Conductor gestures influence evaluations of ensemble performance

Abstract

Previous research has found that listener evaluations of ensemble performances vary depending on the expressivity of the conductor’s gestures, even when performances are otherwise identical. It was the purpose of the present study to test whether this effect of visual information was evident in the evaluation of specific aspects of ensemble performance: articulation and dynamics. We constructed a set of 32 music performances that combined auditory and visual information and were designed to feature a high degree of contrast along one of two target characteristics: articulation and dynamics. We paired each of four music excerpts recorded by a chamber ensemble in both a high- and low-contrast condition with video of four conductors demonstrating high- and low-contrast gesture specifically appropriate to either articulation or dynamics. Using one of two equivalent test forms, college music majors and non-majors (N = 285) viewed sixteen 30 s performances and evaluated the quality of the ensemble’s articulation, dynamics, technique, and tempo along with overall expressivity. Results showed significantly higher evaluations for performances featuring high rather than low conducting expressivity regardless of the ensemble’s performance quality. Evaluations for both articulation and dynamics were strongly and positively correlated with evaluations of overall ensemble expressivity.

The Conductor As Visual Guide: Gesture and Perception of Musical Content

“…Although the performer’s perspective is not a native viewpoint for most audiences, all participants in the present study were experienced ensemble performers and were familiar with this viewing perspective. Its use here was consistent with other research utilizing observer perspectives of conductors ( Morrison et al, 2009 , 2014 ). Previous findings have concluded that although conductor evaluations differ in magnitude (but not valence) by viewing angle ( Peddell, 2008 ; Price and Mann, 2011 ), the performer’s perspective is richer with visual stimuli which are necessary for such finely discriminating tasks as examining differences in gesture congruence.…”

“…We predicted that a conductor’s gestural focus on particular aspects of a piece of music would affect the way an observer described the performance. These effects are evident because here, as in other previous studies ( Morrison et al, 2009 , 2014 ; Price and Mann, 2011 ; Price et al, 2016 ) the variation in the visual component of stimuli (video recorded conductor gesture) was what elicited the response effect, whereas the audio within the stimuli remained constant.…”

“… Morrison et al (2014) found that ensemble performances featuring high levels of conductor gestural variability related to specific aspects of performance (articulation and dynamics) were rated significantly more positive than performances featuring low levels of gesture variability for those aspects. These elements of style are content-specific and generally associated with a consistent set of gestural vocabulary, or emblems.…”

Listeners' and Performers' Shared Understanding of Jazz Improvisations

“…For example, the facts that eye contact between performers and audience members (e.g., Antonietti et al, 2009) or visual characteristics of the performers (Davidson, 2001, 2012; Thompson et al, 2005; Mitchell and MacDonald, 2012; Morrison et al, 2014) can affect audience members' judgments do not clearly point to whether audience members' interpretations will therefore be more similar to each other as a result, or more similar to performers'. Similarly, the fact that audience members can react differently to comparable live vs. recorded performances (see Barker, 2013; Katevas et al, 2015) doesn't clearly predict in which situation they are more likely to share understanding with performers or each other.…”

“…Our focus is on listeners' understanding during solo listening to an audiorecording of a live performance, rather than how listeners experience a live (or audio- or videorecorded) performance in which they are physically copresent with and can be affected by the reactions of other listeners as an audience in a shared space (e.g., Pennebaker, 1980; Mann et al, 2013; Koehler and Broughton, 2016; Zadeh, in press). Because listeners are not copresent with the performers nor do they see video of the performers, additional factors that can affect audience experience, like eye contact between performers and audience members (e.g., Antonietti et al, 2009) or visual characteristics of the performers (Davidson, 2001, 2012; Thompson et al, 2005; Mitchell and MacDonald, 2012; Morrison et al, 2014), do not come into play.…”