XVI. Individual differences in the expressive shaping of a musical phrase: The opening of Chopin’s etude in E major.
| Number | 1147 |
|---|---|
| Year | 1999 |
| Drawer | 21 |
| Entry Date | 01/14/2000 |
| Authors | Repp, B.H. |
| Contact | |
| Publication | Music, mind, and science. Edited by Suk Won Yi. Seoul National University Press |
| url | http://www.haskins.yale.edu/Reprints/HL1147.pdf |
| Abstract | [Introduction] There is great variety in the performance of the standard repertoire of Western classical music, especially in solo playing where individuality of expression can be given free rein. No two performances of the same work are exactly alike, and this is often true even for repeated renditions by the same artist. A musician must exert control over a number of expressive parameters, each of which is continuously variable, and this results in a combinatorial explosion of possibilities. Yet there are significant constraints on this variety, deriving both from the musical structure of a given work and from performance conventions that define what expressive actions are aesthetically pleasing within that structure. Diversity in performance is made possible by the indeterminacy of the musical score with regard to expressive nuances. Diversity is important because it offers listeners different perspectives of the same work and helps sustain the concert and recording industries, which are based in part on music lovers’ interest in individual artists. How do individual differences among artists arise? This is surely a complex question, but in principle one may distinguish between unintentional and intentional differences. The former are due to the different biomechanical and psychological characteristics of individual musicians, as well as their different training and musical experiences. Even if two musicians intended to play the same work in exactly the same way (in terms of their expressive goals, however they may be defined), their performances probably would not sound alike. Intentional differences among performances arise from diverging structural and expressive understandings of the music as well as from planned spontaneity in performance. Thus, one and the same artist may produce different interpretations on different occasions. Differences among performances of the same work may be thought of as arising from a dynamic system governed by two opposing forces: conventionality and individuality. On one hand, artists have a strong tendency to follow generally accepted norms; on the other hand, they have a desire to distinguish themselves from fellow musicians and say something new. Each individual artist needs to find a personal balance between these two forces. In recent years, many observers of the musical scene have deplored an increasing uniformity of performance, brought about by factors such as the wide availability of recordings, the textual fidelity instilled by musicologists, and the demise of national and local schools of performance practice. Yet, this is only a matter of degree, and individual differences certainly will never disappear from music performance. The goal of the present study was to provide an objective characterization of the nature and range of individual differences in the expressive shaping of a single phrase, drawing on a large sample of commercially recorded piano performances. The study had three parts: analyses of (1) expressive timing and (2) expressive dynamics, and (3) aesthetic evaluation of the performances. There were three main questions: (1) How many truly different expressive shapes (of timing or dynamics) are there form the phrase chosen and are these shapes categorical alternatives (such as might result from different structural interpretations) or do they rather span a continuum of possibilities? (2) What is the relationship between expressive timing and dynamics? Are they correlated or independent? (3) To what extent do aesthetic preferences among performances rest on differences in expressive timing and dynamics? Previous investigations of expressive timing (e.g.) Repp, 1992a) have suggested that there is an inverse relationship between the length of a musical passage and the relative diversity of individual performances, as assessed with correlational statistics. This is so because all artists tend to respond similarly to major structural features of the music, and the longer a piece is, the more such major features it will contain. However, within a short passage such as a single phrase, considerable individual differences may be observed, presumable due to fewer structural constraints at such a local level. It is hear that statistical analysis of performance measurements can reveal radically different expressive strategies. |
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