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

Abstract

Ensemble conductors are often described as embodying the music. Researchers have determined that expressive gestures affect viewers’ perceptions of conducted ensemble performances. This effect may be due, in part, to conductor gesture delineating and amplifying specific expressive aspects of music performances. The purpose of the present study was to determine if conductor gesture affected observers’ focus of attention to contrasting aspects of ensemble performances. Audio recordings of two different music excerpts featuring two-part counterpoint (an ostinato paired with a lyric melody, and long chord tones paired with rhythmic interjections) were paired with video of two conductors. Each conductor used gesture appropriate to one or the other musical element (e.g., connected and flowing or detached and crisp) for a total of sixteen videos. Musician participants evaluated 8 of the excerpts for Articulation, Rhythm, Style, and Phrasing using four 10-point differential scales anchored by descriptive terms (e.g., disconnected to connected, and angular to flowing.) Results indicated a relationship between gesture and listeners’ evaluations of musical content. Listeners appear to be sensitive to the manner in which a conductor’s gesture delineates musical lines, particularly as an indication of overall articulation and style. This effect was observed for the lyric melody and ostinato excerpt, but not for the chords and interjections excerpt. Therefore, this effect appears to be mitigated by the congruence of gesture to preconceptions of the importance of melodic over rhythmic material, of certain instrument timbres over others, and of length between onsets of active material. These results add to a body of literature that supports the importance of the visual component in the multimodal experience of music performance.

The Effects of Temporal Action-Sound Congruence on Evaluations of Conductor Quality

“…A complicating aspect to this, however, is that the accompanying audio also features material of a longer duration across the musical spectrum (e.g., note duration, interonset interval, harmonic motion), which may serve as a mediating factor in these evaluations. Additionally, a consistent trend for conductor ratings to be lower than those of the ensemble pervaded evaluations, which is notable in its own right and bears further investigation, potentially building upon the framework offered by Kumar and Morrison (2016).…”

An examination of collegiate musicians’ ability to discern conductor intent

“…Given the findings of this study, it seems clear that “conductor intent” is far from a unitary construct: Through their gestures and facial expressions, a conductor might “intend” to convey musical information in the form of deliberate instructions to the ensemble, and/or they might convey their own experience of the music, ostensibly with the hope that the ensemble (and perhaps the audience) will respond in an appropriate fashion. Although certain gestures can be considered as universal “emblems” (Sousa, 1998; see also Garnett, 2009, and Kumar & Morrison, 2016), the idiosyncratic nature of individual conductors makes the perception of conductor intent more complex. The discrepant responses to the two conductors in this study may even suggest that “conductor intent” itself resides with the observer, at least in part.…”

Movement, Gesture, and Singing: A Review of Literature

“…This was true when the participants heard only audio, saw the conductor from the back, or saw the conductor from the front (Nápoles, 2013). Another study found that listeners associated gesture with music content, indicating that visual components influenced listener perception of quality (Kumar & Morrison, 2016). Research has also shown that conductors with larger affect and gesture had a positive effect on the ratings their ensemble received (Morrison et al, 2014).…”

“…Gestures have specific meaning in the vocabulary of conducting-for example, a cutoff/stop gesture or the indication to perform quietly or loudly. The conducting pattern illustrates the inner pulse and inspires a neural and kinesthetic response in the performer (Kumar & Morrison, 2016). Gesture, in the conductor's context, has been described as a communicative skill that establishes leadership and generates a complete experience (Durrant, 2009).…”