Article

Nonverbal behaviours in popular music performance: A case study of The Corrs

March 2005
Musicae Scientiae 9(1):111-133

Authors:

University of Melbourne

The aim of this study was to investigate performer nonverbal behaviour in popular music performance in order to understand the use and functions of gestures, postures, and facial expression. To this end, the study begins by reviewing relevant psychological and sociological research including Ekman and Friesen and Argyle's categorisations of nonverbal behaviour. Drawing on these specific categories, functions of nonverbal behaviours in popular music performance are proposed. These include: to maintain performer self-control; to provide musical, narrative, emotional and personal information; to regulate and manipulate relationships between performer, co-performer and audience. The investigative work focuses on a case study of The Corrs and is carried out by observing two commercially available film recordings of the band in live performance. The songs demonstrate that within this band, three of the four members take turns singing solos. In the first performance, What can I do? is sung by Andrea (principle vocal), and in the second performance, No frontiers is sung by Sharon and Caroline. Focusing on the soloists, all their nonverbal behaviours are classified in terms of types (e.g., emblem, illustrator, regulator, adaptor, affect display) and frequency of behaviour. The results demonstrate that Ekman and Friesen and Argyle's categorisations provide a complete description of the nonverbal behaviours found in the performances. Moreover, the analysis reveals differences between individuals and the two songs. With these findings, the paper concludes that nonverbal behaviours in this type of performance are crucial to the development, production and perception of the musical performance. Though preliminary, the study indicates a need for much more detailed research of this topic if performers, educators and researchers are to understand and exploit the nonverbal aspects of a musical communication fully.

Koordinasi Interpersonal Pemain Musik dalam Pertunjukan Musik Kamar (Studi Kasus Kelompok Kuartet Gesek Semi-Profesional di Yogyakarta)

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2023

Azinuddin Milzam Dwitiya

Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji bagaimana cara kelompok kuartet gesek melakukan koordinasi antar pemain selama proses latihan dan pertunjukan. Kuartet gesek dianggap seperti sebuah organisasi karena di dalamnya terdapat interaksi sosial yang kompleks. Bermain dalam kuartet gesek memerlukan konsentrasi yang intens untuk saling mendengarkan sambil berkomunikasi agar menciptakan musik yang harmonis. Namun, musisi sering kali terlalu memusatkan perhatian pada notasi musik sehingga mengabaikan rekan bermainnya dan menghilangkan sifat ansambel itu sendiri sebagai percakapan musikal. Karenanya, pemain harus menyiapkan strategi untuk saling berkoordinasi tanpa instruksi seorang konduktor. Metode penelitian yang digunakan adalah kualitatif dengan teknik pengumpulan data melalui wawancara semiterstruktur pada kelompok kuartet gesek semi-profesional di Yogyakarta. Temuan menunjukkan bahwa sosok pemimpin tidak memiliki pengaruh yang signifikan dalam kelompok kuartet gesek selama proses bermusik. Tidak seperti penelitian sebelumnya, yang menyarankan perlunya peran pemimpin dalam kelompok, mereka berkoordinasi menggunakan komunikasi nonverbal seperti gerakan tubuh, gestur, dan kontak mata untuk saling berbagi informasi dan pengetahuan musikal. Performers’ Interpersonal Coordination in Chamber Music Performance(A Case Study of Semi-Professional String Quartet Group in Yogyakarta) ABSTRACT The study aims to examine how the string quartet group coordinates among chamber music performers during the rehearsal and performance process. String quartet is considered an organisational since it involves complex social interactions. Playing in a string quartet requires intense concentration in relation to one another while interacting to create harmonious music. However, players are frequently preoccupied with musical notation that they disregard their partners, depriving the ensemble of its unique essence as a musical conversations. As a result, performers must devise a strategy to cooperate with each other without the assistance of a conductor. The qualitative research method was employed with data collected through semi-structured interviews with semi-professional string quartet groups in Yogyakarta. The findings reveal that the leader figure has no significant impact on the string quartet group during the performance. Unlike previous studies, which suggests the need for a leader role in the group, they share informations and musical understanding through nonverbal communication such as body movements, gestures, and eye contact.

Music Regulators in Two String Quartets: A Comparison of Communicative Behaviors between Low- and High-Stress Performance Conditions

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2016

In ensemble performances, group members use particular bodily behaviors as a sort of “language” to supplement the lack of verbal communication. This article focuses on music regulators, which are defined as signs to other group members for coordinating performance. The following two music regulators are considered: body gestures for articulating attacks (a set of movements externally directed that are used to signal entrances in performance) and eye contact. These regulators are recurring observable behaviors that play an important role in non-verbal communication among ensemble members. To understand how they are used by chamber musicians, video recordings of two string quartet performances (Quartet A performing Bartók and Quartet B performing Haydn) were analyzed under two conditions: a low stress performance (LSP), undertaken in a rehearsal setting, and a high stress performance (HSP) during a public recital. The results provide evidence for more emphasis in gestures for articulating attacks (i.e., the perceived strength of a performed attack-type body gesture) during HSP than LSP. Conversely, no significant differences were found for the frequency of eye contact between HSP and LSP. Moreover, there was variability in eye contact during HSP and LSP, showing that these behaviors are less standardized and may change according to idiosyncratic performance conditions. Educational implications are discussed for improving interpersonal communication skills during ensemble performance.

Indicators of Music Performance Anxiety in Nonverbal Behaviors: A Case Report of a Classical Vocal Soloist

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2015

Mary Broughton

"You-Don't-Wanna-Mess": A Case Study of Nonverbal Behaviors in Chinese Freestyle Rap Battles

Article

Jan 2025
West J Comm

Different channels of nonverbal behavior can serve important functions in live music performances. In this paper, we look at cross-channel nonverbal behavior in a Chinese freestyle rap battle, investigating what categories of nonverbal behavior are used and what functions these behaviors are serve. Using the theoretical frameworks of dyadic power theory and the coordination of verbal and nonverbal behaviors, we analyzed four video clips of two Chinese rappers in a freestyle rap battle. We found that nonverbal behaviors were crucial to helping them articulate the verbal content of their raps, displaying power and exerting dominance. Theoretical implications were discussed.

DOCTORAL DISSERTATION Eye gaze in musical interaction

Thesis

Full-text available

Sep 2020

Sarah Vandemoortele

During ensemble playing, musicians are challenged to convey their intentions towards each other and to coordinate their actions. To that purpose, they can rely on several nonverbal means of expression: the produced musical sounds, bodily movements, facial expressions and—the focus of this research—gaze. Since the 1990s, researchers have increasingly investigated the bodily aspects of musical performance. While the study of ensemble interaction initially benefitted solely from the examination of bodily movements, more recently, it is getting enriched by inquiries into gaze behaviour as well (Biasutti et al., 2016; Bishop et al., 2019a; Fulford & Ginsborg, 2014; Fulford et al., 2018; Kawase, 2009, 2014a, 2014b; King & Ginsborg, 2011; Moran, 2010; Morgan et al., 2015a, 2015b; Vandemoortele et al., 2015, 2016; Williamon & Davidson, 2002; Yamada et al., 2014). The current research was encouraged by the recent development of mobile eye-tracking, and involved pioneering work in the newly emerging domain of gaze in musical interaction. Novel insights were gained through observational and self-observational study, which, respectively, dealt with partner-gazing as an externally observable phenomenon and the musician–researcher’s personal conceptions of gaze as a communicative instrument in ensemble playing. Specifically, a mobile eye-tracking experiment with four trios, a mobile eye-tracking experiment with the researcher’s trio, and a self-reflective study in the researcher’s chamber music practice formed the basis for a wide range of analyses. The results can be summarised according to three categories of insights. Psychological factors, a first category, were the focus in two analyses in the observational eye-tracking study. These dealt with the impact of the individual and the rehearsal stage on the amount of partner-gazing, and the relation between partner-gazing and the compositional form. Insights into ensemble playing as a multimodal issue form a second category. Specifically, an analysis as part of the observational eye-tracking study verified if leader–follower roles before a joint entrance can be derived from the way gaze and bodily movement are interwoven. The self-reflective study supplements the findings with insights from the researcher’s own practice. Finally, the self-reflective study also shows how gaze can be activated in a broad range of unique situations. Gaze can become relevant in response to a great number of ensemble goals related to the interaction among the musicians, stage presence, and individual needs. These goals can overlap or conflict with each other with respect to gaze. Moreover, one can monitor several physical aspects of partner-gazing in case one deliberately activates gaze. For instance, a musician can regulate the duration of a partner-gaze or avoid unnecessary head movements while changing gaze direction. Thanks to its wide range of analyses, the dissertation invites new lines of thought and research regarding a subject which has hitherto remained underexplored in both the literature and chamber music practice. Gaze in ensemble playing is often a matter of automatic, non-deliberate behaviour, so that it is easy to consider it an unimportant aspect of ensemble playing. This research, however, shows that it most certainly plays a sophisticated role in various practice situations.

Gazing at the partner in musical trios: A mobile eye-tracking study

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2018

Few investigations into the nonverbal communication in ensemble playing have focused on gaze behaviour up to now. In this study, the gaze behaviour of musicians playing in trios was recorded using the recently developed technique of mobile eye-tracking. Four trios (clarinet, violin, piano) were recorded while rehearsing and while playing several runs through the same musical fragment. The current article reports on an initial exploration of the data in which we describe how often gazing at the partner occurred. On the one hand, we aim to identify possible contrasting cases. On the other, we look for tendencies across the run-throughs. We discuss the quantified gaze behaviour in relation to the existing literature and the current research design.

Audience Gaze while Appreciating a Multipart Musical Performance

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2016

Visual information has been observed to be crucial for audience members during musical performances. The present study used an eye tracker to investigate audience members? gazes while appreciating an audiovisual musical ensemble performance, based on evidence of the dominance of musical part in auditory attention when listening to multipart music that contains different melody lines and the joint-attention theory of gaze. We presented singing performances, by a female duo. The main findings were as follows: (1) the melody part (soprano) attracted more visual attention than the accompaniment part (alto) throughout the piece, (2) joint attention emerged when the singers shifted their gazes toward their co-performer, suggesting that inter-performer gazing interactions that play a spotlight role mediated performer-audience visual interaction, and (3) musical part (melody or accompaniment) strongly influenced the total duration of gazes among audiences, while the spotlight effect of gaze was limited to just after the singers? gaze shifts.

Choreographing the Performer-Audience Interaction

Article

Mar 2016
J CONTEMP ETHNOGR

Samu Pehkonen

The article introduces the concept of choreography, defined as situationally enacted participation and action framework that provides sequential structure for social interaction, for studying performer–audience interaction during musical performances. Performers develop a preferred type of interaction during a repeated series of concerts. Audiences become absorbed in the choreography through participation in the concerts and the circulation of the Internet videos from earlier concerts. As the audience learns to expect certain actions from the side of the performers, improvisation is required from the performers in order for the choreography to be successful. Attention is paid to the methods the performers use to produce “watchables” and to manage the audience responses. The spatial, temporal, and gestural elements of this enacted choreography are analyzed sequentially using conversation analysis. The longitudinal data is composed of YouTube concert videos of Kings of Convenience performing a song, “I’d Rather Dance with You.”

Performers' Emotions in Expressive Performance: Sound, Movement, and Perception

Thesis

Full-text available

Jan 2014

Anemone G. W. Van Zijl

Performing musicians face the question of how to best achieve an expressive performance. Should they, for instance, feel the emotions present in the music, or should they rather rely on the use of appropriate technical means, such as tempo, dynamics, articulation, and timbre? Moreover, does their focus have an effect on the characteristics and perception of their performances? The research compiled in this thesis investigates the role of performers’ experienced emo- tions in practice and performance, as well as the effect of performers’ focus on the sound, movement, and perception of their performances. To this end, five studies were conducted encompassing a range of research methods. Study I revealed that performers’ emotions involved in the practice process consist of both perceived and felt emotions, the latter further subdivided into music-related and practice-related emotions. Importantly, the prevalence of performers’ experienced emotions was found to change over the duration of the practice process. Studies II and III revealed that a focus on technique, expressivity, or felt emotions results in different movement and auditory performance characteristics. Study IV revealed that audience members preferred expressive performances to technical and emotional ones, but rated emotional performances as being most expressive of the intended emotion. Study V revealed that performers’ emotions involved in the performance process consist of both performance-related and music-related emotions, the latter detailing a complex relationship between the performer and the music. Expressive and emotional playing were conceptualised differently. On stage, performers aimed for expressive playing rather than for emotional playing. These findings indicate that performers’ experienced emotions play a role in the practice and performance process of an expressive performance. In addition, they reveal that a performer’s focus has a significant effect on both performance characteristics and audience perception. The research compiled in this thesis supports the validity of distinguishing between emotional and expressive playing, and is valuable for both research and artistic practice and pedagogy.

Analyzing Expressive Qualities in Movement and Stillness: Effort-Shape Analyses of Solo Marimbists' Bodily Expression

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2012
MUSIC PERCEPT

laban movement analysis, specifically effort-shape analysis, is offered as a system to study musicians' bodily expression. It proposes others' intentions are manifest in expressive bodily activity and understood through shared embodied processes. The present investigation evaluates whether the basic components of Laban analysis are reflected in perceptual judgments of recorded performances and, specifically, evaluates interjudge reliability for effort-shape analysis. Sixteen audio-visual excerpts of marimba pieces performed by two professional solo marimbists' (female and male) served as stimuli. Effort-shape analyses and interjudge reliability thereof were assessed through three different tasks: 1) verification task, 2) independent analysis task, 3) signal detection yes/no task. Professional musicians — two percussionists, a violinist, and a French hornist — acted as participants. High interjudge reliability was observed for transformation drive and shape components, but less so for basic effort action components. Mixed interjudge reliability results for basic effort actions, and differences between frequency observations, point to differences in participant's embodied expertise, task implementation, and training issues. Effort-shape analysis has potential to drive comparative and predictive research into musicians' bodily expression. Effort-shape provides a fine-grain temporal analysis of ecologically valid performance sequences.

A preliminary investigation into the association between body movement patterns and dynamic variation in western contemporary popular singing

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2010

This study assessed the presence of body movements that may be common to all western contemporary popular (WCP) singers that may be integral to both the physical production of the sung sound and to acoustic output, in this case sound pressure level variation. Since torso movement appears to be closely linked with dynamic variation in this style of singing, the study focused on the activity of the torso. 3-D video footage of the body movements of six professional WCP singers singing the same R & B song was collected. Antero-posterior (AP) torso movement direction frequency and characteristics at the point of maximum sustained SPL and f0 (peak note) on the vowel [open e] were analysed. The most common movement of the torso was in a posterior direction, reaching its point of maximum displacement from the starting position on the peak note. Strong anterior torso movement on the peak note, which took the torso forward of its anatomical position was associated with the head forward position and vocal distortion, indicating that this movement at a point of high SPL may present a vocal health risk. These results indicate that the AP torso movement of WCP singers has a function in voice production and that not only body posture but the manner of movement from one body position to another is significant to vocal health and sound production, especially in styles where high sound levels must be achieved and where a high level of body movement is required in performance.

An Analysis of Non-verbal Performance in Theatre

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2024

Theatre, commonly seen as an audiovisual art, has performance at its core. Performance is mainly narrative through language, movement, dance, music, art and other forms to create an artistic image for the stage, which contains verbal and non-verbal elements. Non-verbal elements have crucial implications for theatre practice and theoretical perception. The present research investigates non-verbal performance in theatre based on semiotics and non-verbal communication theory. The study found that non-verbal performance includes (not limited to) posture, movement, gestures, props, and costumes. To make a more comprehensive analysis of non-verbal performance in theatre, a mixed research method combining textual analysis and questionnaire survey to collect data was employed, comprehensively investigate non-verbal performance in theatre, and comprehensively discuss the definition, classification and characteristics of key elements of non-verbal performance in drama based on the research design of analytical study, and reveals how non-verbal performances are expressed in theatre. Then, it provides ideas for the theatre creation and education.

An Analysis of Non-verbal Performance in Theatre

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2024

Into the Hive-Mind: Shared Absorption and Cardiac Interrelations in Expert and Student String Quartets

Article

Full-text available

May 2023

Expert musicians portray awe-inspiring precision, timing, and phrasing and may be thought to partake in a “hive-mind.” Such a shared musical absorption is characterized by a heightened empathic relation, mutual trust, and a sense that the music “takes over,” thus uniting the performers’ musical intentions. Previous studies have found correlations between empathic concern or shared experience and cardiac synchrony (CS). We aimed to investigate shared musical absorption in terms of CS by analyzing CS in two quartets: a student quartet, the Borealis String Quartet (BSQ), and an expert quartet, the Danish String Quartet (DSQ), world-renowned for their interpretations and cohesion. These two quartets performed the same Haydn excerpt in seven conditions, some of which were designed to disrupt their absorption. Using multidimensional recurrence quantification analysis (MdRQA), we found that: (1) performing resulted in significantly increased CS in both quartets compared with resting; (2) across all conditions, the DSQ had a significantly higher CS than the BSQ; (3) the BSQ's CS was inversely correlated with the degree of disruption; 4) for the DSQ, the CS remained constant across all levels of disruption, besides one added extreme disruption—a sight-reading condition. These findings tentatively support the claim that a sense of shared musical absorption, as well as group expertise, is correlated with CS.

Designing embodied human-computer interactions in music performance

Thesis

Full-text available

Jun 2020

Balandino Di Donato

Interfaces for musical expression are widely used for controlling and transforming sound in live performance. They aim to facilitate the interaction with a computer and empower the performer with a more expressive control over the sound. However, the actions made to control them have the potential to interfere with the musical performance, in relation to the instrumental technique, choreographic aspects or the physical characteristics of the played musical instrument. To avoid this issue, modes of interaction and various devices have been designed and utilised in conjunction with interactive audio and visual software to control and transform audiovisual media. In particular, gesture sensing technologies have been successfully used in different musical applications. However, they, in turn, raise questions such as, how can musicians most effectively control and transform auditory, visual and lighting effects during a live performance through gesture? What interaction design considerations should be made that allow performers to interact simultaneously with an instrument and audio-visual-lighting processing? How can disruption during a live performance with embodied human-computer interactions be reduced? The work presented in this thesis investigates modes of interaction with sound, visual projection and lighting effects during a musical performance that may result natural and embodied, and not dependent from a particular musical instrument, its sound or instrumental technique. For this purpose, using a User-Centred Design method, I realised `MyoSpat' upon Music and Human-Computer Interaction principles. MyoSpat is an interactive system, which embeds Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) and Electromyography (EMG) technology, for gesturally controlling audio and lighting processes during a musical performance. As part of this research, I also created Myo Mapper, a Thalmic Labs' Myo to Open Sound Control (OSC) messages mapper. Outcomes of this research are presented in this thesis and through a portfolio of performances realised in collaboration with musicians.

A critical assessment of the importance of music at the Eurovision Song Contest

Thesis

Full-text available

Jun 2020

Oliver Adams

Using contemporary examples from recent editions of the Eurovision Song Contest (2016-2019), this study details how important music is at Eurovision as a factor in contributing to a country or performer's final result on the Eurovision scoreboard. The concepts of musical familiarity, spectacle, affect and cosmopolitanism are also explored. The general trend of winners at the Eurovision Song Contest shows that a well-rounded performance with cohesive visual displays resonate better with audiences than even perhaps the most musically-complex pieces.

Interpersonal Synchronization in Ensemble Singing: The Roles of Visual Contact and Leadership, and Evolution across Rehearsals

Thesis

Full-text available

Nov 2018

Sara D'Amario

Interpersonal synchronization between musicians in Western ensembles is a fundamental performance parameter, contributing to the expressiveness of ensemble performances. Synchronization might be affected by the visual contact between musicians, leadership, and rehearsals, although the nature of these relationships has not been fully investigated. This thesis centres on the synchronization between singers in a cappella singing ensembles, in relation to the roles of visual cues and leadership instruction in 12 duos, and the evolution of synchronization and leader-follower relationships emerging spontaneously across five rehearsals in a newly formed quintet. In addition, the developmental aspects of synchronization are investigated in parallel to tuning and verbal interactions, to contextualise synchronization within the wider scope of expressive performance behaviours. Three empirical investigations were conducted to study synchronization in singing ensembles, through a novel algorithm developed for this research, based on the application of electrolaryngography and acoustic analysis. Findings indicate that synchronisation is a complex issue in terms of performance and perception. Synchronization was better with visual contact between singers than without in singing duos, and improved across rehearsals in the quintet depending on the piece performed. Leadership instruction did not affect precision or consistency of synchronization in singing duos; however, when the upper voice was instructed to lead, the designated leader preceded the co-performer. Leadership changed across rehearsals, becoming equally distributed in the last rehearsal. Differences in the precision of synchronization related to altered visual contact were reflected in the perception of synchronization irrespective of the listeners' music expertise, but the smaller asynchrony patterns measured across rehearsals were not. Synchronization in the quintet was not the result of rehearsal strategies targeted for the purpose of synchronization during rehearsal, but was paired with a tendency to tune horizontally towards equal temperament (ET), and to ET and just intonation in the vertical tuning of third intervals.

Synchronization in Singing Duo Performances: The Roles of Visual Contact and Leadership Instruction

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2018

Interpersonal synchronization between musicians during ensemble performances is characterized by continuous micro-timing adjustments due to intentional and unintentional factors supporting expressive interpretations, or caused by noise during the cognitive-motor process. Whether visual contact between musicians and the instruction to act as leader or follower affect synchronization in ensembles remains mostly unclear. This study investigates the role of visual cues and leader-follower relationships in singing performances. Twelve vocal duos took part in the study, singing a two-part piece, which was composed for the study and was mostly homophonic in structure. Four conditions were applied in a randomized order: with and without visual contact, and with a designated leader or follower. The piece was repeated four times in each condition, and the condition presented three times, for a total of 12 performances of the piece in each condition. Data were acquired using electrolaryngograph electrodes and head mounted microphones to track the fundamental frequency estimates of the individual singers. Results show that the presence and absence of visual contact had a significant effect on the precision and consistency of synchronization during singing duo performances. Precision and consistency were better in the presence of visual contact between singers than without, and these effects were associated with the beginning of phonation of the first note of the piece. The presence/absence of visual contact also had an effect on the tendency to lead or lag a co-performer associated with the onset of the first note; the extent of leading was greater when visual contact was absent. The instruction to act as leader or follower did not affect precision or consistency of synchronization, nor did it relate to the observed tendency to precede or lag a co-performer. The results contribute to the tailoring of rehearsal strategies, as singers and directors can be better informed of the factors influencing synchronization and focus on specific areas of difficulty in certain performance conditions, such as first note onsets when performers are not able to see each other.

Shared periodic performer movements coordinate interactions in duo improvisations

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2018

Human interaction involves the exchange of temporally coordinated, multimodal cues. Our work focused on interaction in the visual domain, using music performance as a case for analysis due to its temporally diverse and hierarchical structures. We made use of two improvising duo datasets—(i) performances of a jazz standard with a regular pulse and (ii) non-pulsed, free improvizations—to investigate whether human judgements of moments of interaction between co-performers are influenced by body movement coordination at multiple timescales. Bouts of interaction in the performances were manually annotated by experts and the performers’ movements were quantified using computer vision techniques. The annotated interaction bouts were then predicted using several quantitative movement and audio features. Over 80% of the interaction bouts were successfully predicted by a broadband measure of the energy of the cross-wavelet transform of the co-performers’ movements in non-pulsed duos. A more complex model, with multiple predictors that captured more specific, interacting features of the movements, was needed to explain a significant amount of variance in the pulsed duos. The methods developed here have key implications for future work on measuring visual coordination in musical ensemble performances, and can be easily adapted to other musical contexts, ensemble types and traditions.

THE IMPORTANCE OF NON-MUSICAL ELEMENTS AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION IN A LIVE MUSICAL SHOW

Article

Jan 2017

Nordiana Ahmad Nordin

THE IMPORTANCE OF NON-MUSICAL ELEMENTS AND LEVEL OF SATISFACTION IN A LIVE MUSICAL SHOW

An Expressive Bodily Movement Repertoire for Marimba Performance, Revealed through Observers' Laban Effort-Shape Analyses, and Allied Musical Features: Two Case Studies

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2016

Musicians' expressive bodily movements can influence observers' perception of performance. Furthermore, individual differences in observers' music and motor expertise can shape how they perceive and respond to music performance. However, few studies have investigated the bodily movements that different observers of music performance perceive as expressive, in order to understand how they might relate to the music being produced, and the particular instrument type. In this paper, we focus on marimba performance through two case studies—one solo and one collaborative context. This study aims to investigate the existence of a core repertoire of marimba performance expressive bodily movements, identify key music-related features associated with the core repertoire, and explore how observers' perception of expressive bodily movements might vary according to individual differences in their music and motor expertise. Of the six professional musicians who observed and analyzed the marimba performances, three were percussionists and experienced marimba players. Following training, observers implemented the Laban effort-shape movement analysis system to analyze marimba players' bodily movements that they perceived as expressive in audio-visual recordings of performance. Observations that were agreed by all participants as being the same type of action at the same location in the performance recording were examined in each case study, then across the two studies. A small repertoire of bodily movements emerged that the observers perceived as being expressive. Movements were primarily allied to elements of the music structure, technique, and expressive interpretation, however, these elements appeared to be interactive. A type of body sway movement and more localized sound generating actions were perceived as expressive. These movements co-occurred and also appeared separately. Individual participant data revealed slightly more variety in the types and locations of actions observed, with judges revealing preferences for observing particular types of expressive bodily movements. The particular expressive bodily movements that are produced and perceived in marimba performance appear to be shaped by music-related and sound generating features, musical context, and observer music and motor expertise. With an understanding of bodily movements that are generated and perceived as expressive, embodied music performance training programs might be developed to enhance expressive performer-audience communication.

Publikumsfrieriet: En studie av et rockebands bruk av relasjonsskapende virkemidler

Thesis

Full-text available

Jun 2016

Stian Tønder

Through this study I take it upon myself to describe how my own rock band work to facilitate relational activity with an audience during a concert. The methods used for researching the field are a mix between self-ethnography and auto- ethnography. The empirical material was gathered through complete participation and video recordings of three different band rehearsals and one concert. They all took place during autumn, 2015. The recordings were later transcribed and analyzed to develop descriptive narratives. From these narratives I single out happenings and situations that I believe will give answer to my research questions, and use relevant theory as support. Through my work I discovered that the methods used by the band to facilitate relational activity can be separated into three categories. Universe of the lyrics, audience involvement and “showing”. The methods in the first category attempt to give the audience a better sense of what goes on in the story of the song. There exists a desire to ensnare the audience to start reflecting over what happens to the characters and the places of the song. The methods in the second category has an aim to engage the audience physically during the concert. As examples here we can find getting the audience to clap along with the rhythm of the song or even making them dance. The methods found in the third category are purely aimed at entertaining the audience and bring about energy on the stage as part of the concert as a whole. I also describe how the band plans, rehearse and carry out these methods of facilitating relational activity in the rehearsal room and during a concert. The planning is characterized by being solely focused on what they are going to do, and not what they are going to do if something does not go according to plan. As for rehearsal I find that some of the methods used in concert are also used during rehearsal. Even though there is no audience present. In place of the missing audience the band uses an imaginary audience to which they direct their methods. Towards the end of the thesis I suggest steps that can be taken next and how my findings can be used in different places. Examples are use in education on several levels and use in different organizations for popular music like BRAK and STAR.

Interaction of Auditory and Visual Information in the Gidayu-bushi Performer's Expression of Gender and Age

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Jan 2009

Satoshi Kawase

Gidayu-bushi is a traditional Japanese performing art accompanied by shamisen music. The performer plays several characters. This research focuses on communication in performing arts where one performer plays various characters. The aim of this study is to explore the interaction of auditory and visual information in communicating the Gidayu-bushi performer's expressions of gender and age. The object of the study was a performance in which two Gidayu-bushi performers played various age and gender roles and which featured 81 stimuli consisting of 27 sound-only modes, 27 vision-only modes, and 27 sound-and-vision modes. Participants were asked to determine the gender and age of the persons being played by the performer. First, the results of statistical analysis suggested that participants could correctly determine both gender and age in sound-and-vision mode. Second, it was shown that it was most difficult for the participants to identify gender when the performer transmitted expression of gender in vision-only mode. Participants were able to determine the age groups of the respective roles most clearly in sound-and-vision mode, second most clearly in sound-only and least clearly in vision-only. Finally, social skills affected determination by the participants. This study showed the importance of auditory cues rather than visual information in communication. It can also be inferred that on such occasions people use methods which differ from those applied in daily communication, where social skills are important.

Playing together without communicating? A pre-reflective and enactive account of joint musical performance

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2015

In this article we explore the role of pre-reflective, embodied, and interactive intentionality in joint musical performance. Putting together insights from phenomenology and current theories in cognitive science, we present a case study based on qualitative interviews with the Danish String Quartet (DSQ). A total of 12 hours of interviews was recorded, drawing on ethnography-related methodologies during tours with the DSQ in Denmark and England in 2012 and 2013, focusing mainly on their experience of perception, intentionality, absorption, selfhood and intersubjectivity. The analysis emerging from our data suggests that expert musicians' experience of collective music-making is rooted in the dynamical patterns of perception and action that co-constitute the sonic environment(s) in which they are embedded, and that the role of attention and other reflective processes should therefore be reconsidered. In putting forward our view on ensemble cohesion, we challenge Keller's and Seddon and Biasutti's influential positions, maintaining that the cognitive processes at play in such intersubjective context are grounded in the concrete (inter)actions of the players, and are not reducible to processes and structures 'in the head'. We argue that this is a significant step forward from more traditional accounts of joint musical performances, which often involve mental representations as principal explanatory tools – downplaying the embodied and participatory dimension of music-making – and we conclude that ensemble performance can take place without attention to either shared goals, or to the other ensemble musicians. We finally suggest that if other researchers want to understand what it is like to play with other musicians then they must shift their focus from Joint Musical Attention (JMA) to Joint Musical Experience (JME), facilitating the development of more ecologically valid models of collective musical performance.

Bodily mediated coordination, collaboration, and communication in music performance

Chapter

Jan 2015

MUSICIANS ON STAGE -TOWARDS A TYPOLOGY OF STAGE ENTRANCE BEHAVIOR IN VIOLINISTS

Article

Full-text available

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Music performances in concerts or competitions are events for both performers and listeners and can best be described as a social-communicative process. As explained by Frith (1998), this process is characterized, on the one hand, by the performer's aim to win the favor of the audience (Frith, 1998, p. 205). On the other hand, performances are judged by the audiences based on several musical and non-musical factors (Landy & Farr, 1980). In terms of rhetorical theory, these two perspectives converge in a persuasive communicative setting. Within this setting, non-verbal forms of communication, such as gestures (Kurosawa & Davidson, 2005), facial expressions (Livingstone, Thompson, & Russo, 2009), body movements (Davidson, 1993; Davidson & Correia, 2002), concert dress (Griffiths, 2008) and spatial organization, play an important role. These performer characteristics can directly influence the assessment of musical performance (Davidson, 1993; Landy & Farr, 1980; McPherson & Schubert, 2004). The aim of our study is to reveal a typology of performer characteristics. We then focus on the relationship between the audience's perception of the performer's stage entrance and its final evaluation of the performance. METHOD A corpus of competitors in a German international violin competition (N = 27) served as a sample. Instrumentalists were recorded using three cameras (perspectives: long shot, side view, close-up). In a first step, a new standardized video sequence (with a cross fade between long shot and close-up) was produced for each competitor's entrance on stage. In a second step, items for a Visual Performance Evaluation Scale (ViPES) were selected from previous studies in non-verbal communication. In a third step, items were validated by experts (a professional violinist and an acting coach) and completed with relevant items of interest from the experts' point of view. A statistical data reduction method was used to reveal the most relevant items for evaluating a performer's stage entrance. In a last step, both, instrumental performers and non-performers used the final criteria of ViPES for the evaluation of stage behavior. Methods of classification (e.g., cluster analysis) were used to reveal data-based types of stage entrance behavior. RESULTS We are currently developing a representative typology of stage entrance behavior, which will, for example, consider stage behavior prototypes such as "The Intimidated" or "The Winner".

The movements made by performers in a skilled quartet: a distinctive pattern, and the function that it serves

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2013

When people perform a task as part of a joint action, their behavior is not the same as it would be if they were performing the same task alone, since it has to be adapted to facilitate shared understanding (or sometimes to prevent it). Joint performance of music offers a test bed for ecologically valid investigations of the way non-verbal behavior facilitates joint action. Here we compare the expressive movement of violinists when playing in solo and ensemble conditions. The first violinists of two string quartets (SQs), professional and student, were asked to play the same musical fragments in a solo condition and with the quartet. Synchronized multimodal recordings were created from the performances, using a specially developed software platform. Different patterns of head movement were observed. By quantifying them using an appropriate measure of entropy, we showed that head movements are more predictable in the quartet scenario. Rater evaluations showed that the change does not, as might be assumed, entail markedly reduced expression. They showed some ability to discriminate between solo and ensemble performances, but did not distinguish them in terms of emotional content or expressiveness. The data raise provocative questions about joint action in realistically complex scenarios.

Gazing behavior and coordination during piano duo performance

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2013
ATTEN PERCEPT PSYCHO

Satoshi Kawase

This study was designed to investigate the roles of gazing behavior during piano duo performance by highlighting coordination among performers. Experiment 1 was conducted under four conditions: invisible, only the body visible, only the head visible, and face -to -face. Experiment 2 was conducted under three conditions: invisible, only the movable head visible, and only the fixed head visible. In both experiments, performers looked toward each other just before temporal changes during coordination moments, which improved synchronization accuracy. The results also showed that gazing without movement cues to some extent facilitated synchronization, although asynchrony was greater under the restricted- movement condition than under the free- movement condition. The following results were obtained:(1) Mutual gaze is important for reducing timing lag between performers. (2) Mutual gaze modulates remarkable and arbitrary temporal expressions, such as fermata. (3) Performers may utilize movements as visual cues for strict synchronization.

Influence of performance gestures on the identification of spatial sound trajectories in a concert hall

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Jan 2008

An experimental study was performed on the effects of the visibility of a performer’s gestures on the identification of virtual sound trajectories in the concert hall. We found that when working in synchrony, the performer’s gestures integrate with the audio cues to significantly increase identification performance, normalize for the effects of off-centre listening in the hall and overcome problems related to the complexity of the soundscape. In the absence of visual cues, identification performance depends on the listening seat, the sound trajectory and the complexity of the soundscape. 1.

Seeing Music? What musicians need to know about vision

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2008

Michael Schutz

Music is inherently an auditory art form, rooted in sound, and generally analyzed in terms of its acoustic properties. However, as the process of hearing is affected by seeing, visual information does in fact play an important role in the musical experience. Vision influences many aspects of music – from evaluations of performance quality and audience interest to the perception of loudness, timbre, and note duration. Moreover, it can be used to achieve musical goals that are in fact acoustically impossible. As such, understanding the benefits of embracing (and the costs of ignoring) vision's role is essential for all musicians. Furthermore, since music represents a pervasive and ubiquitous human practice, this topic serves as an ideal case study for understanding how auditory and visual information are integrated. Given that some musically-based studies have challenged and even contributed to updating psychological theories of sensory integration, this topic represents a rich area of research, relevant to musicians and psychologists alike.

Looking at the Audience Improves Music Appreciation

Article

Full-text available

Jun 2009

The establishment of eye contact between a musician and his or her listeners, and its influence on musical perception, has been neglected by musical performance research. Two experiments were conducted to verify the hypothesis that increased eye contact between musician and audience leads the latter to better appreciate the music performed by the former. In the first experiment a musician played and sang three pieces, whereas in the second study he played without vocal support. The results of both experiments showed that directing the musicians’ gaze toward the audience enhanced the qualities of the musical experience.

Seeing music performance: Visual inﬂuences on perception and experience

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2005

Drawing from ethnographic, empirical, and historical / cultural perspec-tives, we examine the extent to which visual aspects of music contribute to the communication that takes place between performers and their listeners. First, we introduce a framework for understanding how media and genres shape aural and visual experiences of music. Second, we present case studies of two performances, and describe the relation between visual and aural aspects of performance. Third, we report empirical evidence that vi-sual aspects of performance reliably influence perceptions of musical struc-ture (pitch related features) and a¤ective interpretations of music. Finally, we trace new and old media trajectories of aural and visual dimensions of music, and highlight how our conceptions, perceptions and appreciation of music are intertwined with technological innovation and media deployment strategies.

Efektivitas Komunikasi Verbal dan Non-Verbal Antara Pianis dan Penyanyi Klasik Terhadap Kualitas Pertunjukkan

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2023

Abstrak Kebutuhan akan seorang pengiring yang baik sangat penting, tetapi hanya sedikit pianis profesional yang dapat bekerja sama dan mengiringi penyanyi dengan efektif. Ketika penyanyi mengambil peran sebagai pemimpin dalam pertunjukan duo dan bertemu dengan pengiring yang kesulitan berkolaborasi, terjadi gangguan dalam berkomunikasi, sehingga dapat mempengaruhi kualitas pertunjukan duo tersebut. Sebaliknya, masalah komunikasi verbal dan non-verbal yang kurang baik juga dapat mempengaruhi seorang pengiring dalam mempersiapkan pertunjukkan. Komunikasi non-verbal berfungsi sebagai sarana penting bagi baik pianis maupun penyanyi untuk berkomunikasi, mencakup aspek-aspek seperti bentuk napas dan gerakan tubuh. Sebagai bentuk komunikasi verbal, kedua belah pihak dapat memulai upaya kolaboratif mereka, untuk saling menganalisis interpretasi dan elemen musik dari karya yang ingin mereka tampilkan. Baik pianis maupun penyanyi harus sejalan dalam perspektif mereka untuk memastikan pemahaman mutual dan kesesuaian dalam hal interpretasi dan elemen musik. Dengan menggunakan penelitian tindakan sebagai metode penelitian yang dipilih dengan satu siklus dan dua variabel, perbedaan signifikan menjadi jelas dalam penggunaan komunikasi verbal dan non-verbal, sejalan dengan perspektif selama proses dan pertunjukan akhir antara kelompok kontrol dan kelompok eksperimen. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menjelajahi persiapan yang diperlukan dan keterampilan komunikasi non-verbal yang diperlukan bagi pianis untuk dapat mengiringi dan berkolaborasi secara efektif dengan penyanyi, dengan tujuan akhir pengembangan modul pembelajaran untuk tujuan pendidikan. Kata kunci : komunikasi non-verbal, komunikasi verbal, piano kolaboratif, duo pianis-penyanyi, teknik latihan.

Bibliographie Gehörbildung / Hörerziehung mit Einführung und vierfachem Index [Bibliography of Aurals Skills and Music Perception]

Book

Full-text available

Apr 2022

Lutz Felbick

Die dreitausend Titel umfassende Bibliographie führt Fachliteratur auf, die der Bewusstwerdung und Erforschung musikalischer Hörprozesse dienen. Inkl. Einführung zur Gehörbildung / Hörerziehung / Aural Skills / Music Perception und vierfachem Index.

Developing a Vigilant Musical Practice

Thesis

Full-text available

Feb 2021

This thesis, in the field of music composition and performance practice, presents the results of a practice-research project into performance validity and notational reliability in vigilant musical practice. From my initial inquiry into what constitutes a valid performance, three ground principles were observed: non-normative cognitive states (how the performer thinks); embodied multimodal imagery across a full effort scale (the images a performer draws with their presence); and inter-personal communication (the performer’s readiness to react to the audience’s presence) and the performance environment. These three interconnected skills form what I come to call vigilant performance practice. This thesis aims to define a conceptual framework for vigilant music practice, at the stages of composition, of rehearsal, and of performance. In support of vigilant practice, a set of developmental tools and activities were constructed that promote each of the three vigilance skills. These tools and activities are developed in practice in a sequence of sixty-four scores entitled Games for Musicians and Non-Musicians. This workbook promotes the development of vigilance skills in the context of improvised music performance in groups. Games for Musicians and Non-Musicians was rehearsed and performed publicly on several occasions. Reports of those events are presented here. Vigilant performance practice has the potential to be of use in music education and professional training, with different age groups (including children), as well as in other types of performance practice. It may be of use outside the performance environment altogether, in personal or community development.

The Playing Together, Apart Framework: A framework for communication in Networked Music Performance

Article

Jan 2021

The Playing Together, Apart Framework is a framework for understanding communication between musicians in Networked Music Performance (NMP). Previous research has largely focused on technical issues such as latency and synchronisation, and this framework aims to extend this research into further understanding of the experiences of, and the communication between, musicians in NMP, and the factors affecting this. The framework is based on duo musicians, working in informal NMP situations, playing acoustic instruments. The framework shows the audio and video communication paths, and the influences on both the transmission and reception elements of the communication chain in NMP. General issues in NMP, such as the rhythmic content of the music, the expertise and experience of the musicians when dividing attention, the use of video, and the socioemotional and professional relationships between musicians are examined in further detail. This framework is proposed as a basis for further research into NMP, and for expansion and development by researchers.

Semioottiset moodit populaarimusiikin tuotannossa

Article

Dec 2007

Olli Heikkinen

The Effect of Selected Nonmusical Factors on Adjudicators’ Ratings of High School Solo Vocal Performances

Article

Jul 2012

Sandra A. Howard

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of differentiated performance attire and stage deportment on adjudicators’ ratings of high school solo vocal performances. High school choral students (n = 153) and undergraduate (n = 97) and graduate music majors (n = 32) served as adjudicators (N = 282). Adjudicators rated recorded solo vocal performances displayed in audio-only and four audiovisual presentation conditions with differentiated combinations of performance attire and stage deportment. Performance quality ratings were affected significantly by soloists’ performance attire and stage deportment and adjudicators’ academic level. Significant two-way interactions were identified: adjudicator gender by academic level for comparisons of performance ratings assigned in four of the five presentation conditions and adjudicator gender by academic level when differentiated attire was isolated from presentation conditions. Adjudicators assigned significantly higher ratings to performances presented in the audio-only condition.

Development of a Visual Performance Evaluation Scale (VIPES). Towards a typology of stage entrance behavior in violinists

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Aug 2010

Restraint of body movement potentially reduces peak SPL in western contemporary popular singing

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2013

In western contemporary popular (WCP) singing, body movement is integral to overall stage performance. However, singers are often directed to stand still while singing during recording sessions or music theatre productions. No assessment has been undertaken by sound engineers or directors to determine whether singers can produce the same sound levels under conditions of voluntary movement restraint. The aim of this investigation was to assess the impact of body movement restraint on sound pressure levels (SPL) in WCP singing. Six professional WCP singers sang a section of a song in two performance modes: first with the directive to perform as they normally would on a stage and then when directed to stand still during their performance. The recordings were analysed for SPL and the results of the two conditions were compared. There was a significant reduction in the SPL recorded by the singers both statistically and acoustically in the ‘non-movement’ condition. This result suggests that restraint of movement during WCP singing is associated with reduced peaks in SPL. Possible reasons for this reduction include the inhibition of respiratory mechanisms for subglottal pressure production and interference with sensorimotor feedback mechanisms such as the autophonic response.

Expressing Tonal Closure in Music Performance: Auditory and Visual Cues

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2009

We examined whether musical performers communicate tonal closure through expressive manipulation of facial expressions and non-pitch features of the acoustic output. Two musicians hummed two versions of Silent Night: one ended on the tonic of the scale and exhibited tonal closure; the other ended on the dominant and was therefore tonally unclosed. In Experiment 1, video-only recordings of the hummed sequences were presented to 15 participants, who judged whether the (imagined) melody was closed or unclosed. Accuracy was reliably above chance, indicating that the musicians expressed tonal closure in facial expressions and listeners decoded these cues. Experiment 2 was conducted to determine whether musicians also communicate tonal closure in acoustic attributes other than pitch. All tones in the hummed melodies were pitched-shifted to a constant mean value, but performances still differed in loudness, microtonal pitch variation, timing, and timbre. Participants judged whether audio-only recordings were closed or unclosed. Accuracy was not above chance overall, but was marginally above chance for judgement of one of the two singers. Results suggest that tonal closure can be mapped onto non-pitch aspects of performance expression, but is primarily restricted to the use of facial expressions.

Excitatory Strength of Expressive Faces: Effects of Happy and Fear Expressions and Context on the Extinction of a Conditioned Fear Response

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1986

In a recent study, Orr and Lanzetta (1984) showed that the excitatory properties of fear facial expressions previously described (Lanzetta & Orr, 1981; Orr & Lanzetta, 1980) do not depend on associative mechanisms; even in the absence of reinforcement, fear faces intensify the emotional reaction to a previously conditioned stimulus and disrupt extinction of an acquired fear response. In conjunction with the findings on acquisition, the failure to obtain extinction suggests that fear faces have some of the functional properties of “prepared” (fear-relevant) stimuli. In the present study we compared the magnitude of conditioned fear responses to happy and fear faces when a potent danger signal, the shock electrodes, are attached or unattached. If fear faces are functionally analogous to prepared stimuli, then, even in the absence of veridical support for an expectation of shock, they should retain excitatory strength, whereas happy faces should not. The results are consistent with this view of fear expressions. In the absence of reinforcement, and with shock electrodes removed, conditioned fear responses and basal levels of arousal were of greater magnitude for the fear-face condition than for the happy-face condition.

Emotional expression in synthesizer and sentograph performance

Article

Full-text available

Apr 1995

This investigation is part of a research project on expression in music performance. Four musicians performed two short pieces of music using a synthesizer and a sentograph. They were instructed to play the pieces with different emotional characters: happy, solemn, angry, soft/tender, and indifferent. The performances were recorded and analyzed. The different expressive intentions influenced all investigated variables (tempo, sound level/pressure, timing, articulation) in specific ways for each expression and often led to structural reorganization. There were also some differences among the performers and between the synthesizer and the sentograph performances. Listening tests confirmed that listeners on the whole perceived the intended expressions. The results are discussed in relation to earlier research and to theories on emotion and music by Langer and Clynes.

The Effect of Power on Susceptibility to Emotional Contagion

Article

Full-text available

Oct 1990

This study explored two questions: Do people tend to display and experience other people's emotions? If so, what impact does power have on people's susceptibility to emotional contagion? We speculated that the powerless should pay more attention to their superiors (than their superiors pay to them) and should thus be especially likely to “catch” their superion' emotions as well. College students, given the role of “teacher” (powerful person) or “learner” (powerless person), observed videotapes of another (fictitious) subject relating an emotional experience. They were asked what emotions they felt as they watched their partner describe the happiest and saddest event in his life. In addition, they were videotaped as they watched the tape. As predicted, clear evidence of emotional contagion was obtained in this controlled laboratory setting. However, a direct (rather than inverse) relation between power and emotional contagion was found. Powerful subjects were more likely to display their subordinate's feelings than subordinates were to display those of the powerful other. Several possible explanations for these unexpected results were proposed.

The Role of Timing Patterns in Recognition of Emotional Expression from Musical Performance

Article

Full-text available

Dec 1999
MUSIC PERCEPT

The purpose of this study was to explore whether listeners can use timing patterns to decode the intended emotional expression of musical performances. We gradually removed different acoustic cues (tempo, dynamics, timing, articulation) from piano performances rendered with various intended expressions (anger, sadness, happiness, fear) to see how such manipulations would affect a listener's ability to decode the emotional expression. The results show that (a) removing the timing patterns yielded a significant decrease in listeners' decoding accuracy, (b) timing patterns were by themselves capable of communicating some emotions with accuracy better than chance, and (c) timing patterns were less effective in communicating emotions than were tempo and dynamics. Implications for research on timing in performance are discussed.

Nonverbal Behavior and Nonverbal Communication

Article

Full-text available

May 1972

Attempts to (a) articulate some of the suppositions implicit in different approaches used to study nonverbal behaviors as communication, (b) reemphasize a conceptual distinction between nonverbal behaviors which can be considered as communications and other nonverbal behaviors, (c) reformulate some issues in the study of such behaviors, (d) establish definitions and criteria which can make possible empirical investigations of nonverbal communication, and (e) indicate how these definitions and criteria can be applied to the study of hand and arm movements as communicative gestures. It is hoped that the availability of the conceptualization, along with some means for operationalizing the concepts, will make it possible to initiate systematic empirical investigations of nonverbal communication in general. (45 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)

Children's Expression of Emotional Meaning in Music Through Expressive Body Movement

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2001

Recent research has demonstrated that preschool children can decode emotional meaning in expressive body movement; however, to date, no research has considered preschool children's ability to encode emotional meaning in this media. The current study investigated 4- (N = 23) and 5- (N = 24) year-old children's ability to encode the emotional meaning of an accompanying music segment by moving a teddy bear using previously modeled expressive movements to indicate one of four target emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, or fear). Adult judges visually categorized the silent videotaped expressive movement performances by children of both ages with greater than chance level accuracy. In addition, accuracy in categorizing the emotion being expressed varied as a function of age of child and emotion. A subsequent cue analysis revealed that children as young as 4 years old were systematically varying their expressive movements with respect to force, rotation, shifts in movement pattern, tempo, and upward movement in the process of emotional communication. The theoretical significance of such encoding ability is discussed with respect to children's nonverbal skills and the communication of emotion.

The Effects of Facial Control and Facial Mimicry on Subjective Reactions to Comedy Routines

Article

Full-text available

Mar 1989

The impact of facial control on subjective reactions to dubbed (created with inserts of smiling people) and undubbed comedy routines was examined. The presence of dubs increased EMG activity over thezygomaticus major andorbicularis oculi muscle regions for spontaneous-condition subjects, but not for inhibit-condition subjects. Analyses also showed that spontaneous-condition subjects exhibited increased smiling at dub points, a finding that is consistent with the notion that subjects mimicked the inserted facial displays. Self-report findings revealed that spontaneous-condition subjects reported significantly greater amusement to the dubbed compared with the undubbed routines, whereas inhibit-condition subjects' self-reports of amusement did not differentiate dub conditions. Furthermore, spontaneous-condition subjects reported significantly more amusement to the dubbed routines than did inhibit-condition subjects. Despite strong facial control effects on facial EMG activity, no main effect of facial condition on self-reported amusement was found, and therefore, the data provide no support for a general version of facial feedback theory. The data are consistent with the view that mimetic responses enhanced subjective reactions, and they are compatible with the Leventhal and Tomkins versions of facial feedback theory.

The Ability to Identify Emotional Content of Solo Improvisations Performed Vocally and on Three Different Instruments

Article

Full-text available

Jan 1993
Psychol Music

Fifty-eight undergraduate students with low and high musicianship skills rated the degree to which 24 solo improvisations expressed the emotions of sad, angry, and scared. Eight musicians-two violinists, two trumpet players, two vocalists, and two timpanists-performed three short improvisations, each of which expressed one of the three targeted emotions. Accuracy scores were computed to assess the degree to which subjects rated improvi- sations as expressing the emotion intended by the musician in contrast to the other two emotions. The results indicated that the subjects were relatively accurate in assessing the emotional content of the improvisations. In addition, subjects with a higher level of musicianship skills demonstrated greater accuracy for only the trumpet improvisations. Finally, the subjects' accuracy depended not only on the instrument played, but the emotion expressed. For example, subjects were more accurate when identifying scared improvisations performed on a violin. The applied and theoretical implications of these results were discussed.

Body Movement and Speech Rhythm in Social Conversation

Article

Full-text available

Feb 1969

The relationship between body movement and speech rhythm was newly formulated following D. S. Boomer's work on hesitations in speech: movements were predicted to occur early in phonemic clauses and at points following nonfluencies with clauses. A preliminary study of old data for which the movements were located by watching motion pictures bore out the prediction, and led to a more intensive study using more representative speech samples, and artifacts. Results were highly significant, but the amount of movement variance accounted for was small. Data collected by this method allowed direct test of statements by R. E. Pittenger, C. F. Hockett, and J. J. Danehy, and by A. E. Scheflen, whose claims of very close speech-movement relationships were found to be exaggerated. The linkage found between hesitations and movements was interpreted in terms of speech encoding process. (22 ref.)

Cue Utilization in Communication of Emotion in Music Performance: Relating Performance to Perception

Article

Full-text available

Dec 2000

Patrik Juslin

This study describes the utilization of acoustic cues in communication of emotions in music performance. Three professional guitarists were asked to perform 3 short melodies to communicate anger, sadness, happiness, and fear to listeners. The resulting performances were analyzed with respect to 5 acoustic cues and judged by 30 listeners on adjective scales. Multiple regression analysis was applied to the relationships between (a) the performer's intention and the cues and (b) the listeners' judgments and the cues. The analyses of performers and listeners were related using C. J. Hursch, K. R. Hammond, and J. L. Hursch's (1964) lens model equation. The results indicated that (a) performers were successful at communicating emotions to listeners, (b) performers' cue utilization was well matched to listeners' cue utilization, and (c) cue utilization was more consistent across different melodies than across different performers. Because of the redundancy of the cues, 2 performers could communicate equally well despite differences in cue utilization.

The social in musical performance

Chapter

Apr 1997

Jane W Davidson

The social contexts in which people create, perform, perceive, understand and react to music have been neglected by psychologists. This book provides a comprehensive and up-to-date account of the social contexts in which people create, perform, perceive, understand, and react to music. It represents the first attempt to define the field since Farnsworth's book of the same title published in 1969, including the newer areas of medicine, marketing, and education in which the social psychology of music has direct applications in the real world. After an opening review chapter, the remaining 14 chapters are divided into six sections: individual differences; social groups and situations; social and cultural influences; developmental issues; musicianship; real world applications. Several of these chapters are ground-breaking reviews published for the first time. Aside from psychologists and music educators, The Social Psychology of Music will appeal to musicians, communications researchers, broadcasters, and commercial companies.

Communicating Emotion In Music Performance: A Review And Theoretical Framework

Chapter

Aug 2001

Patrik N Juslin

The position of emotion in music has been a subject of considerable interest and debate. However emotional aspects of music have received surprising little attention in the 45 years since the publication of Leonard Meyer's classic work 'Emotion and meaning in music.' During that time, both 'music psychology' and 'emotion' have developed as lively areas of research, and the time is fitting therefore to try and bring together this multidisciplinary interest and take stock of what we now know about this important relationship. A new volume in the Series in Affective Science, Music and Emotion; Theory and Research brings together leading researchers interested in both these topics to present the first integrative review of this subject. The first section reflects the various interdisciplinary perspectives, taking on board views from philosophy, psychology, musicology, biology, anthropology, and sociology. The second section addresses the role of our emotions in the composition of music, the ways that emotions can be communicated via musical structures, the use of music to express emotions within the cinema. The third section looks at the emotions of the performer - how do they communicate emotion, how does their emotional state affect their own performance. The final section looks at the ways in which our emotions are guided and influenced while listening to music, whether actively or passively. Music and Emotion is a timely book, one that will interest psychologists, musicologists, music educators, and philosophers.

Music in Everyday Life

Book

Jun 2000

Tia DeNora

The power of music to influence mood, create scenes, routines and occasions is widely recognised and this is reflected in a strand of social theory from Plato to Adorno that portrays music as an influence on character, social structure and action. There have, however, been few attempts to specify this power empirically and to provide theoretically grounded accounts of music's structuring properties in everyday experience. Music in Everyday Life uses a series of ethnographic studies - an aerobics class, karaoke evenings, music therapy sessions and the use of background music in the retail sector - as well as in-depth interviews to show how music is a constitutive feature of human agency. Drawing together concepts from psychology, sociology and socio-linguistics it develops a theory of music's active role in the construction of personal and social life and highlights the aesthetic dimension of social order and organisation in late modern societies.

NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN THE ANALYSIS OF SOCIAL SKILLS

Chapter

Dec 1979

Michael Argyle

Assessments of the Emotional States of Others: Conscious Judgments Versus Emotional Contagion

Article

Jun 1992
J SOC CLIN PSYCHOL

A Theory of Musical Gesture and its Application to Beethoven and Schubert

Chapter

Jan 2006

Robert S Hatten

Emotional Expression in Music Performance: Between the Performer's Intention and the Listener's Experience

Article

Apr 1996
Psychol Music

Nine professional musicians were instructed to perform short melodies using various instruments - the violin, electric guitar, flute, and singing voice - so as to communicate specific emotional characters to listeners. The performances were first validated by having listeners rating the emotional expression and then analysed with regard to their physical characteristics, e.g. tempo, dynamics, timing, and spectrum. The main findings were that (a) the performer's expressive intention had a marked effect on all analysed variables; (b) the performers showed many similarities as well as individual differences in emotion encoding; (c) listeners were generally successful in decoding the intended expression; and (d) some emotional characters seemed easier to communicate than others. The reported results imply that we are unlikely to find performance rules independent of instrument, musical style, performer, or listener.

Mothers and Infants and Communicative Musicality

Article

Sep 1999

Stephen Malloch

Using music as a model, mother/infant vocalisations are examined using computer-based acoustic analysis. Past research is summarised which demonstrates the importance of both parties in the mother-infant dyad. Methods are then introduced for analysing pulse, quality and narrative in mother/infant vocalisations. These three elements comprise “communicative musicality”: those attributes of human communication, which are particularly exploited in music, that allow co-ordinated companionship to arise. The analysis of pulse is based on spectrographs analysis, and regular timing intervals are discovered that serve to co-ordinate the mother's and infant's joint vocalisations. Quality consists of both the pitch-contour of the vocalisations, and their timbre. Pitch plots are derived using software developed for this project using a constant Q spectral transform. I examine how the infant and mother structure their joint exploration of pitch space on the small and large scale. Timbre is measured with a variety of acoustic measures – tristimulus values, sharpness, roughness and width. It is found that the mother's voice changes its quality in response to the infant's. Narrative combines pulse and quality – it allows two persons to share a sense of passing time – and the musical companionship is examined that is created between a mother and her baby as she chants a nursery rhyme. It is concluded that communicative musicality is vital for companionable parent/infant communication.

Some Formal Aspects of Communication

Article

Apr 1967

Emotional Communication in Music Performance: A Functionalist Perspective and Some Data

Article

Jul 1997

Patrik Juslin

The first part of this paper presents a systematic application of a functionalist perspective to the study of emotional communication in music performance. This involves the integration of ideas and concepts from psychological research on emotion and nonverbal communication with Brunswik's (1956) probabilistic functionalism and a modified version of his lens model. It is argued that this approach may provide the necessary theoretical foundation by generating useful questions, hypotheses, and ways of evaluating data from performance analyses and listening experiments. The second part reports an experimental study in which professional guitar players were instructed to play a short piece of music so as to communicate four basic emotions to listeners. The resulting performances were analyzed regarding various cues, such as tempo, sound level, and articulation. It was found that (a) the expressive intentions of the performers affected all of the measured cues in the performances, (b) the cues had merely a probabilistic relation to the performers' intentions, and (c) the cues were intercorrelated. The performances were also validated in a listening experiment which showed that listeners were successful in decoding the intended emotional expression, and that there were no differences in decoding accuracy between musically trained and untrained listeners.

Visual Perception of Performance Manner in the Movements of Solo Musicians

Article

Apr 1993
Psychol Music

Jane W. Davidson

The study of music perception has focused almost exclusively on sound, ignoring the role of seeing the performer's body movements. Whilst anecdotes frequently refer to the importance of the performer's movements, there is scant psychological evidence to support this finding. The closest equivalent work in visual event perception research has shown that covert mental dispositions (for instance, an intention to deceive an observer) are specified in body movements, and therefore provide important information for the observer.. With these findings in mind, this article investigates the information conveyed by the movements of a musical performer when s/he is asked to play-the same piece in three different expressive manners. These performance manners are presented to observers in three modes: vision alone, sound alone and sound and vision together to investigate the relative contributions of the different perceptual modes. The results reveal that not only is vision a useful source of information about manner, but that it actually more clearly specifies manner than the other modes. These findings emphasise the need to consider visual as well as sound information in psychological enquiries into music perception.

The role of the body in the production and perception of solo vocal performance: A case study of Ann

Article

Sep 2001

Jane W. Davidson

The work described in this paper interprets the body movements of singers in an attempt to understand the relationships between physical control and the musical material being performed, and the performer's implicit and explicit expressive intentions. The work builds upon a previous literature which has suggested that the relationship between physical execution and the expression of mental states is a subtle and complex one. For instance, performers appear to develop a vocabulary of expressive gestures, yet these gestures – though perceptually discreet – co-exist and are even integrated to become part of the functional movement of playing. Additionally, there is the matter of how both musical and extra-musical concerns are coordinated between performer, co-performers and audience using body movements. A case study shows how, in the interaction between body style, musical expression and communication movements of both an individual and culturally-determined style are used. Many of these performance movements have clear functions and meanings: to communicate expressive intention (for instance, a sudden surge forwards to facilitate the execution of a loud musical passage, or a high curving hand gesture to link sections of the music during a pause); to communicate to the audience or co-performers a need for co-ordination or participation (for example, nodding the head to indicate “now” for the audience to join in a chorus of a song; or exchanging glances for the co-performer to take over a solo); to signal extra-musical concerns (for example, gesturing to the audience to remain quiet); and to present information about the performer's personality, with their individualized characteristics providing important cues (muted contained gestures, or large extravagant gestures, for example); to show off to the audience. From these results a theory is developed to explain how gestural elements help to make a performance meaningful.

Article

Jan 1982
Popular Music

Philip Tagg

Popular music analysis-why? One of the initial problems for any new field of study is the attitude of incredulity it meets. The serious study of popular music is no exception to this rule. It is often confronted with an attitude of bemused suspicion implying that there is something weird about taking ‘fun’ seriously or finding ‘fun’ in ‘serious things’. Such attitudes are of considerable interest when discussing the aims and methods of popular music analysis and serve as an excellent introduction to this article.

Nonverbal Behavior. A Functionnal Perspective

Book

Jan 1983

Miles Patterson

Stimulus properties of facial expressions and their influence on the classical conditioning of fear

Article

Jan 1981

The influence of particular stimulus properties of facial expressions of emotion upon associative learning to a neutral cue was examined in the present investigation. A compound stimulus, composed of either a fearful, happy, or neutral facial expression paired with a neutral cue (tone), signaled an aversive event (mild electric shock). Phasic change in skin conductance (SC) was used as the measure of associative learning. Analyses of variance revealed that subjects who saw a fearful expression paired with the tone gave larger SC responses to the fearful expression than to the tone. The opposite pattern was obtained for subjects who had a happy expression paired with the tone. Subjects who had the neutral expression paired with the tone showed no significant difference in their responses to the two stimuli. Results of the present investigation were consistent with those of an earlier study by Lanzetta and Orr (1980), and extend the earlier theoretical interpretations by suggesting that fear expressions function as excitatory stimuli and happy expressions act as inhibitory stimuli. Methodological changes in the present study, which include a shorter CS interval and asynchronous stimulus onsets, also extend the previous findings.

Quasi-Courtship Behavior in Psychotherapy

Article

Sep 1965

Albert E. Scheflen

Comparison of the uses of and participation in music in both northern Europe and Japanese. Unpublished Master of Arts dissertation

K Kurosawa

Nonverbal behaviours in popular music performance: A case study of The Corrs

Abstract

No full-text available

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