Emotion, Imagery and Metaphor in the Acquisition of Musical Performance Skill

Abstract

In teaching music students to perform expressively, many instructors use imagery and metaphors to call attention to the emotional qualities of music. This article examines existing theories of emotion, imagery and metaphor in music performance, and reviews empirical studies of expressive performance that have considered these topics. Also presented are the results of a small-scale study of the imagery and metaphors used by college music instructors. Several conclusions are drawn. First, motional aspects of music, seen in imagery using terms such as ' owing' or 'bouncy', are considered crucial in the connection between performed music and felt emotion. Additionally, among advanced musicians, there appears to be a shared and relatively limited affective vocabulary used to elicit expressive performance, perhaps largely drawn from the compositional structure of the piece of music being performed.

Instrumental teachers’ instructional strategies for facilitating children’s learning of expressive music performance: An exploratory study

“…According to Broomhead singers must actively construct their understanding of how to perform expressively, and students need opportunities to make expressive decisions. Additionally, Broomhead, Skidmore, Eggett and Mills (2012) found that the use of positive mindset trigger words before a performance may bring improvement in singers Effective feedback is also an important instructional tool for facilitating expressiveness (Woody, teenagers, most other studies investigating strategies for teaching expressivity were conducted with adults (see Lisboa, Williamon, Zicari & Eiholzer, 2005;Persson, 1994Persson, , 1996Rosenthal, 1984;Schippers, 2006;Woody, 1999Woody, , 2000Woody, , 2001Woody, , 2002aWoody, , 2002bWoody, , 2003Woody, , 2006aWoody, , 2006b. Results obtained from these studies should not automatically be extrapolated to children as it might be possible that the acquisition of expressive performance skills by young musicians is accomplished by other means, depending on their age, development and ability (Woody, 2006a).…”

The effects of projected films on singers’ expressivity in choral performance.

“…Because the formation of appropriate verbal descriptors can be essential in guiding musicians through a sensory learning experience, the description of sound is often borrowed from worlds of space ("broad"), temperature ("hot"), shapes ("round"), textures ("smooth") and color ("bright") (Bunch, 1995). In order for a music instructor to guide a student toward a more expressive performance, she may offer some form of figurative language as a method for guiding students to convey a mood (e.g., "sing as if you are saying goodbye to a close friend who is leaving, never to return") or contextual motion (e.g., "imagine your consonants are walking briskly down the steps") with some expressivity (Woody, 2002). Some have suggested that singers may be more apt to adopt this approach since one of the elements in their music consists of lyrics (Woody, 2000).…”

“…Both conductors followed a lesson plan and script to avoid method bias between choirs (See Appendix H). In order to eliminate bias toward a hierarchy of rehearsal practices, the lesson plan scripts approached each rehearsal with neutrality, avoiding the use of metaphors or guided imagery, while limiting the amount of kinesthetics used in rehearsal (Woody, 2002). Furthermore, the rehearsal environment did not allow for questions or comments from singers during rehearsal to maintain consistency among ensemble rehearsals.…”

“…As choral music education continues to find success in reaching multiple learners through the use of varied pedagogical techniques such as the use of kinesthetics, metaphors, and guided imagery in rehearsal settings at all levels (Bailey, 2007;Broomhead, 2006;Sheldon, 2004;Woody, 2002Woody, , 2006aWoody, , 2006b, music educators continue to seek other methods for learners to develop the skills and understanding of content with more relevancy. Although the current study did not expose participants to the various projected film visual segments during the process of rehearsing the two etudes, it is suggested that the implementation of presenting a projected film visual as a relevant 'extramusical' pedagogical tool could assist in the expressivity of a choral musicians' performance.…”

“…This is accomplished through innovative and relevant methods of exploring not only technique and music theory, but emotional expressivity (Broomhead, 2006). Complimenting Gardner's theories of multiple intelligences, music educators instructing students in performance have used such pedagogical methods as kinesthetic movement, guided imagery, and metaphors to attain emotional and expressive understanding when responding to a piece of music (Sheldon, 2004;Woody, 2002). While these pedagogical trends are finding success at various levels of music education, other approaches to expressive performance could occur when including visual images.…”