The Importance of Expression in Performance Flashcards
What is important for musical performance?
Expression
How can one be more expressive when playing an instrument?
Louder
More liberties with the score
Play around with the tempo (might play slightly off-beat)
What did Clarke et al. (2010) say are 3 ways for the performer to create their own unique and recognisable identity?
Dynamics (loud/soft)
Tempo variations
Deviations from score
What are Juslin’s (2003) 5 facets of musical expression?
1) Generative rules
2) Emotional expression
3) Random variability
4) Motion principles
5) Stylistic unexpectedness
What does generative rules refer to?
Structural effects (e.g., go slower at the end of the phrase)
Phrasing (classical)
What does emotional expression refer to?
Changes in timbre and intensity
What does random variability refer to?
Not following the score
What does motion principles refer to?
Whether intentional or not
What does stylistic unexpectedness refer to?
Stopping and starting (popular music - more license to improvise)
How do the 5 facets of musical expression relate to types of music?
The different types of musical expression will relate to different styles or genres
How much can you deviate from a score?
Not so much that it completely changes the piece
People might disagree with deviations from Beethoven’s scores etc. - crowd might walk out if you take liberties
What did Davidson (2001) notice when studying Annie Lennox?
Her vocabulary of expressive gestures as a way of communicating/bonding with the audience and put on a show / stimulate participation.
Created repertoire of singer’s gestures from Davidson’s own performance.
Davidson used herself as the model because she was an elite performer. She had insight into why singers gesture in that way. Not just interpretation.
Used research on body language to inform her repertoire.
Who came up with a repertoire of non-verbal communication (NVC)? (body language?
Eckman & Friesman (1969)
What is an adaptive gesture?
Communicates the mental state of the singer
What is a regulatory gesture?
Gestures that co-ordinate with and interact with the accompanist
Gestures that were directed at other musicians
What is an illustrative/emblematic gesture?
Gestures to do with the lyrics themselves.
More specific than the mental state types of gestures.
Represent narrative elements of the music/lyrics.
What 3 gestures did Ekman & Friesman (1969) identify in their research?
Adaptive
Regulatory
Illustrative/emblematic
What is the name given to the gestures Annie Lennox used to stimulate and involve audience participation? (Davidson found)
Display gestures (e.g., get everyone to clap along or sing together)
What was Annie Lennox trying to achieve in her performances? (Davidson found)
Seduction of co-performers and audience
Courting her audience
What are generic gestures?
Playing the role of a ‘pop star’
Playing a member of a ‘rock group’
Certain pop or rock gestures might be expected (e.g., how the microphone is held)
What performances did Davidson look at?
2 Annie Lennox performances
‘Who’s that girl?’
What did Davidson find from 2 separate live performances of Annie Lennox?
Same gestures around the same time
Consistent gestures, whether intentional or not
What is an example in which interpersonal entrainment can be seen?
Indian guitar and drum duos (Clayton et al., 2019)
Sitar and tabla
Players will look at each other to try and synchronise their performances
Guitarist comes in before and then would nod to the drummer to do something on the drums
Guitar is the melody lead soloist
What did Clayton et al. (2019) find in terms of co-ordination movements?
Co-ordination movements were greater at cadential downbeats
