Dialogue and Beyond: Communication and Interaction in Ensemble Performance

King, Elaine; Gritten, Anthony

Abstract

This chapter explores the nature of dialogue in ensemble music performance, interrogating the ways in which ‘communication’ and ‘interaction’ occur in the context of rehearsal and live performance of western art music. An expanded conceptual model is proposed in which the epistemic difference between rehearsal and performance is characterized by a paradigm shift from communication (which we define as a one-way process of dialogue, illustrated by turn-taking) to interaction (a two-way process of dialogue, illustrated by reciprocity). We argue that interaction draws upon an embodied physical knowledge that is predominantly gestural and corporeal, alongside which (verbal) communication is one small contributory component. Finally, we propose that it is more propitious to understand the central role of embodied knowledge in ensemble performance in terms of interaction rather than communication.

Citation

King, E., & Gritten, A. (2017). Dialogue and Beyond: Communication and Interaction in Ensemble Performance. In J. Rink, H. Gaunt, & A. Williamon (Eds.), Musicians in the Making: Pathways to Creative Performance (306-321). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199346677.001.0001

• Online Publication Date: Dec 31, 2017
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 9, 2021
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Pages: 306-321
• Series Title: Studies in Musical Performance as Creative Practice
• Series Number: 1
• Book Title: Musicians in the Making: Pathways to Creative Performance
• Chapter Number: 15
• ISBN: 9780199346677
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/acprof%3Aoso/9780199346677.001.0001
• Keywords: Collaboration; Communication; Dialogue; Ensemble; Interaction; Knowledge; Rehearsal
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/875209
• Publisher URL: https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199346677.001.0001/acprof-9780199346677
• Contract Date: Mar 27, 2013