Abstract
Musical communication involves performance and perception processes, both of which engage the sensorimotor system. In much of the performance science literature, however, musical communication is conceptualized as a one-way trajectory from active performer to passive listener, minimizing the contribution of the listener and the collaborative nature of communication. In this paper, we discuss how movement contributes to 1) music performance, through sound production, interperformer coordination, and visual expressivity, and 2) music perception, through the simulation of observed gestures, activation of crossmodal associations, and induction of overt synchronized responses. Embodied music cognition, which treats musical communication as a process of dynamic interaction between individuals, and emphasizes the role of the physical body in mediating between environmental stimuli and subjective experiences, provides a background for our discussion. We conclude the paper with a discussion of how ongoing technological developments are simultaneously enhancing our ability to study musical communication (e.g., via integration of optical motion capture and mobile eye tracking) and, by introducing means of performing music that do not rely on human movement, challenging our understanding of how music and movement relate.
Highlights
Music performance takes many forms in our society, but usually involves trained and practiced musicians playing for an audience
Music performance takes the form of a participatory activity that people do together as a group
Music performance provides a venue for interaction between people – some scientists hypothesize that social bonding effects, in part, encouraged the widespread evolution of music-making abilities in early humans (Fitch, 2005; Huron, 2001; Tarr, Launay, & Dunbar, 2014)
Summary
Music performance takes many forms in our society, but usually involves trained and practiced musicians playing for an audience. Music performance takes the form of a participatory activity that people do together as a group. Music performance provides a venue for interaction between people – some scientists hypothesize that social bonding effects, in part, encouraged the widespread evolution of music-making abilities in early humans (Fitch, 2005; Huron, 2001; Tarr, Launay, & Dunbar, 2014). In the performance science literature, musical communication has often been conceptualized as a one-way trajectory from (active) performer to (passive) listener. Such a perspective fails to acknowledge that music-making is an inherently social process in which (live or prospective) audiences can influence performers’ behaviour
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