Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

Heuristics for expressive performance

Prior, Helen; Leech-Wilkinson, Daniel

Authors

Daniel Leech-Wilkinson



Contributors

Dorottya Fabian
Editor

Renee Timmers
Editor

Emery Schubert
Editor

Abstract

This chapter discusses concepts and terms that professional musicians find useful in preparing for and talking and thinking about expressive performance. An example is “shape,” which, as recent research has shown, is immensely flexible and useful for sharing ideas about how to generate expressive performance without having to specify exactly which sounds might be required. The word is used between musical performers with a high level of mutual understanding, as a way of communicating expressive features that are actually very difficult to articulate in more detail. Further examples of heuristics for musical expression are drawn from a recent interview study of professional musicians, and their implications are discussed. It is argued that this kind of terminology, easily dismissed as superficial or vague, is in fact precisely targeted to the nature of the task and is highly effective in use by musicians.

Citation

Prior, H., & Leech-Wilkinson, D. (2014). Heuristics for expressive performance. In R. Timmers, D. Fabian, & E. Schubert (Eds.), Expressiveness in musical performance: Empirical approaches across styles and cultures. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199659647.003.0003

Publication Date Jul 3, 2014
Deposit Date May 24, 2016
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Expressiveness in musical performance
Publisher Oxford University Press
Peer Reviewed Not Peer Reviewed
Book Title Expressiveness in musical performance: Empirical approaches across styles and cultures
ISBN 9780199659647
DOI https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199659647.003.0003
Keywords Heuristics, Expressive performance, Musical expression, Shaping, Tools
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/438642
Publisher URL http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199659647.001.0001/acprof-9780199659647-chapter-3

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations