In Tuesday’s (8/29) Miller-McCune, Tom Jacobs writes, “Visual cues we pick up from watching musicians in action significantly influence our judgment of their playing, according to newly published research. German researchers Klaus-Ernst Behne and Clemens Wöllner present evidence that a pianist’s body language impacts how even knowledgeable listeners evaluate his or her performance. … As part of a 2009 music psychology seminar at a major music academy, they gathered 35 students—all accomplished musicians—for a study of the visual impact of piano performances. … Unbeknownst to them, the soundtracks for the videos were recorded by the same pianist. He was seen in one of the four videos; for the other three, the on-screen performer was actually a body double. … Despite the fact the soundtracks were identical, ‘Nearly all participants identified differences between the pairs of video recordings,’ the researchers report. … ‘Differences between male and female performers’ bodily communication were frequently reported [by the participants during debriefing sessions],’ the researchers write. ‘Female performers were described as using their bodies more expressively than male performers.’ This image of physical freedom and expressivity translated into ‘hearing’ more dynamic performances from the women. In contrast, the men’s physical restraint apparently led listeners to believe their performances were more technically exact.”
Posted August 31, 2011
