Technologies for investigating large ensemble performance

Abstract

Abstract Empirical research into large ensemble performance has crossed many disciplinary boundaries from music education to management studies, and has included the investigation of musicians’ interpersonal coordination and communication, group creativity and decision-making, conductors’ gestures, group musical expression, the social organization of large groups and their leadership, audience perceptions of performances, the individual and social benefits of participation, and rehearsal practices. However, there are still relatively few empirical studies of large ensemble performance, due to the social and practical factors that make it challenging to collect research data from large numbers of people engaged in a complex musical activity. Technological developments have increasingly expanded the research methods available to include sophisticated audio capture and analysis, web-based video-stimulated recall, and motion capture. This chapter discusses the challenges faced by researchers investigating large ensembles and describes some of the technological solutions that are opening up new avenues for data collection and analysis.