R. Parncutt, & G. E. McPherson (Eds.)
The Science and Psychology of Music Performance:
Creative Strategies for Teaching and Learning
Oxford University Press, New York
ISBN: 0-19-513810-4

Reviews

Dunsby, J. (2003). British Journal of Music Education, 20, 215-222 (pdf)
Johnson, P. (2005). Musicae Scientiae, 9, 196-202 (pdf)
Kreutz, G. (2004). Jahrbuch Musikpsychologie, 17, 178-179 (pdf)
Sloboda, J. S. (2004). Music Education Research, 6, 111-121 (pdf)
Webster, P. R. (2002). International Journal of Education and the Arts, 3 (5) (word)

Summary

What sort of child is most likely to succeed on a musical instrument? What practice strategies yield the fastest improvement in skills such as sight-reading, memorization, and intonation? How do performers convey emotion to their audience, and how can they avoid pre-performance nerves and post-performance injuries? What physical arrangement of choir members produces the best ensemble? Are musicians' brains different?

Scientific and psychological research can offer answers to these and other questions that musicians face every day. In The Science and Psychology of Music Performance, Richard Parncutt and Gary McPherson assemble relevant current research findings and make them accessible to musicians and music educators. This book describes new approaches to teaching music, learning music, and making music at all educational and skill levels.

Each chapter represents the collaboration between a music researcher (usually a music psychologist) and a music educator or performer. The chapter begins by outlining the main scientific issues. On that basis, it goes on to develop teaching strategies and performance techniques. Grouped under the broad headings of "the developing musician," "subskills of musical performance," and "instruments and ensembles," the 21 chapters cover the personal, environmental, and acoustical influences that shape the learning and performance of music.

I. THE DEVELOPING MUSICIAN

1. Musical Potential
Anthony Kemp and Janet Mills

This chapter discusses the identification of musical potential in childhood and considers the impact of an environment that is nurturing and stimulating. It considers the place of musical ability tests as well as personality assessment and suggests that, whilst these are areas for the teacher's consideration, they may prove to be of minor significance in any formal selection processes. The chapter describes the manner in which parents and teachers might consider musical potential, not as something finite but as something that may gradually emerge during childhood. The question of children's potential to play various instruments is considered as well as the existence of certain stereotypes prevalent in musical circles. Suggestions are offered to parents and teachers in order to become aware of a child's potential as soon as it becomes observable and to nurture it in a facilitating environment.

2. Environmental Influences
Heiner Gembris and Jane Davidson

Both environmental and genetic factors affect individual development from fetus to adult, both generally and in the case of music. We consider the difference between shared and non-shared environmental influences, and different types of interaction between the individual and environment. Parents, teachers, and peers strongly influence this development. Early non-verbal interactions between child and mother or caretaker, and parental support for music activities in childhood, seem to be of particular importance. These and other influences (e.g., exposure to music through the media) occur in the more general framework of the societal, historical, and generational context. Environmental conditions for musical development may be optimized by paying more attention to shared music experiences between child and parents (e.g., parent-baby singing), and exposing the child to a wide variety of music.

3. Motivation
Susan A. O’Neill and Gary E. McPherson

Research on motivation in music seeks to understand how children develop the desire to pursue the study of a musical instrument, how they come to value learning to play an instrument, why they vary in the degree of persistence and the intensity they display in achieving their musical goals, and how they evaluate and attribute their success and failure in different achievement contexts. Current theories view motivation as an integral part of learning that assists students to acquire the range of adaptive behaviors that will provide them with the best chance of achieving their own personal goals. We review the literature on these topics and provide a framework for understanding the complex range of thoughts, feelings and actions that either sustain or hinder musicians through the many years that it takes to develop musical skills.

4. Performance Anxiety
Glenn D. Wilson and David Roland

Performance anxiety is a common problem among both amateur and professional musicians. It afflicts individuals who are generally prone to anxiety, particularly in situations of high public exposure and competitive scrutiny, and so is best understood as a form of social phobia (a fear of humiliation). Some degree of tension adds electricity to a performance, but pessimistic self-talk and feelings of panic can seriously affect it. The most effective psychological treatments seem to be those that combine relaxation training with anxiety inoculation (developing realistic expectations of what will be felt during performance) and cognitive restructuring (modifying habitual thoughts and attitudes that are self-handicapping, regardless of their origins). Preliminary research with hypnotherapy and the Alexander Technique suggests that these might also be effective in reducing performance anxiety.

5. Brain Mechanisms
Eckart Altenmüller and Wilfried Gruhn

Neurological foundations of music perception, performance and learning rely on individually variable, widely distributed neuronal networks in both hemispheres. Music performance is a complex voluntary sensorimotor behavior that becomes automated during extensive practice with auditory feedback. It involves all motor, somatosensory, and auditory areas of the brain. Practicing a musical instrument results first in a temporary and later in a stable increase in the amount of nerve tissue devoted to the various component tasks. Overuse of movement patterns may degrade motor memory and voluntary control of movements (musicians’ cramp). Neuronal networks established during music learning may depend on teaching strategies. Brain regions corresponding to specific subtasks of music performance are larger in musicians with early training, which may therefore improve the capacity to acquire complex musical sensory-motor and auditory skills.

6. Music Medicine
Alice G. Brandfonbrener and James M. Kjelland

Most of the medical problems of musicians are the shared consequence of the specific instrument, performance technique, and repertoire interacting with the physical and psychological nature of the individual musician. The incidence of problems is greater for those instruments requiring more repetitious actions over a longer period of time, and in all the risks that are increased by stress. Most frequent are musculoskeletal pain problems, including tendinitis, which typically resolve with simple measures such as reduced activity, anti-inflammatory medication, and icing. Prevention is preferable to treatment for all these conditions, but more research is needed to validate the techniques to be employed, based on more precisely identifying the causal factors in musicians' occupational injuries. This requires close collaboration between those in medicine and those in music education.

II. SUBSKILLS OF MUSIC PERFORMANCE

7. From Sound to Sign
Gary E. McPherson and Alf Gabrielsson

One of the most contentious issues in music pedagogy concerns when and how to introduce notation to a beginning instrumentalist. Most current teaching introduces musical notation very early in the process, perhaps because many teachers believe that beginners who are taught by ear will never reach the same level of reading proficiency as children who are introduced to notation from their earliest lessons. In contrast, proponents of the sound before sign approach argue that a child will have difficulty learning to read notation unless their musical knowledge is sufficiently developed for them to be able to relate the sound of what they can already play with the symbols used to represent them. Our review of literature results in the identification of six principles that can be used to develop the complex range of skills needed for a child to become musically literate.

8. Improvisation
Barry J. Kenny and Martin Gellrich

Depending upon its socio-cultural function, the term improvisation incorporates a multiplicity of musical meanings, behaviors, and practices. A feature common to all improvisation, however, is that the creative decisions of its performers are made within the real time restrictions of performance itself. Improvisation is therefore considered to be a performance art par excellence, requiring not only a lifetime of preparation across a broad range of musical and nonmusical formative experiences, but also a sophisticated and eclectic skills base. The chapter reflects on psychological models and their attempts to simulate improvising processes and constraints, the means by which improvisers acquire performance skills, improvisation as part of a larger, co-collaborative creative endeavor, recent studies highlighting the benefits of improvisation in a learning situation, and improvisation as a means of revitalizing Western education. Practical implications and an integrated model for learning to improvise are discussed in the final section.

9. Sight-Reading
Andreas C. Lehmann and Victoria McArthur

From a psychological viewpoint, sight-reading involves perception (decoding note patterns), kinesthetics (executing motor programs), memory (recognizing patterns), and problem-solving skills (improvising and guessing). Sight-reading skills seem to be highly trainable, and differences in sight-reading ability can be explained through differences in amount of relevant experience and size of the knowledge base (e.g., repertoire). The ability to perform with little or no rehearsal may be regarded a reconstructive activity, involving processes that are primarily initiated by the visual input but also by conceptual knowledge and specific expectations, all of which are made possible by ways of higher level mental processes. Common problems in sight-reading regarding pitches, rhythm, articulation, and expression are enumerated along with suggestions for their remediation through use of technical equipment, practice of isolated parameters and strategic preparations for playing.

10. Practice
Nancy Barry and Susan Hallam

Musicians practice to gain technical proficiency, learn new repertoire, develop musical interpretation, memorize music, and prepare for performances. Based on available empirical research, we set out appropriate practicing and learning strategies that can be incorporated into regular music teaching to encourage students to become autonomous learners. Research demonstrates that practice is more effective when musicians engage in metacognition (reflecting upon their own thought processes); employ mental practice in combination with physical practice; approach practice in an organized, goal-oriented manner; study and analyze scores; plan relatively short and regular practice sessions; are intrinsically motivated; and listen to appropriate musical examples including professional recordings and/or teacher demonstrations. Students may also benefit from understanding the relationship between time spent practicing and achievement, and the nature and the importance of motivation. The old adage practice makes perfect may not necessarily be true, because repetition of ineffective practice strategies can yield disappointing results.

11. Memory
Rita Aiello and Aaron Williamon

There is extensive biographical and anecdotal information on the memory of exceptional musicians, but only recently has there been systematic psychological research, and this has mostly focused on pianists. Historical reasons for performing from memory can be traced to Clara Wieck Schumann and Franz Liszt. General theories of expert memory can help us understand how expert musicians memorize music. Auditory, kinesthetic, and visual information contribute to musical memory. Recent psychological research suggests the importance of explicitly analyzing the score. Memory strategies depend on the skill of the performer and the style and difficulty of the music to be memorized. The ability to memorize seems to be enhanced by studying music theory and analysis. Learning to improvise in the style of the music could also be helpful.

12. Intonation
Steven J. Morrison and Janina Fyk

Rather than an isolated ability, intonation is an amalgam of several sub-skills including pitch discrimination, pitch matching and instrument tuning. Success at these skills depends on many factors including musical experience and the nature of the task presented. However, ability in any one of these areas is not clearly related to ability in the others. The skill musicians demonstrate at isolated intonation-related tasks differs from their performance within a typical, complex musical setting. Within a real musical context, performers demonstrate considerable variation in pitch when compared to common standards of pitch measurement, suggesting that absolute pitch accuracy is not the ultimate goal of this area of musical development. The ability to identify and produce the most desirable pitch within a given musical context may emerge parallel to general musical development as students’ awareness of the performers around them increases and they develop their own concepts of ideal performances.

13. Structural Communication
Anders Friberg and Giovanni Umberto Battel

The communication of structure in musical expression has been studied scientifically by analyzing variations in timing and dynamics in expert performances. The underlying principles have been extracted, and models of the relationship between expression and musical structure formulated. For example, a musical phrase tends to speed up and get louder at the start, and to slow down and get quieter at the end; mathematical models of these variations can enhance the quality of synthesized performances. We overview the dependence of timing and dynamics on tempo, phrasing, harmonic and melodic tension, repetitive patterns and grooves, articulation, accents, and ensemble timing. Principles of structural communication (expression) can be taught analytically, by explaining the underlying principles and techniques with computer-generated demonstrations; or in traditional classroom or lesson settings, by live demonstration.

14. Emotional Communication
Patrik N. Juslin and Roland S. Persson

We review research showing that performers are able to communicate specific emotions to listeners, and that they use a large number of musical features in the performance to accomplish a particular expression. The findings are organized according to a theoretical framework that describes the communicative process in terms of E. Brunswik's (1956) lens model. We also discuss traditional strategies for teaching expression, including the use of metaphors, aural modeling, and felt emotion, and conclude that these strategies rarely provide informative feedback to the performer. A new and empirically based approach to teaching expression called cognitive feedback is outlined, and its efficacy evaluated. The goal is to provide performers with the tools they need to develop their own personal expression.

15. Body Movement
Jane W. Davidson and Jorge S. Correia

Body movement plays a role in the construction, execution and perception of musical performances. We explore the interface between technical matters of physical control and the expressive components of physical gestures, and discuss the bodily origins of musical meaning, expressive performance and musical skill acquisition. For example, bodily gesture and rhythm in proto-musical mother-child exchanges influence the development of thought and knowledge; and expressive slowing in music (ritardando) corresponds to the deceleration of runners coming to a halt. Specific movement gestures in music performance function as illustrative and emblematic cues, and clearly indicate the focus of the performer’s attention, e.g., on the narrative content of a song, or on showing off to the audience. Thus, through body movement, thoughts and concerns are communicated to the audience. Performers, educators and students can use this knowledge to enhance their performing, teaching and learning capacities.

III. INSTRUMENTS AND ENSEMBLES

16. Solo Voice
Graham F. Welch and Johan Sundberg

One of the principal challenges for the singer is to acquire an understanding of how to develop and maintain a particular set of culturally specific musical behaviors using an instrument that is not visible and in which the functional components change physically across the lifespan. The singer’s instrument has three components. The respiratory system is responsible for variations in loudness. Changes in the pattern and frequency of vocal fold vibration are perceived as variations in pitch and voice quality; changes in the configuration of the vocal tract are linked to resonance and carrying power. Although often interrelated (particularly in the untrained vocalist), these three functional characteristics are susceptible through education to focused development and conscious control.

17. Choir
Sten Ternström and Duane R. Karna

Choir singers and directors frequently find themselves grappling with acoustical issues that appear to affect their ability to perform well. Hearing one’s own voice, for example, is crucial. It improves with increased singer spacing and depends also on the room acoustics. Singer preferences are diverse, but on average one’s own voice needs to be about 6 dB stronger than the rest of the choir. In most rooms this implies a fairly spread formation. Precise intonation may be jeopardized by pitch perception discrepancies and by mechanisms inherent to voice control, but it can also be facilitated by acoustically informed measures, such as articulatory enhancement of common partials. Researching such issues necessitates decomposition, while remaining aware of the true complexity of the situation: that of many people singing together and hearing each other in a room.

18. Piano
Richard Parncutt and Malcolm Troup

On the basis of research on the physics and physiology of the keystroke, the acoustics and perception of piano timbre, and the psychology of piano fingering, we explain observations such as the following, and investigate their practical implications. The timbre of an isolated tone cannot be varied independently of its loudness, but depends on finger-key, key-keybed, and hammer-key noise, and on the use of both pedals. The timbre of a chord further depends on the balance and onset timing of its tones, whereby louder tones tend to sound earlier (melody lead, velocity artifact). Both the sustaining pedal and una corda can enhance sostenuto. Leap trajectories are curved and asymmetrical. Optimal fingering is determined by physical, anatomic, motor, and cognitive constraints, interacting with interpretive considerations, and depends on expertise.

19. String Instruments
Knut Guettler and Susan Hallam

Research on the physics of bowed stringed instruments can help the string teacher to explain the underlying acoustical phenomena and to develop corresponding pedagogical strategies. The first part of this chapter surveys current and historical acoustical research, focusing on information that can be related to technique. This section discusses not only the bowed attack with specific exercises to improve performance, but also other topics such as harmonics, rosin, timbre, and aspects of room acoustics during performance. An overview of psychological research relating to the distinctive aspects of playing a bowed stringed instrument and the characteristics of string players follows. This considers the importance of well developed aural skills, practice, and conscientiousness on the part of the player to develop high levels of expertise, and the need for the teacher to demonstrate, provide opportunities to develop aural schemata, and give detailed constructive feedback.

20. Wind Instruments
Leonardo Fuks and Heinz Fadle

In mouth-blown wind instruments, the energy provided by the respiratory system is converted directly into sound. In all cases a primary vibrating element, generically called reed, controls the airstream. The reed may be a piece of bamboo, the lips, a metallic tongue, or even the air jet (in flutes and recorders). Players control loudness, attack, intonation and timbre by means of embouchure settings, blowing pressure, airflow, and length of the air column. The respiratory muscles perform complex and systematic movements, generating wide ranges of pressures, and coordinated oscillations that produce the vibrato effect. Intonation may be affected by the characteristics of the lung air. We address the associated sensory, physiological and acoustical phenomena. Common controversial or misleading concepts among wind players are discussed, and some simple experiments are proposed for pedagogical applications.

21. Rehearsing and Conducting
Harry E. Price and James L. Byo

Conducting and rehearsal behaviors play a role in establishing an appropriate and effective rehearsal atmosphere. Situations in which conductors provide predominantly positive feedback result in better attitudes, attention, and performance. Fast paced rehearsals are usually the most effective, and comprise frequent and generally brief episodes of teacher talk and student performance. Enthusiastic or dynamic rehearsing features stark contrasts of behavior at optimal times--loud and soft talk, expressive and neutral conducting, group and individual eye contact. Rehearsals should be structured to include processes of diagnosis, prescription, presentation, monitoring and feedback, with brisk paced and clear directions. Essentially, a conductor should focus on making verbalizations efficient and keeping them to a minimum, while enhancing nonverbal behaviors to include large amounts of eye contact and clear and unambiguous conducting gestures.

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Richard Parncutt, Centre for Systematic Musicology, Faculty of Humanities, University of Graz