Emotional Expression in Drumming Performance

Abstract

Two professional drummers were instructed to play three rhythm patterns on a set of electronic drums so as to communicate specific emotions (happy, sad, angry, fearful, tender, solemn, and no expression) to listeners. Listening tests confirmed that listeners on the whole perceived the intended expressions. Analyses of the acoustic variables available to the performers (i.e. tempo, dynamics, and timing) showed characteristic patterns of cue utilisation for each intended emotion. The results are discussed in relation to earlier research on communication of emotions in music performance and non-verbal vocal expression.