those who enjoy HIIT workouts.