Charting the past to understand the cultural inheritance of concert hall listening and audience development practices

Nicholls, Claire D; Forgasz, Rachel

doi:10.1080/00309230.2017.1397718

Cited by 3 publications

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“…In post-industrial societies, the interactive and communal function of music is diminished, and music is often more ‘presentational’ than ‘participatory’ [ 13 ]. In live performances audiences and musicians are usually separated, and people increasingly listen to pre-recorded music by themselves [ 13 , 14 ]. It is also common for hierarchies to exist between musicians, with soloists or conductors dominating the performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group singing is globally dominant and associated with social context

Shilton,

Passmore,

Savage

2023

R. Soc. open sci.

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Music is an interactive technology associated with religious and communal activities and was suggested to have evolved as a participatory activity supporting social bonding. In post-industrial societies, however, music's communal role was eclipsed by its relatively passive consumption by audiences disconnected from performers. It was suggested that as societies became larger and more differentiated, music became less participatory and more focused on solo singing. Here, we consider the prevalence of group singing and its relationship to social organization through the analysis of two global song corpora: 5776 coded audio recordings from 1024 societies, and 4709 coded ethnographic texts from 60 societies. In both corpora, we find that group singing is more common than solo singing, and that it is more likely in some social contexts (e.g. religious rituals, dance) than in others (e.g. healing, infant care). In contrast, relationships between group singing and social structure (community size or social differentiation) were not consistent within or between corpora. While we cannot exclude the possibility of sampling bias leading to systematic under-sampling of solo singing, our results from two large global corpora of different data types provide support for the interactive nature of music and its complex relationship with sociality.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Group singing is globally dominant and associated with social context

Shilton,

Passmore,

Savage

2023

R. Soc. open sci.

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“…Concerts for general audiences have been performed for 100s of years, but the practice of listening has changed considerably—from the public concerts of the mid-17th century, with its boisterous and raucous audiences, to the silent and seemingly passive audiences of the late 20th century (Nicholls et al, 2018). The radical shift from “pleasure listening” to serious “academic listening” has led to a growing trend toward “silent listening” (Nicholls et al, 2018, p. 507).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All the elements involved in listening reflected these changes, from the physical design and characteristics of the concert hall to the quality of the musical piece (Maus, 2013; Nicholls et al, 2018). Maintaining the values of the presentation of Western art music in a concert, as an object to be watched and listened to rather than as a social experience, led to a decrease in demand for concerts (Kolb, 2001; Nicholls et al, 2018). Consequently, many orchestras dedicate time and resources to educational programs focusing on ways to make the children active participants in the concerts, with the aim of “building audiences” for the orchestra (Baker, 2000; Kolb, 2001; Nicholls et al, 2018; Sigurjonsson, 2010; Váradi, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The story of “Beat”: A concert program in kindergartens

Moshe¹,

Gluschankof

2021

International Journal of Music Education

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Orchestras all over the world have concert programs in various formats for children, including some designed for preschoolers. Presenting concerts to children in kindergartens and schools is a long-standing tradition in Israel. The uniqueness of these programs and their main innovation is the preparatory work and process through which the children are prepared for the concert—which is the culmination of the whole process. This case study focuses on the first 10 years (2005–15) of one of these programs—“Beat”—implemented in Israeli kindergartens. We aim to characterize the development of the various stages of this program, and to describe its integration into kindergarten life. The data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 26 program participants over the years (kindergarten teachers, music teachers in kindergartens, musicians, etc.), as well as documents (concert programs, preparation booklets, etc.) from its collaborating bodies. The main findings show the importance and impact of the cooperation between kindergarten teachers and music teachers during the preparatory stages, making music a part of daily life in kindergarten.

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Rent-a-crowd! Understanding how applause magnitude impacts music performance appraisal

Utharntharm,

Mitchell

2023

International Journal of Music Education

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Applause is ubiquitous in the reception of music performance. Applause magnitude can reveal and sway audience reactions, and it is critical for musicians and educators to understand how audiences and evaluators respond to this extramusical effect in the appraisal of music performance. This study investigated how listeners respond to applause magnitude and prompted discussions about extramusical effects and social influence. Three applause levels (polite, strong and vocal) were added to two identical solo trumpet performances (one Fanfare and one Vocalise). Thirty listeners rated these six performances for overall quality and five performance dimensions (intonation, expression, balance, rhythmic accuracy and dynamic control). Vocal applause significantly impacted ratings of overall quality, expression and dynamic control compared to polite applause. Listeners were aware of varying applause levels and the majority were susceptible to unconscious or conscious bias in their evaluations. Most listeners were unaware of the identical audio and found the experiential learning process ‘enlightening’. Listeners became cognisant of their susceptibility to extramusical effects and reflected on evaluation strategies. Future studies should employ experiential learning to inform emerging music professionals about perceptual vulnerabilities and enhance critical thinking and expert evaluation skills.

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Charting the past to understand the cultural inheritance of concert hall listening and audience development practices

Cited by 3 publications

References 0 publications

Group singing is globally dominant and associated with social context

Group singing is globally dominant and associated with social context

The story of “Beat”: A concert program in kindergartens

Rent-a-crowd! Understanding how applause magnitude impacts music performance appraisal

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