The Role of Conductor Facial Expression in Students’ Evaluation of Ensemble Expressivity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore whether conductor facial expression affected the expressivity ratings assigned to music excerpts by high school band students. Three actors were videotaped while portraying approving, neutral, and disapproving facial expressions. Each video was duplicated twice and then synchronized with one of three professional wind ensemble recordings. Participants ( N = 133) viewed nine 1-min videos of varying facial expressions, actors, and excerpts and rated each ensemble’s expressivity on a 10-point rating scale. Results of a one-way repeated measures ANOVA indicated that conductor facial expression significantly affected ratings of ensemble expressivity ( p < .001, partial η2 = .15). Post hoc comparisons revealed that participants’ ensemble expressivity ratings were significantly higher for excerpts featuring approving facial expressions than for either neutral or disapproving expressions. Participants’ mean ratings were lowest for neutral facial expression excerpts, indicating that an absence of facial affect influenced evaluations of ensemble expressivity most negatively.

The Perceived Effectiveness of Nonverbal, Co-Verbal, and Verbal String Ensemble Instruction: Student, Teacher, and Observer Views

“…Numerous researchers have found that delivery skills are important for effective music instruction (Hamann et al, 2000;Hamann & Gillespie, 2012;Johnson et al, 2008;Silvey, 2013). Similarly, the findings I have presented in the present study reinforce the need for inservice and preservice teachers to develop delivery skills.…”

“…Research specific to nonverbal instruction in the music classroom encompasses topics related to perceptions of effectiveness (Johnson, Darrow, & Eason, 2008;Silvey, 2013;VanWeelden, 2002), teacher intensity (C. K. Madsen, Standley, & Cassidy, 1989;Yarbrough, 1975), conducting (Byo & Austin, 1994;Worthy, 2006), and modeling (Dickey, 1991;Sang, 1998). Investigations of co-verbal instruction are fewer in number.…”

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

“…Both groups reported higher expression ratings for the performances lead by the high expression conductor. Regardless of the type of conductor gesture (positive or negative), observers have reported significantly higher expressivity ratings of their perception of a performance under the direction of expressive conductors compared to neutrally expressive conductors (Silvey, 2013). Although some studies have struggled to find relationships between a conductor's expressive gesture and expression in an ensemble's performance (Price & Chang, 2005;Sidoti, 1990), student musicians have reported a higher preference for an expressive conductor over a conductor with no expressive gestures (Price & Winter, 1991).…”

“…Even each gaze and facial movement from the conductor can be expressive signals sent to the performers (Poggi, 2002). Although each conductor brings her own musical and instructional gestures to the music creation environment (Garnett, 2005), a wealth of research has found that expressive conducting gestures leads to higher ratings of an expressive performance (Grechesky, 1985;House, 2000;Morrison, Price, Geiger, & Cornacchio, 2009, Silvey, 2013. Morrison and Silvey (2012) investigated the effects of conducting expressivity on choral ensemble evaluation.…”

Korlederens kompetanse, utdanning og praksis – konturene av en meta-teori

“…Forskning på gestikk -dirigentens bevegelser -handler dels om å forstå underliggende virkningsmekanismer, saerlig det som er knyttet til synkronisering av ensemblet (Burger et al, 2014;Luck & Nte, 2008;Luck & Sloboda, 2008;Luck & Toiviainen, 2006). Andre er opptatt av gestikkens ekspressive funksjon (Byo, 1990;Morrison et al, 2014), hvordan gestikken kan understøtte sangernes vokalteknikk (Fuelberth, 2003), eller hvilket kroppsaspekt som virker -hender, blikk og kroppsholdning (Silvey, 2013;Van Weelden, 2002;Wöllner, 2008). Alan Gumm (2018) har undersøkt gestikkens ulike funksjoner og hvordan disse samspiller i dirigentens musikalske ledelse.…”