Muslcae SclentlaeFall 2001, Vol V, n" 2, 235-256

C 2001 by ESCOM European Societyfor the Cognitive Sciences of Music

The role of the body in the production andperception of solo vocal performance:

A case study of Annie Lennox

JANE W DAVIDSONMusic Department, University of Sheffield

ABSTRACTThe work described in this paper interprets the body movements of singers inan attempt to understand the relationships between physical control and themusical material being performed, and the performer's implicit and explicitexpressive intentions. The work builds upon a previous literature which hassuggested that the relationship between physical execution and the expression ofmental states is a subtle and complex one. For instance, performers appear todevelop a vocabulary of expressive gestures, yet these gestures - thoughperceptually discreet - co-exist and are even integrated to become part of thefunctional movement of playing. Additionally, there is the matter of how bothmusical and extra-musical concerns are coordinated between performer, co-performers and audience using body movements. A case study shows how, inthe interaction between body style, musical expression and communicationmovements of both an individual and culturally-determined style are used. Manyof these performance movements have clear functions and meanings; tocommunicate expressive intention (for instance, a sudden surge forwards tofadlitate the execution of a loud musical passage, or a high curving hand gestureto link sections of the music during a pause); to communicate to the audience orco-performers a need for co-ordination or participation (for example, noddingthe head to indicate "now" for the audience to join in a chorus of a song; orexchanging glances for the co-performer to take over a solo); to signal extra-musical concems(for example, gesturing to the audience to remain quiet): and topresent information about the performer's personality, with their individualizedcharacteristics providing important cues (muted contained gestures, or largeextravagant gestures, for example); to show off to the audience. From theseresults a theory is developed to explain how gestural elements help to make aperformance meaningful.

;;135

BACKGROUND I

PERFORMANCE SI

The role of the bodyJANEW DAVIDSON

improved. Obviously, excessive arousal is undesirable because it can lead to anxietyand a loss of physical and mental control in the performance (Wilson, 1997).Therefore, a mental and physical preparation which aims to control or optimisearousal is another important skill for performance.

As well as arousal, "focus, energy, and inspired-feelings" have been reponed,Cziksentmihalyi (1990) described this as "flow".Although there is not necessarily arelationship between "flow" and arousal, it seems that "flow", like optimal arousal,is a desired and important pan of producing a positive feeling for the musicianbecause it can produce creative insight and spontaneity.

Musical performance is also a social act, and, whether real or virtual (in therecording studio), an audience is critical in shaping the performance event. Co-performers too influence the ways in which a performance is negotiated andpresented to that audience (see Davidson, 1997).

SOCIAL FACILITATION EFFEcrSTriplett noted in 1897 that racing cyclists achieved faster times when they wereracing against each other rather than when they raced against the dock. Manyexperiments have shown the facilitating effectsof co-action on human performance.In pan this effect is accounted for by the merepmmu of another person eliciting anarousal response (Zajonc, 1965), but it is Cottrell's (1972) learned evaluation

hypoth~sis which accounts for current belief this suggests that facilitation dependsupon a positive cognitive appraisal which is accompanied by concomitantphysiological features such as increased heart-rate and visual acuity. Appraisal canvary depending on the performer's mood state at a given point in time and onwhether or not co-performers are trusted. Indeed, the adage "a trouble shared is atrouble halved" is appropriate here.

SOOAL DISPLAYAND THE CUEING OF CODES: ETIQUETTE AND CONTEXTThe behaviour of co-performer and performer-audience will depend upon thecommunication of information. Since it is principally the music itself which is to becommunicated, performers and audience need to be able to "share" in the musicalcode - a view supported by a strong corpus of research which has shown that co-performers adapt to one another's musical intentions to create a coordinated musicalwhole (Williamon and Davidson, 2000), audiences being able to detect even smallexpressive changes to the music (Gabrielsson, 1999), and both performers andaudience having similar ideas about what the musical material is communicating(Sundberg, Fryden, and Friberg, 1995). However, the music itself is not the onlycommunicative force, for rules of socialetiquette determine how the performers andaudiences should dress and behave towards one another. Accepting the existence ofthese socio-cultural influences, it seems necessary to explore the ways in whichmoment-by-moment cues between performer, co-performers and audience areperceived and processed.

VERBAL COMMUNICATIONFrom birth, infants interact with those who look after them through vocalisedexchanges (Malloch, 1999/2000). This develops into vocal play, and eventuallyspoken language (seeStern, Hofer, Haft, and Dore, 1985 for a review). Much of thisinteraction is of a musical nature, younger children using melody and rhythm tocreate meaning in their interactions (Trevarthen, 1999/2000). As spoken languagedevelops and becomes more sophisticated, a plethora of subtle rules about whoshould lead and follow in the verbal exchanges are learned and synthesised into oureveryday and performance activities. For instance, we enjoy calland response, timinginteractions finely for empathetic, humourous or other desired effects. We knowwhen and how to interrupt someone else's speech (seeTannen, 1992). These verbalcodes are potentially useful and important in musical performance: for example, inknowing how and when to interact verbally with the audience and co-performers.

NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATIONVision is the dominant perceptual sense. At least 75% (http://www.m~ch.port.ac.

uk/af)/AVAL~arn.htm, accessedSeptember 2000) of all information is communicatedin this way; hearing coversonly 13% and touch only 6%. Also, an increasing amountof research confirms the critical role of body movements in the communicationof musical performance information. For example, audiences detect finely grainedinformation about musical expression and intention from a musician's bodymovements as well as from the sounds (Davidson, 1993, 1994). This is notsurprising, since the body produces the musical sounds and is driven by, and itselfcues, the mental representations of the music. However, it is important to note thatnon-musicians tend to be more reliant on visual rather than musical cues to discernwhether a performer is playing with or without expression, whereas musicians canuse both sources of information successfully; though musicians also find visual cuesclearer indicators (Davidson, 1995).

Movement which comes "naturally" to the performer has largely desirable effectson how the performance is perceived. Indeed, Davidson and Dawson (1995)showed that when performers were able to make only restricted movements in themusic learning process, both sound and movement aspectsof their final performanceswere much more constrained and were perceived by the audience to be lessappealingthan when musicians were encouraged to use their bodies in their "natural"movement style. For the performers themselves, a rather complex process may be inoperation: a personal movement style may feel "natural" and re-affirming, and thusallow for an optimal feeling of satisfaction when producing the performance, butthis process could work in the opposite direction too, with a positive audienceresponse re-inforcing a particular style of movement. Of course, not all "natural"movement is positive. It may interfere with the technique of playing effectively, andit could be perceived as being awkward. It has been pointed out that a key role forteachers is to make sure that the body is being used comfortably and effectively fortechnical and expressive performer and audience effect (Gellrich, 1991).

:Z:l8

The role of the bodyJANEW. DAVlDSON

Taken together, the facts about performance suggest that it is necessary formusicians to be able to use the full potential of movements in their preparation andperformance to make music optimally communicable. Evidently, for a truly effectivecommunication with audience" and co-performers, a balance is needed between thearticulation of musical expression and co-ordination within a social convention.Thus, musicians have to acquire a successful non-verbal means of articulating theirmusical "messages".

MOVEMENT TYPES AND PERFORMANCE EXPRESSIONDavidson (l994) explored the kinds of movement that may guide observers' /listeners' perceptions of performance expression. The first study used a trackingtechnique to quantify the movements in two dimensions (up/down and forwards/backwards in relation to the keyboard), and showed the expected relationshipbetween movement size and expression: the more intense the expressive intention,the larger the movement. In the second study, observer judgements explored theextent to which different regions of the body communicated the performanceintention: demonstrating that the upper torso/head region alone was sufficient foran accurate judgement ("deadpan", "projected", "exaggerated") to be made.

In further studies Davidson (in press) asked whether information about expressiveintentions given by the pianist's movements, continuously perceptible or was limitedto particular moments within a performance. On the one hand observers reporteda cyclical body sway that continuously appeared to present expressive material. Onthe other hand clips of only two seconds of visual material, whilst making itpossible to judge the expressive intention, revealed moments which were moreobvious indicators of expressive intention than others. The latter results also showeda significant link between the detectable intentions and key musical structures,therefore it seemed likely that key structural moments (a cadence point, for instance)were the most obvious indicators of expressive intention in movement. In otherwords, a significant structural moment provided a focal point around which aspecific movement expression could be organised. This would account for the localnature of some expressive movements.

Delalande (1990) suggestS that it was the presence of audiences which led thepianist Glenn Gould to perform in public in a manner entirely different from thatwhich he adopted for sound recording sessions. Video footage reveals fluency but agreater degree of unpredictability in Gould's movements when performing in thepresence of an audience. Without an audience his movements were more fixed,rigid, and repetitive. It is possible that, in public performances, Gould was directingcommunicative intention to the audience: literally demonstrating his ideas to theaudience. Later on, perhaps, Gould was not so directly motivated to communicatesocially as when an audience had been present. This is, of course, only one possibleinterpretation of Gould's performances; it could be that other factors, such asauditory feedback, were affecting Gould. Nevertheless it raises interesting questions

239

about the critical role the performer-audience interaction in shaping the movementsand communicative intentions of the performance.

Gellrich (1991) has shown how a set of specifically learned mimetic movementsand gestures furnish a performance with expressive intention (for instance, copyinganother performer's or teacher's a lavish arm lift). He has suggested that thesegestures can have both negative and positive effects on the performance. Positively,they can provide information which assists in understanding the performance, sincethe gestures can intensify and clarify meaning even when the movement itself issuperfluous to the production of the musical whole. In other words, there can be a"surface" level of movement - a kind of rhetoric - which the performer adds tothe performance. On the negative side, if these gestures are not consistent with theintentions of the performer, they can create physical tensions which may inhibittechnical fluency, and disturb observers with the incongruity between the gestureadopted and the performance intention.

Support for Gellrich's observations about the negative consequences ofincongruous mimetic gestures is provided by Runeson and Frykholm (1983) whodemonstrated that covert mental dispositions become specified in movement andcan be detected by observers. Using the simple task of lifting a box, they askedobservers to report what they could see. They discovered that not only could thebox weight be detected but also how much that weight differed from the lifter'sexpectation. Most relevantly, attempts to give false information about the boxweight were detected by the onlookers. Thus in this case, the lifter's expectation, thedeceitful attempt, and the real weight of the box are specified.

Clearly, "surface" gestures may contribute significantly to the production andperception of a musical performance. Indeed, a further interpretation of the finding(in Davidson's study) that some two-second excerpts of the pianist's performanceswere more richly informative than others could be that mimetic gestures are used atcertain points during the performance and that these movements heightened theexpressive impact of a specific moment. For instance, a large head-shaking gesturemay have occurred which could have had its own distinguishable form yet been panof the all-pervasiveswaying movement.

Literature on the incidence of physical gestures in association with spokenlanguage (if Ekman and Friesen, 1969; Ellis and Beattie, 1986) indicates thatrepertoires of gestures emerge related to spoken meanings. It could be that the pianistin Davidson's studies had developed similar associations, specific gestures being usedfor particular musical expression; in other words, a gestural movement repertoire.Even so, ascribing a specific meaning to a particular gesture is problematic. Indeed,Davidson (1991) attempted to do this with only limited success, discovering that asingle mimetic gesture may be used in different musical contexts, so that anyattempt to match gesture, meaning and location within a musical work was oftendifficult.

This information highlights the need for more detailed investigations of howperformers present themselves on stage. We need to establish preciselyhow through

240

The role of the bodyJANEW. DAVIDSON

bodily movement and gesture, they communicate performance information to theaudience. The primary aim of the current paper was to undertake a single casestudy in order to gain a detailed account of the perception and production of aperformance. It was decided to focus on a vocalist because almost all previous studieshad been of pianists. It seemed important to deal with a different type of musicianand to examine similarities and differences. Additionally, singers' use of verbal andnon-verbal cues, many ofwhich are associated with speech provides both verbal andnon-verbal sources of information which may in turn give us a clearer picture ofthe meanings and types of communication which are operating in the performer'sinteraction with the audience. Furthermore, the extensive research literature intospoken interactions offers a theoretical basis for some of the phenomena observed insinging.

In summary, the current paper builds on previous work by attempting tounderstand the meaning of a performer's movements by relating them to the musicaland verbal content of the performance, and to determine how this information isdetected by the audience.

EsTABLISHING AN ANALYllCAL FRAMEWORK

With no exact research precedents, it was necessary first to establish appropriateanalytical tools. As a professional solo classical singer with twenty-five years of soloperforming experience, I decided to undertake a preliminary study in which Iexamined a video recording of myself performing. The song was chosen for thefollowing reasons: although short (less than one minute) it would be sufficient toproduce the data I needed; it was the piece in that recorded recital which had pleasedme most in terms ofhow I believed I had performed it (I had positive arousal/Tlow"feelings about it); the narrative was such that it seemed likely I would use bodymovements allied to this song; in the keyofG minor, it has conventional modulations,tonic cadences and a verse-chorus-verse form which makes the melody andundepinning harmonies easy to analyse and compare with the structural analysespresent in similar pieces of research ie.g: Clarke and Davidson, 1998). The song,Undenominational, is by Madeleine Dring: one of a cycle of Five Betjeman Songs(l980). John Betjemans poem is about a preacher wandering the countryside givingsermons. The recital had been given in Sao Joao da Madeira, Portugal, in 1999. Itwas recorded on VHS format with the camera set in fixed position, focusing on theperformer.

PRELIMINARY STUDY: PROCEDURE AND RESULTSI made repeated observations of the video in freeze-frame playback. From sixviewings,I extracted what I considered to be salient material. Mer listing and describing themovement types I wrote interpretations of the movements for assessment by twoindependent auditors. These assessors were experienced professional vocalists, both

:241

of whom had taught stage movement to singers. They were asked to confirm/rejecrand/or suggest alternative labels and interpretations. They did this by examining theprecise moments and verbal labels I had ascribed. This method of verification is inline with Smith (1999) who uses qualitative transcript and behavioural observation.Where there was disagreement, we negotiated and made modifications until allinterpretations were agreed. Overall, there was a very high level of agreement, withonly 17% of my initial analysis being questioned and then modified.

The verified self-analysis revealed that in my performance of the song there wasevidence of:- regular forward and backward rocking motion, shifting weight from side to side.- specific gestures expressing:

1) movements made in reaction to both the music and the text - a priest givinga sermon was portrayed with an outstretched preacher-like gesture which ended asthe music reached a cadence;

2) movements linking sections of the music or ideas between musical passages -hands in a slow-moving "begging dog" position to connect one phase-end to theopening of the next;

3) gestures with clear technical orientation - a lifting and turning hand andforearm "illustrating" the action of the soft palette lifting;

4) instructional gestures concerning musical entrances and exits: signals to theaccompanist, such as a nod of the head to indicate "now".

These movements were regarded as a combination of:a) self-stimulation or self-comfort: the rocking movement, for instance;b) performance process- to assist moment-by-moment co-ordination: i.e., makingthe performance start, remain co-ordinated and finish;c) reaction to the narrative of both the poem and the music; .d) an additional layer of narrative revealing the "story" of how the singer had beentrained to move to produce the performance. (The palette-lifting gesture, forexample, learned in singing lessons and now integrated as an expressive gesture inthis performance. Such integration suggests that these movements also act as self-stimulation.

As indicated under points 1) and 2) the movements all occurred at what mightbe regarded as "key" structural text/music moments. For instance, a large leapinginterval in the setting of the line "and spoke the word of God" had an associatedlarge and upward-moving gesture illustrating the narrative. This observationprovided some confirmatory evidence of a link between expression and musicalstructure in singers' as well as instrumentalists' interpretations. But, most significantly,the types of gestures used seemed to fit with labels for conversation gestures madeby Ekman and Freisen (1969). These are as follows:- Adaptive gestures assisting self-stimulation, which might be regarded as movementsdisplaying "inward focus" and being expressions of inner mental states;- Regulatory gestures assisting co-ordination with the co-performer (here a pianist)which are of an "outward focus";

242

The role of the bodyJANE W. DAVIDSON

- Illustrative and emblematic gestures assisting expression of the poem's narrativewhich could be regarded also as movements with an "outward focus"; here, themovement being primarily to convey the narrative to the audience.Thus, as a preliminary step, an analysis of a performance of Undenominational;examining both words and music together and applying Ekman and Freisen's labels,produced some useful understanding of the movements a singer makes, and ofwhy these movements may have occurred as the did at particular points in theperformance.

Of course, I could have undertaken a follow-up study to Undenominational tosee whether or not similar movements occurred acrossdifferent types ofperformance,or whether indeed different performers used similar movements at similar points inthe music. These would have been appropriate and they are important areas forfurther study, but my preliminary investigation had the sole aim of definingappropriate analytical tools, and so I decided to pursue the questions ofwhere, whenand how singers use bodily movement for communicative ends by means of a casestudy of another performer.

Since I did not want to restrict myself to the analysis of classical singing, Idecided to make a case study of performances given by the pop singer AnnieLennox at a live concert in Central Park, New York, U.S.A. (1995) singing Who!that girl? by The Eurthymics (1983), (video reference BMG 74321 333213). Thischoice was made partly to see whether or not a popular-music performer draws onsimilar types of movement, but principally to determine the extent to which theperformer may have taken audience perception and participation into account. Inthe case of Undenominational; it was clear that the audience was being "performedto", but the audience was not obviously participating in the performance. Thisseemed to be the consequence of twO factors: first that the song was part of theclassical tradition in which audiences are expected to remain relatively passive; andsecondly, that singer and pianist were on a platform and raised above, and physicallyremote from, the audience.

ANNIE LENNOX ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

The analysisand verification processwas identical to that employed in the preliminaryinvestigation, and used the same two experienced validators. The song Who! thatgirl? is in a typical popular form, with a short introduction and bridging sectionbetween the verses and choruses. The harmony is diatonic - C minor - withconventional cadences at section endings. Although of an entirely different musicalstyle, it has a musical vocabulary and structure similar to the song of the preliminaryinvestigation.

An analysis of the singer's gestures used in this 1995 interpretation of the songreveals many of the elements found in Undenominational For example, gestureswere always synchronised with the text and musical phrasing. All were terminated at

243

phrase ends. unless the purpose was to hold the audience's or the co-performers'attention. Gestures could be described largely according to Ekman and Freisen'slabels ofadaptor, regulator, illustrator and emblem, and within this framework thesegestures operated to present the singer's interpretation of the song's narrative to theaudience, and to co-ordinate with her co-performers. The lyrics with accompanyingmusical features of the song and a brief explanation of the gestures with their labelsare shown in Table 1.

Table 1The location of expressive gestures with their labels shown in terms of

their placement according to the lyrics of Who's that girl? by The Eurythmics,sung by Annie Lennox In 1995

L.yrlcs and musical descriptionSILENCE AND STILLNESS

Verse 1The language of love slips from my lover's t~ngue(Establishing tonic, descending phrase, intocadence on low held note)

Cooler than ice cream and warmer than the sun(Transitional phrase over tonic pedal withornamented passing note vocal)Dumb hearts get broken just like china cups(Leap of Ih to high tonic, with broader sweeping descendingphrase, strong crotchet pulse)

The language of love has left me broken on the rocks(Variant on opening phrase, but this time rising to 4thbefore falling back to tonic.)SILENCE AND STILLNESS

But there's just one thing I really want to know(Extended arched phrase on V(sus)-I cadence)

ChorusWho's that girl running around with you?(Largely VI section, increased tempo,with heavily ornamented phraes ends)Tell me, who's that girl running around with you?(Step-wise rising figure, falling and ornamentedphrase end on tonic)WALKING AROUND, LOOKING AT AUDIENCE

244

Gesture descriptor

'DISPLAY' - tantalisinglypausing before starting to sing

Adaptor-open hand, relaxed armRegulator- interacting arm movementpunctuating audience's recognitionat the song

Emblem- touches hand on heart as ansymbol of being caressed by sun

ttlustrstor- hand gesture showingbreaking movementAdaptor- head nodding in response torhythm of the music

Adaptor- arm flops against side andrests in a comtortable position.

'DISPLAr turns away from audience,then tums back to direct question tothem

Regulator-pauses the backingmusicianslIIustrator- uses index finger toindicated 'one thing'Regulator- controls ownmusical cue

Regulator - brings band inAdaptor- head shaking to self

lIIustrator- showing audience the'running' and disgust felt.

'DISPLAY'

Verse 2The language of love has left me stony grey

Tongue-tied and twisled at me price I've had 10 pay

Your careless notions have silenced these emotions

Look at alilhe foolishness your lover's lalk has done

ChorusWho's that girl running around with you?with Te/l me, who's that girl running around with you?

But there's just one thing ...Just one thing ...

And I really want to know...

The role of the bodyJANEW. DAVIDSON

/lustrator- showing inner desolation ofbeing 'stony grey' in outstretched hand

'OISPLA Y" - nods to audience, smiling

RegUlator- arm gesture to bandEmblefn, hand on heart

Emblem - hand on heart

'OISPLAY" - dancing for audience andco-performers

'OISPLAyo- slides onto kneesIllustrator - hand/facial expression inline with narrative content, gesturing'one thing'

'OISPLAY' - dancing with co-performers, getting audience to join inthe singing/dancing

In addirion ro the non-verbal behaviours related directly ro the communicarionof the song, some upper-case descriptions presented in Table 1 indicate that AnnieLennox also employed other types of movemenr that were used purely for audiencedisplay or "showing off" purposes. Typically these involved deliberate attempts tostimulate audience participation: they had norhing to do wirh the song's narrative.For instance, in rhe second chorus, Annie Lennox dances playfully wirh her co-performers and comes to the Front of the srage, lirerally asking the audiencemembers near the stage ro clap along in rime wirh the singing. Indeed, throughoutrhis section makes gestures which are clearly aimed at "seducing" her co-performersand rhe audience.

In interpreting Annie Lennox's stage actions it is useful to draw on Frirh's (1996)analysis of pop singers' behaviour. He noted that rhe pop singer constantly negotiatesthree differenr forms of "self": communicaror of the song's narrarive; "pop star" withassociated culturally defined behaviours; and inrimare self in the public forum. Itbecomes evident, in light of this, that Annie Lennox is playing the role of "star" inher use of "display gestures". She is a narrator-interprerer in her use of illustratorsand emblems. Intimate self concern is present in her use of adaptors. Of course, theparticular selection of illustrators, emblems and the display gestures are specificallyrelated to her and her experiences, and therefore also indicate critical informationabout Annie Lennox. The key difference between the types of gestures used seemsto be that the adaptiv( gestures seem to display inner personal states whereas thedisplay and illustratiudemblematic gesrures are more externally and audience-orienred.

The display found in Annie Lennox's performance is quite differenr fromanything seen in the performance of Undenominational: Arguably, the stature of rhe

245

performer has a mediating effect (the author is a relatively unknown opera singer,whereas Annie Lennox is "World-famous") and the performance contexts and stylesof music are different. Of course, anecdotally we known that classical singers canand do engage in "display behaviour". For instance, Luciano Pavaroni uses hishandkerchief to great effect on stage to illustrate both his appreciation of theaudience (waving to them with it) and the physical effon exerted in his performance(wiping his brow). In fact, it is likely that all performers engage in some form of"display" since Western performance clearly involves elements of impressing,entertaining, and amusing the observers (see the discussion of Glenn Gould in theintroduction to this study). However, the current investigation shows, that theperformer can vary the kind ofengagement he/she has with the audience, alternatingbetween outward and inward focus and concerns of narration and pure display.

Cook (2000) has argued that the movements of a musical performance showhow music and action combine to create a "different" work, not simply a piece ofmusic: rather, a performance "multi-media", as Cook terms it. The analyses presentedin this article provide evidence that body movements employed by singers add adimension to the performance which allows for different levels of interpretation,some connected with the content of the song, others to do more with the individualperformer and how she wishes to engage with audience and co-performers. Mostsignificantly though, this paper has provided an opportunity for the meaning of thephysical gestures used in musical performance to be given labels in a manner notpreviously attempted. Technqiue and fluency are vital aspects of every performance,but performers must also consider how they present themselves as:- communicators interacting with co-performers to regulate the performance so thatit remains unified;- interpreters of the narrative or expressive/emotional elements of the work;- people with individual experiences and behaviours;- public figures whose aim it is to interact with and entertain the audience.

All of these factors highlight the range of skills involved in performance and helpus to understand the kind of information being communicated in performance.It was recalled, however, that Davidson (1991) had recorded repeat performancesof the same piece of music by a pianist and found that different types of gesturehad been used across performances, though the points at which these gesturesoccurred within the musical structure had always been consistent. The pianist's lackof knowledge of his expressive intentions made it impossible to say why his gestureshad varied from one performance to another. With this in mind, and realisingthat the narrative of Annie Lennox's song, along with the strong influence of theperformance context, could give some insight into why the same or differentmovements might be used in different performances of the same piece, I undertooka further analysis ofAnnie Lennox singing Whos that girl? On this occasion, I useda recording from 1999 ofa live performance at London Docklands (video reference:BMG 74321 743473).

:1146

The role of the bodyJANEW. DAVIDSON

Table 2The location of expressive gestures with their labels shown in terms of their

placement according to the lyrics of Who's that girl? by The Eurythmics,sung by Annie Lennox in 1999

Lyrics and musical description

SILENCE AND STILLNESS

Verse ,The language of love slips from my lover's longue(Establishing tonic, descending phrase, intocadence on low held note)

Cooler Ihan ice cream and warmer Ihan the sun(Transitional phrase over tonic pedal withornamented passing note vocal)Dumb hearts gel broken jusllike china cups(Leap of Ih to high tonic, with broader sweeping descendingphrase, strong crotchet pulse)The language of love has left me broken on Ihe rocks(Variant on opening phrase, but this time rising to i hbefore falling back to tonic.)SILENCE AND STILLNESS

Bullhere's jusl one thing I really want to know(Extended arched phrase on V(sus)-I cadence)

ChorusWho's that girl running around with you?(Largely V-I section, increased tempo,with heavily ornamented phraes ends)Tell me, who's that girl ninning around with you?(Step-wise rising figure, falling and omamentedphrase end on tonic)

WALKING AROUND, LOOKING AT AUDIENCE

Verse 2The language 01love has left me stony grey

Tongue-tied and twisted at the price I've had to pay

Your careless notions have silenced these emolions

Look at alilhe foolishness your lover's lalk has done

247

Gesture descriptor

'DISPLAY' - pause before starting tosing

Emble~arms in 'oriental shape'RegUlator- interacting arm movement

RegUlator-co-ordianting with bandAdaptor- arm in relaxed pose

Emblem- 'oriental shape'

Emblem- 'oriental shape'

'DISPLAY'- tums away from audience,then turns back to direct question tothem

Regulator -oauses the backingmusiciansIllustrator - uses index finger toindicated 'one thing'Regulator- controls ownmusical cue

Regulator - brings band inAdaptor- head shaking to self

lIIustrator- showing audience the'running' and disgust fell.

'DISPLAY'

/lustrator- showing inner desolation ofbeing 'stony grey' in outstretched hand

'DISPLAr - nods to audience, smiling

Regulator- arm gesture to bandEmblem-hand on heart

Emblem hand on heart

ChorusWho's that girl running around with you?with Tell me, who's that girl running around with you?

But there's just one thing ...Just one thing...

And I really want to know...

'OISPLA Y" - dancing for audience andco-performers

'OISPLAY' - slides onto knees//Iustrator - handlfacial expression inline with narrative content, gesturing'one thing'

'OISPLAY' - dancing with co-performers, gelling audience to join inthe singing/dancing

Table 2 shows the lyrics, text and gesturesemployed. If this performance is consideredwithout reference to the other, it is evident that gestures were always synchronisedwith text and musical phrasing. The gestures fit the labels of adaptor, regulator,illustrator, emblem, and the audience display movements. The most provocative ofme display gestures occurs at the end of verse one when Annie Lennox sustains along note on the word "really" and makes a gesture with her hand which clearlysignals an impressive achievement - to which the audience responds by cheeringand applauding.

If Tables 1 and 2 are compared, it is immediately apparent mat there is a highlevel of consistency between the two performances in the points at which theexpressive gestures occur. (All 24 locations in Table.2 matching identically those inTable 1.) This is not that surprising, given the link between musical structure, lyricand expression already found in the first interpretation.

Table 3 summarises the percentages of the different types of gesture used in eachperformance.

Table 3The percentages of gestures used In 1995 and 1999 performances

of Who's that girl?, sung by Annie Lennox.

Gestures used 1995 performance 1999 performance

Adaptors 17"10 8%

RegUlators 21 "10 25"10

Illustrators 21"10 17%

Emblems 12"10 21%

Display 29% 29"10

:148

The role of the bodyJANEW.DAV1DSON

The 1999 performance has 11% more emblematic gestures than the 1995 one,and adaptive gestures are 9% greater in 1995. Regulators and illustrators differ byonly 4% between the rwo performances, display gestures appear in exactly the sameproportions. It could be that the proportions of adaptive and emblematic gesturesare the key to understanding the differences between the two interpretations.Perhaps these differences represent some sort of compensation? If there are moreadaptive gestures, will there be fewer emblematic gestures, and so on? This isspeculation, but it could be worth pursuing, for in virtually every other way theperformances are strikingly similar: engaging in "display" with the audience; usingillustrators to demonstrate the literal content of the text and music; using regulatorsto co-ordinate interactions with co-performersand, to some degree, with the audience.

My own and the validators' qualitative comments on the two interpretations maygo some way to explaining the difference between the quantities of adaptive andemblematic gestures in the two interpretations. All three of us commented that thefirst performance seemed "very personally expressive". The higher percentage ofadaptive gestures by comparison with the second interpretation may account for thisperception. The second performance appeared more "controlled and choreographed";again this could be the result of the greater use of emblems.

The emblems of the second performance centre upon a single gesture whichincludes an upward and slightly outstretched hand movement rather like amovement which might be found in classical Chinese dancing. The gesture is at itsstrongest through the line "Dumb hearts are broken just like China cups", and insome way it is illustrative of the cups, but perhaps more critically, the gesture canbe interpreted as an emblem of the temptation presented by the "other woman"mentioned in the song lyric: "Who's that girl running around with you?".Additionally, the gesture also suggests symbolism presented in cultural ideas ofOrientalism, such as temptation and sexual intrigue (for a full discussion of theconcept of Orientalisrn see Said, 1995). Of course, these are only speculativeinterpretations of the gesture, but they do suggest the possibility of an idea beyondthe literal meaning of the song text can result in a dominant use of emblems in oneof the interpretations.

It is certain that the different uses of emblem and adaptors in the rwointerpretations makes their meanings different. Thus, as a preliminary finding, itcould be said that, in the different uses of adaptors and emblems, we may find thekey [0 understanding expressive interpretation more generally.

CONCLUSIONS

This study has shown that a wide range of expressive information is present in andcan be drawn from the bodily gestures of a performer. The current findings add [0the existing literature in that they demonstrate how different types of gesture areused in different proportions and seemingly for different purposes. This helps us to

249

understand what an individual interpretation means. Particularly significant is thefact that movements of different types are integrated with all other aspects of aperformance. Indeed, Cook's term "musical multi-media" is useful not only becauseit indicates that many channels can provide different sources of information but alsobecause this information can be perceived as contributing to a whole concept: theperformance.

The study shows how critical gestures are in the presentation and perception ofmusic. In parricular, through the discovery that different types of gestures are usedfor specific co-performer and audience engagement, it underscores the role of socialinteraction in the construction of a performance. It could well be that socialfacilitation not only promotes the use of these gestures, bur also that these gesturesassist the performer to experience the facilitating effect of the audience and co-performers. For example, the hand gesture used on the word "really" at the end ofverse one in Annie Lennox's 1999 performance nor only stimulates the audience tocheer her achievement, but that this encouragement may assist her to hold the notefor even longer. Arguably, the gesture would not have been used at all had theaudience not been present. An additional and related interpretation of this kind ofdisplay hand gesture is noted by Repp (1997). He suggests that in live performance,especially of particularly well-known pieces, variation and a lack of predictabilitybecomes an important feature of creating a "stimulating" performance for performerand audience in order to maintain interest.

This paper has also tried to show how movements connected with self and self-adaptation may be juxtaposed with those which to do with pure social display.Thus,we find an alignment of different aspectsof selfand self-projection. Having discoveredthese different levelsof presentation, it becomes necessary to ask whether the berterperformers are those who know how to manipulate these elements of intimate andpublic presentation of self. This question is certainly one that needs to be pursued,and one that trainers and educators need to take seriously. Given that the movementscan be de-constructed, it might well be that appropriate gestures could be taught forspecific expressive and communicative effects. Evidently much of this goeson anyway- for instance, in Undenominational a gesture stemming from a common practicein vocal training was discovered - but a more formalised manner of instructioncould be developed. Allied to this, it is evident that all performance information iscommunicated to some degree through body movement, therefore, the body mustbe a key element in the development of performance abilities.

In summary. this paper has demonstrated that movements are of the followingtypes: purely biomechanical (they can only occur when the body is free and ready touse them), individual (each person has his or her own style) and culturally-determined(some of the movements are learned through imitation ofothers' behaviour in certaincontexts, and so have common presentations within the cultural context).

It is important to note that some performance movements have no specific valuefor audiences as interpretative cues but are the by-product of psycho-physical, social

:ISO

The role of the bodyJANEW. DAVlDSON

and cultural practices surrounding performance: for example, standing rooted onboth feet to be able to sing better. Although the audience may not "read" such cuesin their assessment of the performance, taken together it is likelythat such movementsdo add to the style and content of the performance. An anecdotal example of this isthe countertenor Andreas Scholl who invariably sings with his feet wide apart, in a"ready-for-action" athletic stance.

A final point which has not been addressed directly, bur which could prove to besignificant is that gestural communications might need to be presented at some sortof optimal level: perhaps in the proportions indicated in the Annie Lennox case.These proportions might be different from production and perception perspectives.For example, it could be that too many movements create an overly exaggeratedperformance; or too few movements lead to the perception ofa stilted performance.

Clearly, more detailed study is necessary if the validity of these concepts is towithstand criticism. For instance, the study needs to be replicated with otherperformers to see if similar results are obtained. In particular, it is necessary toestablish if similar percentages of emblematic and adaptive gestures are used.

Additional techniques need to be developed to verifyand validate the descriptors.For example, for comparison and control purposes it may be possible to comparemovements labelled as "meaningful" with those which seem to be random orwithout purpose. Building from the casestudy, large scale quantitative studies basedon estimates of the significance of performance movements might be undertaken,with a factor analysis perhaps demonstrating broad categories which may line upwith what has already been specified in the current qualitative data.

Additionally, it would be important to know how these gestures emerge duringthe practising period and whether or not movements made in a premiere performanceof a piece are similar to those used in a performance of a well-established piece.Greater knowledge of how a new, as opposed to a familiar, piece is learned could, atthe same time, provide valuable understanding of how gestures are developed-,

(2) Address for correspondence:Jane W. DavidsonCentre for Research In Musical Performance and PerceptionDepartment of Music,University of SheffieldSheffield 510 2TNUKe-mail: j.w.davidson@sheffield.ac.uk

251

REFERENCES

Clarke, E.C, & Davidson, J. w: (1998). The body in performance, In w: Thomas (ed.),Compositio - Pnforma7lu- Reception (pp. 74-92). Aldershorn Ashgare,

Cook, N. (2000). Demise of the Work Ethic: Jimi Hendrix's Improvisation as Performance An.Pap" pmmudat th~ RuyalMusicalAssociation C07lftrmu: Pnforma7lu2000, Universityof Southampton, April.

Cottrell, N. B. (1972). Social facilitation. In C. G. McClintock (ed.), Experimental socialpsychology (pp. 131-69). New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.

Cziksentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: Tb psychology ofoptimalexperience. New York: Harper & Row.Davidson, J. w: (1991). Theperception ofexpressioe movement i71 music pnforma7lu. Unpublished

doctoral dissertation. City University, London.Davidson, J. W:(1993). Visual perception of performance manner in the movements of solo

musicians. Psychology ofMusic, 21, 103-13.Davidson, J. w: (1994). Which areas of a pianist's body convey information about expressive

intention to an audience? JournalofHuman Mouemen: Studi~s, 26, 279-301.Davidson, J. w: (1995). What does the visual information contained in music performances offer

the observer? Some preliminary thoughts. In R. Steinberg (ed.), The Music Machi~:Psychophysiology and Psychopathology of th~ S"IS~ ofMusic (pp. 103-15), Heidelberg,Germany: Springer.

Davidson, J. w: (in press). Understanding the expressive movements of a solo pianist.Musikpsychologi~, 16.

Davidson, J. W., & Dawson, J. C (1995). The development of expression in body movementduring learning in piano performance. C07lftrmuProcudi7lgr ofMusic Perception andCognition C07lf"mu, B"k~ky.Ju7ldp. 31). Berkeley, CA: University of California.

Delalande, F. (1990). Human movement and the interpretation of music, Pap" pmmud a th~S~cond International Colloquium 071 th~ Psychology ofMusic, Ravello, Italy.

Ekman, P., & Friesen, W.V. (1969). The repertory of nonverbal behaviour: Categories, origins,usage, and coding. Smziotica, 1, 49-98.

Ellis, A., & Beattie, G. (1986). The Psychology of La7lguag~ a7ld Communicetian: London:Weidenfield and Nicolson.

Evans, A. (1994). Thesecrets ofmusical c07lfidmc~. London: Thornsons.Frith, S. (1996). Pnforma7luRites. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Gabrielsson, A. (1999). The performance of music. In D. Deutsch (ed.), Thepsychology ofmusic

(pp. 501-602). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.Gabrielsson, A., & juslin, P. N. (1996). Emotional expression in music performance: Between the

performer's intention and the listener's experience. Psychology ofMusic, 24, 68-91.Gellrich, M. (1991). Concentration and Tension. British JournalofMusic Education; 8, 167-79.Juslin, P. N. (2001). Communication of emotion in music performance: Vicarious functioning of

expressivecues. In P. N. Juslin and J. A. Sloboda (eds), Music a7ld emotion: Theory andm~arch. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Malloch, S. N. (1999/2000). Mothers and infants and communicative musicality. Music Scimti4,Special Issue, 29-57.

Palmer, C (1997). Music performance. A7I7Iual &vkw ofPsychology, 48, 115-38.Repp, B. (1997). The aesthetic quality of a quantitatively average music performance: rwo

preliminary experiments. MusicPerception, 14, 419-44.2S2

The role of the bodyJANEW.DAVIDSON

Runeson, S., & Frykholm, G. (1983). Kinematic Specification of Dynamics as an informarionalbasis for person-and-action perception: Expectations,gender, recognition, and deceptiveintention. JournalofExp",immtal Psychology: Gm",al112, 585-615.

Said, E. W (1995). Orientalism: London: Penguin.Shaffer, L.H. (1984). Timing in solo and duet piano performances. Quart",/y Journal of

Exp",immtal Psychology, 36A, 577-95.Smith, ].A (1999). Identity development during the transition to motherhood: an inrerprerarive

phenomenological analysis. Journal of &productilJf and Infant Psychology, 17 (3),281-99.

Stern, D. N., Hofer, L., Han, W, & Dore, ]. (1985). Affecr atrunemenn rhe sharing offeelingstares between mother and infant by means of imermodal fluency. In T. N. Field andN. Fox (eds), Socialperception in infants (pp. 345-377). Norwood, N]: Ablex,.

Sundberg, ]., Fryden, L., & Friberg, A. (1995). Expressive aspecrs of instrumental and vocalperformance. In R. Sreinberg (ed.), Music and thf mind machine: Tbepsychophysiologyand psychopathology ofthf sense ofmusic(pp. 49-62). New York: Springer.

Tannen, D. (1992). That's not what I meant! Reading: Virago.Todd, N. P. (1985). A model of expressive riming in ronal music, Music Perception, 3, 33-58.Trevarrhen, C. (1999/2000). Musicality and the intrinsic motive pulse: evidence from human

psychobiology and infanr communication. Music.r Scientie; SpfcialISSUf, 155-211.Williamon, A, & Davidson,]. W (2000). Coordinaring duo piano performance. In C. Woods,

G. B. Luck, R. Brochard, S.A O'Neill and l.A Sloboda (eds), Promdings ofthf SixthInternational Conftrmcf on Music Perception and Cognition [CD-ROM). Keele,Staffordshire, UK: Deparrment of Psychology.

Wilson, G. D. (1997). Performance anxiety, In D. Hargreaves and A. North (eds), The socialpsychology ofmusic (pp, 229-48). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Zajonc, R. B. (1965). Social faciliration. Science; 149, 269-74.

253

EI papel del cuerpo en la producclon y percepci6n de lainterpretaci6n vocal solista: un caso de estudio: Annie Lennox

Este trabajo describe la interpretaci6n de los movimientos corporales de loscantantes en un intento de entender las relaciones entre el control fisico y el materialmusical que es interpretado, y las intenciones impHcitas y explicitas del interprete.EI trabajo se ha elaborado partiendo de lecturas previas que sugieren que larelaci6n entre ejecuci6n fisica y expresi6n mental se revela sutil y compleja. Parejernplo, los interpretes acostumbran a desarrollar un vocabulario de gestosexpresivos, y estosgestos - aunque perceptivamente discretos - coexisten y sonintegrados, incluso hasta convertirse en parte del movimiento funcional delmterprete. De manera adidonal esta la cuesti6n de c6mo se coordinan elementosmusicales y extramusicales entre el solista, los otros lnterpretes y la audiencia,empleando movimientos corporales. EI caso de estudio muestra c6mo sonempleados en la interacci6n entre estilo corporal, expresi6n musical y movimientoscomunicativos de ambos en un estilo individual y condidonado culturalmente.Muchos de estos movimientos interpretativos tienen clara funci6n y significado:comunicar una intenci6n expresiva (por ejemplo, un repentino saito para facilitarla ejecuci6n de un pasaje agudo, 0 un gesto de curva con la mana para unirsecciones de rnuslca durante una pausa): comunicar a la audiencia 0 a los otrosinterpretes una necesidadde coordinaci6n 0 participaci6n (por ejemplo, asentir canla cabeza para indicar "ahara" a la audiencia para unirse en el estribillo de unacanci6n; 0 intercambiar miradas con los otros interpretes para hacer un solo);seiialar elementos extra-musicales (por ejernplo, hacer gestos a la audiencia paraque permanezcan quietos): y presentar informaci6n sobre fa personalidad delmterprete, can sus caracteristicas individuales, proporcionando importantes daves(gestos mudos y contenidos 0 amplios gestos extravagantes, por ejemplo) paralucirse ante el auditorio. Partiendo de estes resultados se desarrolla una teoria quemuestra c6mo los gestos ayudan a hacer significativa una interpretaci6n.

II ruolo del corpo nella produzlone e nella percezionedl una interpretazlone vocale solistica: studio del caso di Annie Lennox

IIlavoro descritto in questa saggio interpreta i movimenti corporei de; cantanti neltentativo di comprendere Ie relazioni che intercorrono fra controllo fisico emateriale musicale eseguito, nonche Ie intenzioni espressive implicite ed esplicitedell'interprete. IIlavoro st fonda su una precedente letteratura, che suggeriva comela relazione fra esecuzione fisica ed espresslone di stati mentali sia sottile ecomplessa. Ad esempio, gli interpreti sembrano sviluppare un vocabolario di gestiespressivi, ma tali gesti - pure se percepiti come discreti - co-esistono e vengonoperfino integrati fino a diventare parte del movlmento funzionale del suonare.Inoltre, c'e iI problema di come entrambi gli ambiti musicale ed extra-musicalevengano coordinati fra interpreti, co-interpreti e pubblico mediante i movimenticorporei. Lo studio di un caso specifico mostra come, nell'interazione fra stile

:154

The role of the bodyJANEW.DAVIDSON

corporeo, espressione musicale e comunicazione vengano utilizzati movimenti diuno stile sia individuale, sia culturalmente determinato. Molti di questi movimentiesecutivi hanno funzioni e significati chiari: comunicare intenzione espressiva (adesempio, un improwiso slancio in avanti per facilitare I'esecuzione di un passaggiomusicale particolarmente sonoro, 0 un ampio arco descritto con un gesto dellamana per collegare Ie sezioni musicali durante una pausa): comunicare al pubblicoo ai co-interpreti I'esigenza di coordinazione 0 partecipazione (ad esempio, annuirecol capo per indicare al pubblico che e iI momenta di partecipare ad un coro 0 aduna canzone; oppure scambiarsidegli sguardi con i co-interpreti per prepararsi adun assolo): segnalare fatti extra-musicali (ad esempio fare gesti al pubblico affincherimanga calmo): ed offrire al pubblico informazioni sulla personalitAdegli interpreti,con gli importanti suggerimenti forniti dalle lora caratteristiche individuali (gesticontenuti e ridotti, 0 ampi ed esagerati, ad esempio); pavoneggiarsi con iI pubblico.A partire da questi risultati e stata sviluppata una teoria per mostrare comeelementi gestuali aiutino a rendere una interpretazione significativa.

Le role du corps dans la production et la perceptionde l'executlon vocale sollste : une etude de cas d'Annle Lennox

On livre id une interpretation des mouvements corporels des chanteurs, OU sontanalysees les relations entre contrOle physique et materiau musical en coursd'executlon ainsi que Ies intentions expressives implicites et explicites del'executant, La theorte avancee prend appui sur la lrtterature existante, OU larelation entre l'execution physique et I'expression d'etats mentaux est presenteecomme un phenornene subtil et complexe. A titre d'exemple, les executantsdonnent I'impression de developper un vocabulaire de gestes expressifs, pourtantces gestes - bien que discrets au niveau de la perception - coexistent et ont eteintegres en un element du mouvement fonctionnel de jeu. Se pose en outrela question de savoir comment s'opere la coordination des elements musicauxet extra-musicaux entre l'executant, ses partenaires et Ie public qui percolt lesmouvements corporeIs. Une etude de cas montre comment, dans I'interactionentre style corporel, expression musicale et communication, des mouvements destyle a la fois personnel et determine culturellement sont utilises. Nombre de cesmouvements d'execution ont des fonctions et des sens c\'airs.: communiquerI'intention expressive. (par exemple, un mouvement brusque vers I'avant pourfaciliter l'execution d'un passage forte ou un mouvement de courbe de la mainlevee pour lier les sections de la musique durant une pause); communiquer aupublic ou aux partenaires une demande de coordination ou de participation (parexemple, un signe de t~te pour indiquer que c'est Ie moment de chanter en chceurou echanges de regard avec Ie partenaire pour entamer un solo); signaler uneinformation extra-musicale (par exemple, demander Ie silence au public d'ungeste); reveler la personnalite de l'executant, en fournissant des indices importantssur sescaracteristiques (gestesternpereset reserves ou grands gestesextravagants,par exernple); poser pour Ie public. On est ainsi conduit atheoriser les elements dela gestique ranforcant Ie sensde "execution.

255

Die Rolle des I