Embodied Knowledge in Ensemble Performance

J.Murphy McCaleb

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2017
• ISBN:
  9781351568418
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Mezzi di comunicazione e arti performative
• Subtopic: Musica

Performing in musical ensembles provides a remarkable opportunity for interaction between people. When playing a piece of music together, musicians contribute to the creation of an artistic work that is shaped through their individual performances. However, even though ensembles are a large part of musical activity, questions remain as to how they function. In Embodied Knowledge in Ensemble Performance, Murphy McCaleb explores the processes by which musicians interact with each other through performance. McCaleb begins by breaking down current models of ensemble interaction, particularly those that rely on the same kind of communication found in conversation. In order to find a new way of describing this interaction, McCaleb considers the nature of the information being shared between musicians during performance. Using examples from postgraduate ensembles at Birmingham Conservatoire as well as his own reflective practice, he examines how an understanding of the relationship between musicians and their instruments may affect the way performers infer information within an ensemble. Drawing upon research from musicology, occupational psychology, and philosophy, and including downloadable resources of excerpts from rehearsals and performances, Embodied Knowledge provides an holistic approach to ensemble research in a manner accessible to performers, researchers and teachers.

Chapter 1
A Question of Ensemble

As the rehearsal begins, the members of my low brass trio go about their individual business of preparation. I blow air and a few random notes through my bass trombone, the french horn player oils a particularly aggravating valve and the tenor trombonist pulls her case alongside her chair so as to have a metronome and tuner at hand. upon deciding which piece we will work on, a transcription of a trio sonata by Arcangelo Corelli, we further determine the movement to play. We agree to run through it first, to give us an idea of the overall state of readiness of the movement for performance. After tuning, we settle into our performing positions: the horn player and i put our instruments to our lips and make eye contact while the tenor trombonist sits up and keeps an eye on her part. With a quiet, steady breath, we begin to play. My part, the lowest, creates a moving line against that of the more sedate horn. I bob slightly with the larger pulse and try to give a sense of line that matches the longer phrases in the other part. The trombonist joins us, her preparatory breath feeling more like a continuation of previous events than the first notes of her part. Against the lingering notes above me, i constantly try to gauge my tuning, matching up every interval so that none draw attention to themselves. Gradually, the upper two musicians expand their tone qualities, their original piano blossoming into a weightier sound. Just as they try to stay consistent harmonically, i focus on solid timekeeping, my moving line underpinning the other parts. Dissonances become a joy, and we begin to make the most of their resolutions. I can tell that the hornist and the trombonist, whose parts balance between unison, dissonance and resolution, are constantly adjusting their intonation to the sounds around them. Occasionally, we land on a chord that resonates not only our instruments, but our bodies as well – one of the great pleasures of acoustic performance. We near the end of the short movement, feeling the momentum of the piece decrease. Easing into the last few chords, my physical bobbing increases slightly as my quavers lengthen. Arriving at the final chord, we relax and feel the movement dissipate into the space around us. We end with an almost imperceptible nod, keeping our instruments up for a moment until it feels as if the piece has properly finished.

This narrative, drawn from a typical rehearsal, highlights processes that continually take place within ensemble performance. In this context, musical performance does not require a non-performing audience, simply the communal production of music. The example chosen to start this book might have come from any number of rehearsals or performances by any number of ensembles and illustrates the types of thoughts, concerns and experiences of an ensemble musician in the Western classical tradition. As a bass trombonist who has focused on chamber music performance, my understanding of what it means to create music with other people is filled with such memories and experiences. Playing music together is not a single activity, but encompasses a spectrum of processes, ranging from the more quantifiable rhythmic synchronization and adjustment of intonation to the more elusive coordination of dynamics, phrasing and interpretation. These processes are all necessary for the creation of a cohesive musical performance and are unique to performing music within an ensemble.

This book explores musical interaction as found in small ensemble performance. Although the conclusions reached through the discussions found in this text may be valid for non-Western musical traditions, complexities easily arise from attempts to generalize across multiple cultures and musical heritages. Whilst I will make efforts to point out similarities between the conclusions of my research and existing ethnomusicological literature, i must stress that my formal performance background and research specialities are in western classical music and jazz. Therefore, throughout this book I will primarily discuss ensemble interaction within Western art music. although musicians have played in ensembles as long as musical performance has been in existence and, to this day, can still teach successive musicians best practice when involved in ensembles, theoretical knowledge of the procedural underpinnings of small ensemble interaction is incomplete. Recent academic research on ensemble interaction approaches the topic from a primarily sociological stance. This work is beneficial in that it allows researchers to frame this topic within established concepts of interpersonal dynamics. That said, the uniqueness of musical groups among other collections of people is recognized by psychologists Vivienne young and Andrew Colman, who describe ensembles as ‘an unusual kind of social group whose mode of interaction involves a degree of intimacy and subtlety possibly not equalled by any other kind of group’ (1979: 12). Given the idiosyncratic nature of the interaction that takes place in musical ensembles, previous research on group performance may be considered to be the pursuit of a framework or paradigm from another field that can be applied best within a musical context. This search has provided a host of possibilities drawn from the fields of psychology,¹ sociology,² conversation studies and linguistics,³ neurology and cognitive studies,⁴ and even ergonomics.⁵ However, as will be seen, this body of literature is inadequate as the primary means of understanding musical ensembles, particularly because insufficient attention is given to the practical knowledge performers have acquired through experience within ensembles themselves.

Regardless of its apparent suitability, the wealth of interdisciplinary sources upon which this research is drawn is primarily concerned with verbal interaction between group members. Research on the balance of activities during rehearsal has noted that chamber groups tend to spend the majority of their rehearsal time playing rather than engaging in verbal discussion.⁶ The mechanisms for determining musical variables such as tempo, dynamics, intonation, phrasing and interpretation must therefore emerge during this form of social musicking. Whilst these mechanisms exist within a single musician during solo performance, ensemble performance necessitates the simultaneous consideration of these variables between multiple individuals. The emphasis that musicians give to nonverbal interaction suggests that research into ensemble interaction should accordingly focus on the communal act of making music. Therefore, I may pose the first of four research questions below.

1. How do musicians interact and share information with each other while performing?

In order to comprehensively address this question, it is necessary to identify and highlight what actually happens during ensemble musical performance. needless to say, the primary activity occurring during instrumental performance is the operation of a musical instrument.⁷ Albeit straightforward, this fundamental element has previously only been the focus of pedagogical materials specific to each instrument or family of instruments. That being said, recent research on performance has begun to investigate the cognitive frameworks underlying musicians’ actions with the intent of quantifying and categorizing physical gestures used during performance (Davidson, 2012; Godøy and Leman, 2010). From a practical perspective, however, it may be more important to identify how musical content may affect the ways that performers have to interact with their instruments instead of creating a gestural typology. A firm grasp of the relationships between musical content and the actions required in playing it is necessary to understand the practical processes integrated within ensemble performance.

This first research question makes the assumption that we know the nature and characteristics of the information being shared amongst performers. This may not be the case. Whilst one could simply say that such information pertains to the variables of the music being played, such an answer may be too general. Is the information being shared purely of a musical nature (that is to say, relating to variables such as tempo, dynamic, intonation, phrasing and interpretation) or does it involve other ‘extramusical’ elements? May this information exist in other forms or be expressed through different media? I would argue that it is impossible to fully understand the medium by which information is transferred without understanding (at least partially) the qualities of the information itself. Thus, in order to comprehensively answer the first research question, it is necessary to solidify understanding of the information being shared.

2. What is the nature of the information being shared in ensemble performance?

Regardless of the theoretical issues that surround the nature of ‘musical information’ (should such information be deemed purely musical), such information may correlate to a certain degree with the specific musical content that is being performed. If so, how may this correlation be reflected in the individual performances of each musician? it is therefore necessary to consider the phenomenological experience of individual musicians.

3. To what extent does the musical content being performed affect the ways it has to be physically created by musicians?

Consequently, the fourth research question combines elements of the first three.

4. How does the physical relationship between the performer and their instrument relate to communicative and interactive processes of ensemble performance?

By isolating the ways that individual musicians act during performance, this book investigates ensemble interaction as found in musical performance itself, rather than within verbal discussion. Therefore, it provides the basis upon which ensemble performance may be understood in a way not dependent upon the limited paradigm of verbal communication. As these research questions are contingent upon an examination of the intimate relationship between a musician and their instrument, the tacit understanding that musicians have of this interconnection must be acknowledged. Revealing propositional knowledge from within embedded procedural knowledge is further problematized by the methodological issues pertaining to capturing and comprehending human experience. This book addresses these concerns through the applied use of reflective practice, as described later in this chapter.

The research questions detailed above provide a framework for this book. Rather than structuring the book in a manner that lays out background material, hypothesis, methodology, results and discussion in a strict order, I have chosen to present my work more organically. This allows me to lead the reader through the same development of argument and thought processes that occurred within my own research. Likewise, this format provides easier reference to some of the interdisciplinary fields that are drawn upon throughout my argument, rather than simply providing a large amount of seemingly disparate background information through a literature review. Chapter 2 examines modes of communication within ensemble interaction as well as how leadership may function in this specialized social context. Through this discussion, previous sociological models that have been applied to musicological research are critiqued in addition to more fundamental concepts such as inter-performer communication in music. Chapter 3 explores the nature and kinds of information that may be shared amongst ensemble performers. By examining rehearsal language, this chapter raises questions about phenomenology of musical experience, both as a performer and listener. Progressing to the third research question, Chapter 4 focuses upon the ways in which musicians interact with their instruments, particularly considering how these interactions may be affected by individual performers’ musical intentions. This discussion requires an examination of the phenomenology of solo instrumental performance and critique of previous cognitive models. Increasingly, my research will stress that performance requires unique forms of knowledge intrinsically tied to the experience of making music. From this perspective, Chapter 5 considers the experience of the performer from within an ensemble. Drawing upon the conclusions found in the previous chapters, I examine how musicians’ individual performances may exert influences on that of their fellow ensemble members. After addressing the four primary research questions, further threads of discussion will be examined in the sixth and final chapter. In particular, I will demonstrate the ways in which the proposals found throughout this book may inform the wider sphere of research on performative musical knowledge. Similarly, the final chapter will include speculation upon the applicability of the musicological research I have conducted on the nonmusicological fields that have been drawn upon throughout the book.

This introductory chapter begins with an overview of the literature and associated academic fields that are currently at play in ensemble research of Western art music. It must be noted that this is not the place for an exhaustive review of background literature; in-depth assessment of this literature will be presented where pertinent throughout the text. Following this overview is a critique of the methods drawn upon in previous research on ensemble interaction. In light of the research questions posed at the beginning of this chapter, it is necessary to reexamine the kind of knowledge under consideration when engaging in performance studies. After clarifying the ways in which contrasting forms of knowledge will be examined within this book, an alternative methodological approach is presented that may more suitably address both my research questions and any additional epistemological concerns. I will return to this methodological approach in Chapter 6 in a critique of its efficacy and applicability to research on musical performance.

Investigating Ensemble Performance

The research questions posed in this book are designed to investigate the mechanisms of ensemble interaction in a way that benefits both active musicians and researchers. Due to this approach, these investigations often blur boundaries between academic disciplines, moving from sociology to philosophy to music theory to neurology within the same discussion. The following section outlines the fields and concepts drawn upon throughout this text so as to clarify the intellectual terrain to be explored. From this standpoint, it will be possible to critique the most common methodologies used within ensemble research and other related fields. This will lay the groundwork necessary to describe and rationalize the methodological approach used within this book. current musicological literature on ensemble interaction categorizes ensemble interaction in relation to verbal and nonverbal modes of communication, most notably described by Frederick Seddon (2005). With regard to nonverbal communication (the focus of this book), Alexander Jensenius et al. have identified four categories of gestures that may be made during performance: sound-producing, sound-facilitating, sound-accompanying and communicative (2010: 23). Communicative gestures have historically been the primary focus of research on gesture in performance and are interpreted primarily through two models. The first approach, reliant upon a linguistic model of communication, prioritizes the identification and categorization of physical gestures in a semantic manner.⁸ Therefore, conclusions regarding performers’ gestures have arisen in part from research into gestures used during speech,⁹ and have been primarily orientated toward communicative signalling between the performer and the audience (Davidson, 2005; Windsor, 2011). The second approach avoids linguistic parallels, proposing that musicians’ gestures in performance are not grounded in semantics but instead are indications of interior mental states (Elsdon, 2006). Both of these theoretical models of communication are the result of observation of video-recorded performances. As will become evident, this body of research rarely examines the effects performers’ gestures may have on their fellow musician, and when it does, it presumes a similar relationship as that between performer and audience. However, the interaction between ensemble musicians fundamentally differs from that between performer and audience in that coperformers need to coordinate and execute technical actions in order to perform effectively. Coordination of these actions requires some form of implicit or explicit transfer of information (Tovstiga et al., 2004: 9).

Adequate consideration of the first research question requires more than simply an appraisal of the physical gestures that may be used in performance. In addition, it is necessary to examine how leadership may operate within ensembles. This area of research has exclusively approached the question of musical leadership through applied sociological models such as those developed by business theorist James Burns (1978). Recalling that ensembles interact both verbally and nonverbal...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Supplementary Resources Disclaimer
• List of Figures and Tables
• List of Music Examples
• Video Examples
• Series Editors‘ Preface
• Preface
• 1 A Question of Ensemble
• 2 Beyond Communication
• 3 A Question of Content
• 4 The Process of Performance
• 5 Reaction and Inter-reaction
• 6 Reflecting on Musical Knowledge
• Select Bibliography
• Index