Professional Documents
Culture Documents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I would like to thank all tutors, friends, and family who have supported me whilst
undertaking this dissertation. Special thanks go to Dr. John Cranmer and Dr. Jonelle
Daniels.
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CONTENTS
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Introduction ……………………………………………………………..3
4
The Empirical Study: A General Outline and Hypothesis…………...….4
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Chapter 1: Theories and Contexts……………………………………….6
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Chapter 2: Empirical Study: Methodology………………………...……39
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Chapter 3: Empirical Study: Results……………………………..……...54
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Chapter 4: Empirical and Theoretical Evaluation……………………….78
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Conclusion……………………………………………………………….81
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Appendices……………………………………………………………...82
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Bibliography…………………………………………………………….85
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Discography………………………………………………………….….89
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Webography…………………………………….……………….………90
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INTRODUCTION
This dissertation will investigate the relationship between mental imagery, emotion, and
emotions from music so that correlating mental images can be selected to induce
The motivation to research this topic stems mainly from influences whilst at music
whilst playing; the main purpose of this was to induce emotions within me which the
music reflected –to enhance the relationship between emotions already experienced in the
past and the harmonic structures on the page. This always resulted in more rubato being
who found it difficult, when asked by the teacher, to express through the application of
asked to imagine programmes from their memories which were emotionally-based on the
harmonic structures of the piece. Finally, many authors and performers advocate this,
even more-so in recent times since they agree that an emotional communication has
become lost in today’s performances. There are also philosophers who agree that
Westerners are guided increasingly less by emotions, and are more prone to limited,
dissertation will assist those who lack the ability to express by acknowledging a harmless
To give relevance to the literature review, here is a general outline of the study which
Three subjects were asked to play a short extract of music composed of two,
segregated sets of harmonic structures. In accordance with authors, each set represents
one of the following contrasting emotions: love and sadness. Subjects were asked to play
the extract whereas Conditions 2-5 attempt to induce one of 2 emotions in the subject by
use of mental, visual imagery from the subject’s emotion-memory. Again, these emotions
are love and sadness. In Condition 2, an instruction is given to the subject to induce
sadness based on my experience of it: the subject is asked to recall a particular type of
event from his/her memory, which, for me, induces sadness; Condition 3 is the same as
the previous, only the emotion it aims to induce is love; Condition 4 aims to induce
sadness, only under a different format of visualisation: the subject is asked to draw from
his/her own experience to recall an event which can induce the emotion; Condition 5 is
the same as the previous, only the emotion it aims to induce is love. After the
performances, the amount of rubato was measured under each condition using a tapping
software. A short questionnaire was conducted: subjects were asked if they realised that
the two sets of harmonic structures represented different emotions, what their
programmes were in Condition 4 and 5, and if they used any techniques to help them
1
The methodology and results of this will be discussed in detail in Chapters 2 and 3
5
Hypothesis
rubato in response to them. Under Conditions 2 and 3, I hypothesised that more rubato
would be used than in Condition 1, especially at points where the harmonic structures
correlate to the emotion being induced from the emotion-memory. Under Conditions 4
and 5, I hypothesised that more rubato would be used than in Conditions 2 and 3, once
Introduction
Even though an overwhelming amount of literature has been written about music and the
emotions, I have not come across any material which is based specifically on the
relationship I have decided to explore. However, isolated aspects of the relationship –the
effects of mental imagery of the memory on the emotions, the effects of harmonic
structures on the emotions, and the effects of the emotions on rubato– can all be
supported in their own rites by secondary sources. Eventually, it is the aim of the
empirical study –the primary source– to prove that a relationship can exist between these
aspects.
Since the study aims to select and induce contrasting emotions (sadness and love), let
Emotions
Emotions are difficult to define; their term commonly and loosely denotes individual,
subjective feelings which occur in response to stimuli. Silvan Tomkins2 and Paul Ekman3
were among the first of many psychologists to distinguish two sets of emotions:4 basic
2
Tomkins, S. S., Affect, Imagery, and Consciousness (Springer, 1963)
3
Ekman, P., Basic Emotions, in T. Dalgleish and M. Power, eds., Handbook of Cognition and Emotion
(John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 1999), Chapter 3
4
Ekman’s studies showed that people in all cultures can express a particular group of emotions when given
the same stimulus, quantified because they employ the same facial muscles when expressing one of those
7
emotions, which include sadness, joy, distress, fear, surprise, anger, and disgust; and
Leonard Meyer has analysed emotions in a different way which enables one to select
the most contrasting emotions for an empirical study. He proposed that there are two
main dimensions of emotion: valence (positive to negative), and intensity (high to low).5
According to the above sources, one can describe sadness a being a basic emotion that
is negatively valenced and not intense, and love as being a higher-cognitive (complex)
To explain why some artists and teachers might dispute the expression of subjective
emotions and imagination in music, and others support it, let us examine how the role of
emotions. These are basic emotions. In the same study, Ekman proved that another, more complex, group of
emotions exist and are triggered and expressed differently in different cultures. These are higher-cognitive
emotions.
5
Meyer believed that emotional induction is based on tension –whether it is resolved or not, or whether
expectations are confirmed or not.
Meyer, L., B., Emotion and Meaning in Music, (University of Chicago Press, 1956)
8
The Role of Emotion in Music: Formalism and Expressionism
This is an ancient and ongoing debate, which, according to Meyer, is manifested into
relationships at a more intellectual level with regards to how musical ingredients are
structured; based on this, music expresses itself –its own intrinsic beauty, and subjective
emotions play no part in its appreciation. Malcolm Budd claims that formalists believe in
musical emotions –emotions which are ‘sui generis’, or ‘can be experienced only if the
music is.’6 This is upheld by authors such as Edmund Gurney,7 and most famously by
Eduard Hanslick, who, at the heart of the Romantic era in 1854, wrote his polemic The
Beautiful in Music to oppose the idea that the essence of music –music’s sole aesthetic
property- was a language of emotions: 'In music there is both language and logical
sequence, but in a musical sense; it is a language we speak and understand, but which we
6
Budd, M., Music and the Emotions: The Philosophical Theories, (Routledge, 1994), p.31
7
In The Power of Sound, Gurney claimed that music has a ‘unique “musical emotion” that is raised in
listeners by all pieces of “impressive” (i.e., beautiful) music, and only by such.’ Musical compositions
‘imply no external fact at all. Their function is to present not to represent, and their message has no direct
reference to the world outside them’
Gurney, E., The Power of Sound (New York, Basic Books, 1966), pp.52-60
8
Hanslick, E., The Beautiful in Music, trans. Gustav Cohen (London and New York, 1891), p.24
9
Expressionism is a heteronymous view encouraging one to think of music as a
language referring to real emotions which we all experience in life. Since this dissertation
aims to explore how real, experienced emotions can be induced from the memory and
which can be induced by non-musical stimuli as well as musical structures. Susan Hallam
supports this, stating that ‘Cognitions play a mediating role in psychological responses to
music, i.e. the piece being connected with emotional events in the past.’9 In 1896, Leo
Tolstoy summarised the ethos of expressionism when defining art: ‘To evoke in oneself a
feeling one has experienced and having evoked it in oneself then by means of
feeling that others experience the same feeling –this is the activity of art.’10 Proponents of
this believe that emotions are the subject matter, and that musical structures have a
purpose of exciting emotions in the listener and performer which have already been
experienced in life. This view is upheld by Susanne Langer11 and Aristotle even, who, in
his Politics, notes that the ‘pains and pleasures we feel at musical representations of
affections are not far removed from the feelings we have about real emotions.’12
have been validated by Deryck Cooke, and recently by the psychologist John Sloboda,
9
Hallam, S., Instrumental Teaching: A Practical Guide to Better Teaching and Learning (Heinemann
Educational Secondary Division, 1998), p.162
10
Tolstoy, L., What is Art?, trans. Aylmer Mande (London, 1959), p.123
11
Langer claims that art in general, and music in particular, consists in its ‘presenting feeling in such a
manner that we can reflect on it and understand it –the aim of art is to provide insight into the essential
nature of felt life.’
Langer, S. K., Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art (HUP, 1957),
p.36
12
Politics (1340) in R. McKeon, ed., The Basic Words of Aristotle (New York, 1941), p.54
10
both specifically in terms of harmonic intervals and pitch-direction. Since we aim to
prove a correlation between harmonic structures declared by Cooke and Sloboda, and real
language with its own unambiguous vocabulary, Cooke attempted to catalogue harmonic
structures and their referents into a lexicon. By analysing compositions from AD 1400, he
revealed correlations between emotions and particular sound patterns, such as harmonic
intervals and pitch-directions which have been used to represent real emotions.
Since Meyer has described love as positive, below are examples of harmonic intervals
which Cooke uses to demonstrate the above; the character Drusilla, believing that Ottone
loves her, sings ‘Joyful is my heart.’16 Furthermore, Cooke claimed that the ‘Alleluia’ in
13
Cooke, D., The Language of Music (OUP, 1959)
14
Cooke, D., Op. Cit., p.51
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid. p.57
11
Figure 2, taken from the refrain of the early English part-song Now Wel May We Mirthes
Since Meyer has described sadness as negative, below are examples of harmonic
Negative Emotions. Describing the minor-third, Cooke claimed that it has been used
traditionally to represent sadness and grief: ‘Being lower than the major third, it has a
Requiem masses, and Figure 4 is an extract of W. C. Handy’s St. Louis Blues where the
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
19
Ibid., p. 56
20
Ibid.
21
Ibid. p. 59
12
A summary of these isolated harmonic intervals and their basic expressive functions
Italy (see Appendix 2), where properties of the same representative functions are
Gervasoni (1800),25 Gianelli (1801),26 Rousseau (1782),27 Steiner (1975),28 and Tartini
(1754).29
As well as highlighting intervallic tensions, Cooke has also analysed the representative
outgoing emotions and descending notes represent inward emotions. Here are examples:
22
Ibid.
23
Castiglioni, N., Il Linguaggio Musicale dal Rinascimento ad oggi, (Ricordi, 1959)
24
Galilei, G., ‘Dialoghi Intorno a Due Nuove Scienze’, in G. Galilei, Opera Omnia (Biblioteca
Nazionale,1966), vol. VIII
25
Gervasoni, C., La Scuola della Musica in Tre Parti Divisa (Niccolo Orcesi, 1800)
26
Gianelli, P., Grammatica Ragionata della Musica, Ossia Nuovo Metodo Facile di Apprendere a Ben
Suonare e Cantare (A. Santini, 1801)
27
Rousseau, J. J., Dictionnaire de Musique (Chez Sanson et Compagnie, 1782)
28
Steiner, R., Wesen des Musikalischen und das Tonerlebnis im Menschen (Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 1975)
29
Tartini, G., Trattato di Musica Secondo la Vera Scienza dell'armonia (Giovanni Manfre Editore, 1954)
13
Positive Emotions. In the major key, Cooke claimed that the ascending 1-2-3-4-5 pitch-
Cooke demonstrates that this progression has been used by Mozart to express love and
joy in his operas, as observed in Figure 6:
Figure 6 Extracts from arias of Mozart: The first two from The Seraglio, and the last from The Magic
Flute31
Negative Emotions. In the minor key, Cooke claimed that the descending 5-4-3-2-1
pitch-progression represents an ‘incoming emotion of pain in a context of finality.’32
Cooke demonstrates that this progression has been used by Gershwin to represent
sadness in his opera Porgy and Bess, as observed in Figure 8:
30
Cooke, D., op. cit., p.115
31
Ibid., p.116
32
Ibid., p.133
14
Figure 8 An extract from the aria My Man’s Gone Now from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess
John Sloboda has also spent much time investigating the link between harmonic
structures and emotional response. Sloboda remarks: ‘Although it is well established that
people respond emotionally to music, little is known about precisely what it is in the
music that they are responding to.’33 In one of Sloboda’s studies, ‘subjects were asked to
specify particular pieces of music to which they could recall having experienced any of a
such pieces, they were then asked to specify the location within the music that provoked
Figure 9 Table of Sloboda’s results showing harmonic structures associated with physical-emotional
responses35
33
Sloboda, J. A., Exploring the Musical Mind: Cognition, Emotion, Ability, Function (OUP, 2005), p.209
34
Ibid.
35
Ibid., p.210
15
The results show that twenty musical passages provoked the responses labelled tears,
‘i.e. crying, lump in the throat.’36 Most of these passages contained melodic
responses labelled shivers, ‘i.e. goose pimples, shivers down the spine.’37 Most of these
passages contained a new or unprepared harmony. Only five passages caused heart
repeated syncopations and prominent events occurring earlier than prepared for. Subjects
linked tears with the emotion of sadness, shivers with love and awe, and heart reactions
structures:
36
Ibid.
37
Ibid.
38
Ibid.
16
39
Figure 10 Extract of Albinoni’s Adagio for Strings causing tears (sadness)
Figure 12 Extract of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Last Movement, causing heart
reactions (love and excitement) 41
39
Albinoni’s Adagio for Strings is an example which provoked tears; it contains three consecutive
appoggiaturas in the first seven-note melodic phrase and then repeated phrases in sequential fashion.
Ibid., p.211
40
This passage provoked shivers; this is characterised by a sudden shift from E to C# in the context of a
rising sequential pattern based on E, then F#, then G#.
Ibid., p.212
41
Provoking heart reactions, Sloboda describes the structure: ‘Here the phrase structure of the whole
movement is built on multiples of even numbers of bars (2, 4, 8, etc.). The piano solo starting at bar 184
reinforces this. A new phrase starts at 188, and there is an implication that the next phrase will commence at
bar 192. Instead it arrives at 191…Here, then, is a case of an expected accent arriving earlier than it
“should”.’
Ibid. Susan Hallam validates this, claiming that emotions can be aroused in harmonic progressions ‘when
expectations are unconfirmed or delayed –e.g. resolutions of tension.’
Hallam, S., op. cit., p.163
17
The above authors have demonstrated that harmonic structures are accurate as a
responses to harmonic structures is still in its infancy, despite several recent attempts to
construct a theoretical framework for considering this (e.g. Sloboda42, and Dowling and
Sloboda acknowledges:
Since there is no generally accepted theory of the emotions and how they
of emotion into this work will require methods and theoretical approaches
Adopting this advice, a strong element of natural history has been included into my
research by testing the revelations of Cooke and past composers (see Chapter 2).
Considering this unique approach –the link between harmonic structures and mental
imagery –Leos Janáček and John Booth Davies have proved that there other ways of
42
Sloboda, J. A., ‘Music Psychology and the Composer’, in S. Nielzen and O. Olsson, eds., Structure and
Perception of Electromagnetic Sound and Music (Elsevier, 1989)
43
Dowling, W. J., and Harwood, D. L., Music Cognition (Academic Press, 1986)
44
Sloboda, J. A., Exploring the Musical Mind: Cognition, Emotion, Ability, Function (OUP, 2005), p.213
45
The approach includes mental imagery being used to induce emotions from the memory, indicated by
rubato occurring at correlating points of the harmony.
18
provoking images, such as melodic representations and physiognomic perception.46
of emotion, and emotion in turn gives an excellent indication of mental imagery. Indeed,
‘consists in aesthetic deviation from the regular –i.e. a deliberate departure from the
score.’47 Furthermore, Seashore validates the use of mental imagery and upholds his
expressionistic stance:
In vivid musical memory we relive the music. The person who does not have
the capacity to do so may recall in abstract terms; such as the musical notation
and musical criticism. But these are only the cold facts. He does not relive the
music… The non-emotional person can recall the cold facts, but these facts
In the same vein, Stephen Davies claims that ‘Sometimes if one listens to a work as
illustrating a story, one can be led deeper into the music itself, noticing details and
Having now established this link, let us explore how mental imagery interacts with
emotions.
46
Melodies, for example, reminded the composer Leos Janáček of human speech patterns, so he would
imagine people singing or speaking when he composed and performed. Furthermore, the musicologist John
Booth Davies has discussed physiognomic perception, where composers perceive high notes as ‘small and
thin’ –exemplified with the celeste being employed in Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy- and
low notes as ‘big and fat’ –exemplified with the double-bass being employed in Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of
the Animals, personifying the elephants.
Davies, J., B., The Psychology of Music (Hutchinson, 1978), p.105
47
Seashore, C. E., in J. Rink, ed., Musical Performance, (CUP, 2002), p.63
48
Seashore, C. E., op. cit., p.168
49
Davies, S., Musical Meaning and Expression (Cornell University Press, 1994), p.81
19
Artists are fond of encouraging methods for natural expression.50 Eric Clarke, for
example, claims that a performer must have ‘an expressive “strategy” with which to bring
the music to life’51 and that performers are ‘expected to animate the music- to go beyond
“expressive”.’52 Anthony Kemp agrees, believing that ‘finding sources of motivation for
them. This interaction has been proved scientifically using a process called positron
emission tomography (P. E. T.), where one can observe brain activity in response to
negative and positive visual stimuli. One particular experiment was carried out by Sergio
red/yellow tones, whereas negative visual stimuli produced activations in the medial
50
Natural expression being the employment of rubato which correlates with representative harmonic
structures
51
Clarke, E., in J. Rink, ed., Musical Performance: A Guide to Musical Understanding (CUP, 2002), p.59
52
Ibid.
53
Kemp, A., The Musical Temperament (OUP, 1996), p.234
54
According to Paradiso, ‘Seventeen healthy individuals were shown two sets of emotionally laden pictures
carrying pleasant and unpleasant content. While subjects evaluated the picture set for emotional valence,
regional cerebral blood flow was measured with the use of [15O] water positron emission tomography.
Subjective ratings of the emotional valence of the picture sets were recorded.’
Paradiso, S., ‘Cerebral Blood Flow Changes Associated With Attribution of Emotional Valence to Pleasant
and Unpleasant Visual Stimuli in a PET Study of Normal Subjects’, The American Journal of Psychiatry
(1999), 156:1618-1629
20
Figure 13 P. E. T. scan showing activations in the brain in response to pleasant and negative visual stimuli55
Similar empirical experiments which support Paradiso’s findings have been conducted
The same brain activity occurs as one visualises external images on a card as one
visualises internal images from the memory. Indeed, the psychologist Hugh Willbourn
states that ‘the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between a real and
memory from the inside is called “associative memory”. Seeing it from the outside is
called “dissociated memory”.’59 In the first instance, real emotions can be felt as they
55
Ibid.
56
Reiman, E. M., ‘Neuroanatomical Correlates of Externally and Internally Generated Human Emotion’,
The American Journal of Psychiatry (1997), 154: 918-925
57
Royet, J. P., ‘Emotional Responses to Pleasant and Unpleasant Olfactory, Visual, and Auditory Stimuli: a
Positron Emission Tomography Study’, The Journal of Neuroscience (2000), 20:7752-7759
58
Willbourn, H., The Human Emotions, (Bantam Press, 2003), pp.49-50
59
Ibid., p.48
21
were first of all; in the second instance, the memory is not so vivid, so the strength of
emotions is weaker. The author Kendall Walton supports this.60 The variable in this case
is the senses, and most effectively: imagery. This area preoccupied psychologists such as
Sigmund Freud for most of their lives. Peter Gay observes that ‘Freud was particularly
listened to them.’61
In my empirical study, subjects will comment on techniques they use to help them
visualise. I will also instruct subjects briefly how to visualise based on advice from
Everybody has the ability to visualise… Some people are more adept than
others at visualisation and seem to make richer pictures, but their just a
matter of degree, not difference. They are more aware of their capacity to
visualise but they are not physiologically different from the rest of us.
side, or towards the edge of the visual field. The space of imaginary
Considering imaginary space, the psychologists Richard Brandler and John Grinder
proved that, when people look up and to the left, they are accessing images from their
memories.64 Interestingly, pianists on the documentary The Art of Piano - Great Pianists
of 20th Century, who advocate the use of mental imagery, can be seen looking up when
they play.65
As soon as you remember what someone looks like, you are using
visualisation. Recall what they looked like. What are they wearing? What is
the expression on their face? What are they doing? Where is the picture of
them located relative to you? Is it in front of you, or to the left or the right?
Is it life size or is it transparent? Do you still hear their voice? Now, as you
keep seeing them in your mind’s eye, notice the feelings that arise in you.
63
Ibid., p.45
64
Bandler, R., & John G., Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming, Moab, (Real People Press,
1979)
65
See below for Sergie Rachmaninoff and Alfred Cortot
66
Willbourn, H, op. cit., p.47
23
Casually, Willbourn describes that ‘In your mind you can be the greatest ever film
director. You can reshoot the scenes from you memory and imagination in any way you
want. You can change the action, soundtrack, lighting, camera angles, framing, focus,
Our feelings are very closely linked to the precise way in which we
changes the feeling it evokes. You will notice that some changes have a
bigger effect than others. Generally speaking, images that are closer, bigger,
brighter and more colourful have greater emotional intensity than those that
Now let us observe how similar techniques have been employed in the arts. One artist
who exploited the technique manifested it into one of the most famous methods of acting.
emotions. In order to do this, actors were required to think of a moment in their own lives
when they had felt the desired emotion and then replay the emotion in role to achieve a
more genuine performance: ‘The actor must have at his command all kinds of moods and
67
Ibid.
68
Ibid., p.48
24
that is, by awakening in the memory a definite feeling actually experienced in one’s past,
Stanislavski taught his students that, when recalling memories, images induced the
strongest emotions: ‘Of our five senses sight is the most receptive of impressions.’70
Similar to Willbourn, Stanislavski advises the method of creating an internal film when
accept his answer. Then, in order to give a more satisfactory answer, he must
either rouse his imagination or else approach the subject through his mind,
images are before him. For a brief moment, he lives a dream. After that,
another question, and the process is repeated. So with a third and fourth,
69
Stanislavski, K., ‘Stanislavski’s Method of Acting’, in T. Cole, ed., Acting: A Handbook of the
Stanislavski Method (Crown Publishers, 1955), p.106
70
Stanislavski, K., trans. by E. R. Hapgood, An Actor Prepares (Eyre Methuen, 1980), p.169
71
Stanislavski claims that ‘We must have, first of all, an unbroken series of supposed circumstances…
Secondly we must have a solid line of inner visions bound up with those circumstances, so that they will be
illustrated for us…Out of these moments will be formed an unbroken series of images, something like a
moving picture. As long as we are acting creatively, this film will unroll and be thrown on the acting screen
of our inner vision, making vivid the circumstances among which we are moving. Moreover, these inner
images create a corresponding mood, and arouse emotions…’
Ibid., pp-63-64
72
If a student’s imagination is more sluggish and can not respond to even the simplest questions,
Stanislavski claims that one can suggest answers: ‘If the student can use that answer he goes on from there.
If not, he changes it, and puts something else in its place. In either case he has been obliged to use his own
inner vision. In the end of something of an illusory existence is created, even if the material is only partially
contributed by the student. The result may not be entirely satisfactory, but is does accomplish something.’
Stanislavski, K., op. cit., p.67
25
until I have sustained and lengthened that brief moment into something
valuable part about it is that the illusion has been woven together out of the
student’s own inner images. Once this is accomplished, he can repeat it once
or twice or many times. The more often he recalls it, the more deeply he will
experience, our brain encodes into our nervous system a memory of the
create a neural pathway so we can access that experience again easily. Each
time we repeat that behaviour we strengthen the neural pathway; indeed, the
Other psychologists such as Annie Plessinger agree that different types of advice
should be considered because ‘There is no correct way to practise mental imagery. It is all
left up to the individual preferences and the present circumstances…Some individuals are
73
Stanislavski, K., op. cit., p.66
74
Willbourn, H, op. cit., p.48
75
Plessinger, A., The Effects of Mental Imagery on Athletic Performance (Accessed 5 October 2005)
<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/mentalimagery.html>
26
In musical performance, the adoption of this technique has been encouraged by many
human spirituality,76 and Jacques Barzun claimed that ‘To cover all cases, it seems
necessary to define as programmatic any scheme or idea, general or particular, that helps
to determine the course of the composition,’77 affirming that performers can employ their
own ‘hidden’, mental programme of a musical work. Paul Hindemith claims that ‘The
musical-reactions –all three are made of the same stuff.’78 Donald Callen agrees: ‘All
music may be, even should be, heard programmatically’79 –a view also upheld by
Michael McMullin.80
The psychologist Roland Persson also advocates this method. Persson conducted a
study in 1993 whereby 15 pianists had to play an unknown work in which all
interpretational clues, including the title, were erased. The performers had to provide a
descriptive title to the piece from their understanding of harmonic structures. All
performers said that they made use of imagery to construe understanding and meaning.81
This can be supported by a conversation which took place between the pianist-composer-
conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff and the pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch. Both believed
76
Sullivan, J. W. N., Beethoven (Jonathan Cape, 1927)
77
Barzun, J., ‘The Meaning of Meaning in Music: Berlioz Once More’ in Music Quarterly (1980), 66: 1-20,
78
Hindemith, P., in A. Storr, Music and the Mind (Ballantine Books, 1993), p.76
79
Callen, D., ‘The Sentiment in Musical Sensibility’ in Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (1982), 40:
387
80
McMullin, M., ‘The Symbolic Analysis of Music’ in Music Review (1947), 8: 25-35
81
Self induction of emotion was used to alter states of awareness, some musicians consciously manipulated
the recall of certain memories to ‘get in the mood,’ 8/10 acknowledged a self-discovered technique to arrive
at a particular frame of mind for the sake of learning and/or performing, 3 employed ‘mood induction’
(remembering emotions without conjuring up images), 5 used visualisation, however, to evoke a particular
emotion, some combined mood induction with visualisation.
Persson, R. S., The Subjectivity of Musical Performance: An Exploratory Music-Psychological Real World
Enquiry into the Determinants and Education of Musical Reality, Doctoral Dissertation, (Huddersfield
University, 1993)
27
deeply in the method. In The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century,82
favourite one”, and he said “Well, it’s also my favourite one” and that created
the link of friendship. I said “Did you have a programme when you composed
the B minor prelude?” He said “Yes” …his spaced voice. I said “Good” –I
won the first round. He said “I know your idea is not mine, but I know that
mine is correct”. I said “Alright, you tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine” and
we haggled for a while, till eventually I said “Well mine is a long story”. He
said “If yours is a long story, it can not be anything like mine because mine
can be answered with one word”. I said “To me it suggests the return…”
where upon the long arm shot out… “STOP!”…so I said “Why? What have I
done?” He said “That’s what it is. It’s the return”. It was an exile, and that’s
This conversation indicates more than the influence of programmatic music –music
typical of the Romantic era, composed specifically to invoke imagery. As with Persson’s
study, the real significance of this conversation lies within the validation of a relationship
between musical structures, emotions which these structures induce, and the mental
imagery that’s associated with, and provoked by, those emotions –the underpinning
relationship under examination. Both Rachmaninoff and Moiseiwitsch were exiled from
82
The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century (NVC Arts, 2002), DVD B00004UF01
83
Moiseiwitsch, B., ibid., [my transcription]
28
their native Russia, so one could suggest that when the musical structures induced the
experienced emotions of longing and sadness, they thought naturally of their homeland.
Conversely, images can induce different emotions in an individual. The pianist and
teacher Alfred Cortot has been criticised for giving his own specific imagery to students
to think about when playing rather than allowing them freedom of imagination. David
Barnett affirms that ‘we must be prepared to admit that someone else might find a
somewhat different poetic content in the music he [Cortot] describes.’84 Others who
support this include psychologists Akhter Ahsen85 and Shane Murphy,86 as well as authors
Contrary to Cortot, there were contemporaries such as Hans Richter who encouraged
students to choose their own imagery.89 Considering current teachers, Helen Turbervill –a
music teacher who frequently enters her pupils into classes at the Abertawe Festival for
Young Musicians (AFYM) in Swansea, South Wales –told me that, in the last festival
(January 2006) all the guest tutors –Nigel Clayton, Wissam Boustany, Diana Cummings,
84
Barnett, D., The Performance of Music (Universe Books, 1972), p.40
85
Ahsen claims that ‘Every image has a significant meaning and that specific meaning can imply something
different to each individual’
Ahsen, A., ‘ISM: The Triple Code Model for Imagery and Psychophysiology’, Journal of Mental Imagery
(1984), 8(4), pp.15-42
86
Murphy states that ‘since every person has a unique background and upbringing, the actual internal
image can be quite different for each individual.’
Murphy, S. M., ‘Models of Imagery in Sport Psychology: A Review’, Journal of Mental Imagery (1990),
(3&4) pp.153-172
87
Schopenhauer claims that ‘An object is presented to a subject [person] by a representation: a mental
“picture” or image of which he is aware and which has been constructed by his brain in response to the
input from his senses. This object of perception only exists in the consciousness of the subject.’
Schopenhauer, A., The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1, (Dover, 1966), p.77
88
Bannister and Fransella affirm that ‘A basic fallacy in stimulus-response psychology is the notion that a
man responds to a stimulus. A man responds to what he interprets the stimulus to be.’
Bannister, D., and Fransella, F., Inquiring Man: The Theory of Personal Constructs (Penguin Books, 1971),
p.132
89
In the second movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, op. 50, which he called the ‘Greek
Concerto,’ Richter created his own imagination: a dialogue in which Orpheus pleads with the gods in Hell
to set Eurydice free. Orpheus meets with fierce resistance before his entreaties are rewarded, where upon
the doors if the underworld open and they dance out into a beautiful Greek Spring landscape.
29
Peter Esswood, and Paul Harris– encouraged students to conjure up imagery of their own.
Susanna Garcia and Alison Kirkpatrick90 are other teachers who prefer this approach.
mood of the piece using highly visual imagery. The student may be asked to
draw a picture that represents the mood of the piece. Visual students also
enjoy diagramming the musical shape of phrases. I have seen these activities
transform the performance of visual students who may need help connecting
imagery from the subject’s memory in two ways. The first time I demand my own
programme of imagery which I predict will cause the required expression. The
second time, however, which Willbourn, Stanislavski and the above teachers
advocate, I ask the subject to choose his/her own programme, encouraging a means
that works best for him/her which I predict will lead to greater expression.
Having considered those who favour this method, there is, of course, a formalist view
90
Kirkpatrick claims that ‘Expressiveness and colour can be enhanced through imagery. Imagery also acts
as a catalyst for refining touch and adding the stamp of individuality to a performance. Imagery produces
special effects and imagery provides inspiration.’
Kirkpatrick, A., (Accessed 10 December 2005)
< musicteachermag.com/motivationalrepertoire.htm>
91
Garcia, S., (Accessed 10 December 2005)
<music.sc.edu/ea/keyboard/PPF/5.1/5.1.PPFpp.sec4.html>
30
Despite the popular impression that music is imitative in the sense of being
from it. The subject of programme music and illustrative music is one of the
wildest in the art, and at the same time one of the least definite. Except in
cases like the Beethoven Pastoral Symphony, where the composer has made
make either aquarelles or cycloramas with their music. They write music for
what it is worth as music, not as scenery….Of course there are some notable
certain idea, as does, for instance, the List-Wagner Spinning Song from The
-but never forgetting the real beauty of the piece purely as a beautiful piece
of music. 92
Some teachers lay a great deal of stress upon the necessity for the pupil
convinced that it would be far better for the student to depend more upon his
92
Goodson, K., in J. F. Cooke, ed.,Great Pianists on Piano Playing (Dover Publications, 1999) p.147
93
Rachmaninoff, S., in J. F. Cooke, ibid., p.216
31
The student should seek to break the veil of conventions provided by
Many great pianists of the Twentieth Century concur with Rachmaninoff’s ideas,95 yet
there are many others who agree with Goodson’s formalistic approach. Peter Kivy, for
example, disputes that the imagination has such significance in musical performance:
‘This approach goes beyond what good musical analysis and sound musical practice will
allow.’96 Charles Rosen agrees, claiming that the composer knows best, and performers
should always spend time researching documents –letters and other manuscripts- to
Intermediary concessions on the subject arise from Stephen Davies, who claims that
mental imagery and subjectivity in expression are of great importance, yet one must not
over-indulge and one must observe harmonic structures due to the following reason:
A person who substitutes fantasy for attention to the work reacts (at best) to
94
Ibid., p.280
95
Glen Gould and Hans Richter famously advocated this. Gould was a composer-pianist who sought the
same inspiration as the composer in performing. Paul Myers claims that ‘Gould didn’t believe in
tradition…He played it as he felt, and therefore he was a composer paying his respect to other composers.’
Richter, as Zoltán Kocsis observes, ‘experimented during the concerts as he did during practising, and
that’s why his concerts were so interesting, and so unpredictable.’
The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century, op. cit.
96
Kivy, P., Sound Sentiment (Temple University Press, 1989), pp.221-222
97
Rosen, C., ‘A Performer’s Responsibility’, in W. Thomas, ed., Composition, Performance, Perception:
Studies in the Creative Process of Music (Ashgate, 1998), p.54
32
program not connected to the work; the response is not to the work itself but
to some private, personal object of fantasy. To the extent that her response is
Conceding further, Davies claims that, since music is not a primarily depictive art,
afterwards:
all works programmatically (as if they were programmatic), and where can
the harm be in that? The “program” is a prosthetic device and could always
Barzun agrees to this concession, believing that ‘programmes are useful analogies but
should not be taken literally; they are to be put aside when understanding has been
Having examined imagery, let us now explore the parameter which the empirical study
98
Davies, S., op. cit., p.81
99
Ibid., pp.81-82
100
Barzun, J., ‘The Meaning of Meaning in Music: Berlioz Once More’, Music Quarterly (1980), 66: 16-
17, 21
33
The term tempo rubato is Italian, meaning robbed or stolen time. In music, rubato
advances or delays the beat, speeds up or slows down, usually for expressive effects
before restoring the regular tempo. Richard Hudson, the author of Stolen Time: The
History of Tempo Rubato, notes the two types of rubato. The first appeared in the first
half of the eighteenth-century to describe a practice in Baroque vocal music: some note
values within a melody are altered while the accompaniment maintains strict rhythm.
Hudson claims that ‘This type of rubato continues in vocal and violin music well into the
nineteenth century.’101 The second type appeared in the early nineteenth-century when the
term began to refer to rhythmic alterations not only in the melody, but in the tempo of the
entire musical substance. ‘For at least the first half of the nineteenth century both types of
rubato exist concurrently, but later in the century the earlier type disappears. It is the later
type of rubato, finally, that continues to live in Western art music and is the type most
familiar to us today.’102
agree, however, that Paderewski over-indulged in his use of the device. Rosen makes
101
Hudson, R., Stolen Time: The History of Tempo Rubato (Clarendon Press, 1994), p.1
102
Ibid.
103
Paderewski claimed that ‘Rhythm is the pulse in music. Rhythm marks the beating of its heart, proves
its vitality, attests its very existence. Rhythm is order. But this order in music cannot progress with the
cosmic regularity of a planet, nor with the automatic uniformity of a clock. It reflects life, organic human
life, with all its attributes, therefore it is subject to moods and emotions, to rapture and depression… Our
human metronome, the heart, under the influence of emotion, ceases to beat regularly –physiology calls it
arrhythmia. Chopin played from his heart. His playing was not national; it was emotional. To be emotional
in musical interpretation, yet obedient to the initial tempo and true to the emotions, means about as much as
being sentimental in engineering. Mechanical execution and emotion are incompatible…The tempo as a
general indication of character in a composition is undoubtedly of great importance… but a composer’s
imagination and an interpreter’s emotion are not found to be humble slaves of either metronome or
tempo...’
Paderewski, I., J., in H. T. Finck, ed., Success in Music and How it is Won (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1927),
pp. 454-461
34
such a criticism: ‘There were indeed a few pianists who abused the device [rubato], in
contrast to Paderewski, Rebecca Penneys is a modern pianist who is known too be less
indulgent. In a recent review from Clavier Magazine, Jeffrey Wagner affirms that
Penneys ‘plays with a balanced sense of rubato.’106 To prove this contrast, the amount of
Many believe that rubato should be employed with care, and that being overly
subjective can break conventions and the wishes of the composer. Indeed, we have
acknowledged that harmonic structures exist as a guide for expression, and that unnatural
applications of rubato can be prevented if these structures are realised and followed.
However, one must also realise and follow stylistic conventions.107 Hudson agrees:
‘Rubato is a high-powered effect and must therefore be exercised with care, restraint and
artistic integrity…It is for those most sensitive to the style and to the eloquent flow of
musical thought,’108 yet on the opposite end of extremity, the pianist Daniel Barenboim
warns against being overly formal: ‘You should not calculate rubato, that if you need the
time, then every day it is different, and every day it comes out in a different way.’ 109
104
Rosen, C., Piano Notes: The Hidden World of the Pianist (Penguin Books, 2004), p.191
105
Given this, one might find difficulty in taking Paderewski’s next comment seriously: ‘… with it [rubato],
unfortunately, appears also the danger of exaggeration. Real knowledge of different styles, a cultural
musical taste, and a well-balanced sense of vivid rhythm should guard the interpreter against any abuse.’
Paderewski, I., J., op. cit., p.461
106
Wagner, J., Clavier Magazine (February 2006)
107
Exemplifying this, one might consider how too much rubato can hinder the perception of form in a
large-scale work. Romantic music in general, in contrast to that of the Classic period, tends to draw the
listener’s attention more to the beauty of the moment than to the formal structure. Singing melodies,
elaborate arpeggiation, slow moving chords, and conspicuous dissonances, all attract attention to
themselves. When the performer indulges in rubato –adds breaking, arpeggiation, and much tempo
modification on a detailed level –the listener’s attention is even more fastened on the moment, and he/she
has even greater difficulty in cumulating a perception of the musical architecture.
108
Ibid., pp.447-448
109
Barenboim, D., The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century, op. cit.
35
Of course there are other parameters that one might investigate to measure expression.
Patrik Juslin and John Sloboda claim that ‘meter is only one small part of what an
parameters such as volume and body movements also indicate levels of expression.
Nevertheless, our sources have proven that tempo rubato can correspond to emotional
expression very closely, which undeniably validates its use in the empirical study.
Summary
Convenient to this area of study, the Romantic era, which comprised an increase in
ended only one-hundred years ago. As a result we have observed some of many
secondary sources from a generation of pianists, teachers, and authors that can support
and validate the relationship under examination. Descendants of this era, however,
believe that this essence –the communication of real, experienced emotions –has
diminished since that era. Evgeny Kissin reflects this belief, claiming that pianists such as
Vladimir Horowitz and Emil Gilels acquired a ‘golden sound’ which is not often heard
these days: ‘They cared for the sake of the sound, and that’s probably what made their
Having attended many professional recitals and student masterclasses, and spoken to
many teachers on the subject, I agree with the above observations. There are many
performances that lack expression which, indicated by rubato, is careful and natural.
110
Juslin, P. N., & Sloboda, J. A., eds., Music and Emotion: Theory and Research (OUP, 2001)
111
Kissin, E., in The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century, op. cit.
36
Maybe formalists would concede appreciation to a subjectively expressive performance
if, at the same time, the employment of rubato adhered to stylistic conventions and
knowledge of harmony.
Reflecting outwardly, one might suggest that this problem corresponds to an increasing
people in the Western world are increasingly becoming less guided by their emotions.
Carl Jung, one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy, reflects this in his
chief reminded Jung of the limitations in Western rational thinking,112 and he came to
conclude that lives are not valuable because they are rational, and decisions are not good
because they are logical. Jung believed that our actions are wise and our lives are rich
when we are guided by a sense of value that is rooted in our hearts, in the wisdom of our
emotions, and not merely in the rationality of our heads. Indeed, he came to believe that
in modern life we often behave in a back-to-front way. We make rationality the judge of
what we should do and feel, rather than letting our feelings guide how we use our
112
Jung travelled from Europe to Africa, India and America seeking people and experiences to deepen his
understanding of the human condition. In New Mexico, 1939, he met a Native American chief called
Ochwiay Biano and had a conversation with him that struck him so powerfully that he recalled it years later
in his autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections:
See how cruel the whites look, their lips are thin, their noses sharp, their faces furrowed and
distorted by folds. Their eyes have a staring expression; they are always seeking something.
What are they seeking? The whites always want something. They are always uneasy and
restless. We do not know what they want. We do not understand them. We think that they are
all mad.
When Jung asked why he thought they were all mad, the chief replied:
Jung, C., trans. by C. Winston, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Vintage, 1989), p.247
37
capacity for logic. Willbourn agrees, claiming that ‘If we work with our emotions we can
reach a wisdom that is more personal and more accurate than the intelligence of our
intellect alone.’113
Given the above, I think that the time has come to acknowledge and test a method
which can encourage natural expression in musicians. Mental imagery, provoked from
affects rubato. It has been validated by a wide range of sources, and if used carefully
113
Wilbourn, H., op. cit., p.59
38
This chapter outlines the methodology behind the empirical study. Much of it is
Structures
I composed a short extract of music for piano which is referred to as Study Extract.
Beginning on an anacrusis, this lasts nine bars and is in 3/4 time. This was processed
intensity, and complexity in accordance with Meyer and Ekman. Table 1 contrasts love
Table 1 Emotions of love and sadness described in terms of valence, intensity, and complexity
Emotion
Love Sadness
Cooke and Sloboda. Tables 2.1 and 2.2 show the placement and description of harmonic
structures which are illustrated by Cooke, and tables 3.1 and 3.2 show those which are
illustrated by Sloboda.
Table 2.1 The placement and description of harmonic structures in the Study Extract, representing the
emotion of love as illustrated by Deryck Cooke
Table 3.2 The placement and description of harmonic structures in the Study Extract, representing the
emotion of sadness as illustrated by John Sloboda
harmonic structures which are reflective of love, and bars 5-9 include those which are
reflective of sadness. Each section is phrased melodically in the treble-clef with a moving
bass-clef accompaniment.
Figure 1 Study Extract formed from harmonic structures representing love, bars 1-4, and sadness, bars 5-9.
The Subjects
The music was written to be played and recorded by three undergraduate piano
students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), randomly
chosen in terms of age, gender, and personality; these are referred to as Subjects X, Y and
Z.
43
The Recording Equipment
A digital sound recorder on a 3.1 Mega Pixels Hardware Resolution camera was used
to record each performance; the recordings were made in a practice room at the
RWCMD. When all subjects had played, the recordings were downloaded onto a
computer and saved as Wave Sound files on a Sony compact disc. From this disc, the
files could be accessed to play alongside the software used for measuring rubato.
subject would play the Study Extract five times under different conditions. An indication
of speed was given beforehand; a metronome was played for ten seconds at crotchet=88.
This would enable fair comparisons to be made between each subject when measuring
half-bar durations (rubato) later in the study. Apart from the first condition where no
instructions would be given, each condition tests the effects of one of two emotions:
sadness and love. The aim was to induce each emotion by using mental, visual images
from the subject’s memory which were specifically related to that emotion. In the Study
that, when played under a specific condition, e.g. invoking love in condition 3, the
representative structures of that emotion would be treated clearly with more rubato than
Condition 1
The subject would play the Study Extract without being given any prior instruction
apart from speed. The main purpose of this condition is to emphasise the possible contrast
Condition 2
Before playing, the subject would be read the following instruction which I composed:
“Before you play, try to recall an incident from your past when you said goodbye to
someone whom you would never see again. Recall, like a film, a clear, animated memory
in which you can visualise the events in its negative context. From your response, try
The aim of this was to confirm/refute that the emotion of sadness can be induced from
imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can increase the amount of
rubato in his/her performance. I would give that specific instruction because it induced
Before playing, the subject would be read a contrasting instruction which I also
composed:
“Before you play, try to imagine someone you feel strongly about with affection.
Recall, like a film, a clear, animated memory in which you can visualise spending time
with that person in a positive context. From your response, try maintaining any invoked
This time, the aim is to confirm/refute that the emotion of love can be induced from
imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can increase the amount of
rubato in his/her performance. Again, I would give that specific instruction because it
Condition 4
Before playing, the subject would be given the emotion of sadness and asked to create
his/her own programme around this. The subject would be asked to visualise in a similar
format to the above: “Recall, like a film, a clear, animated memory in which you can
visualise. From your response, try maintaining any invoked feelings throughout the
performance.”
46
The aim of this is to confirm/refute that the emotion of sadness can be induced even
more from imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can further
Condition 5
Before playing, the subject would be given the emotion of love –the more affectionate
kind, and, once again, asked to create his/her own programme around this. The subject
would be asked to visualise in a similar format to the above: “Recall, like a film, a clear,
animated memory in which you can visualise. From your response, try maintaining any
The aim of this is to confirm/refute that the emotion of love can be induced even more
from imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can further increase the
amount of rubato in his/her performance. This condition can be more suitable for
Questionnaire
After each subject play under all five conditions, I would them three questions
Q. 1: Before Condition 2, did you experience the emotions of love and sadness
Q. 4: Did you utilise any techniques to assist your mental visualisation? If so, what
were they?
present in the Study Extract naturally reflect their representative emotions. This would
confirm/refute that using mental imagery derivative from the memory enhances emotions
which are already induced, thus causing more rubato. Questions 2 and 3 are asked to
provoke confirmation/refutation that the subjects created their own programme out of
authors in Chapter 1, that certain visualisation techniques can be used to assist emotional
induction.
Measuring Rubato
In order to measure the amount of rubato used by each subject, I downloaded and used
was recommended by Professor Nicholas Cook from the Royal Holloway University. At
the start of the programme one is prompted to press the <return> button of the keyboard
in order to begin. At this point the music is played, pressing <return> at the first
measurable beat. From then on, one presses <return> again for every subsequent beat or
downbeat. When the music ends, one presses the letter ‘E’ on the keyboard followed by
<return> which terminated the programme. A data file is then saved onto the computer
which consists of a series of numbers with two decimal places. The first press of the
48
<return> key was at 0.00 (not recorded), and the following figures show how long after
that each subsequent <return> took place in seconds. The numbers do not represent the
durations between each tap; in order to work these out one must calculate the difference
between each successive pair of figures using a calculator. Eventually, one can copy and
pasted these figures into Microsoft Excel to create tables of results and bar graphs.
Trial Test
To become used to the methodology of tapping and producing the results in the form of
tables and graphs, I carried out a trial test comparing the amount of rubato that was used
by two famous pianists: Ignacy Jan Paderewski 114 (1860-1941), and Rebecca Penneys115
(1946+). The piece was Etude in E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin. I chose these particular
recordings because Paderewski famously used much rubato in his playing, and Penneys is
Tables 4.1 and 4.2 show the results. Every half-bar is tapped to reveal a clearer
portrayal of rubato, starting on the up-beat to bar 2 and ending half-way through bar 9.
The table also shows every half-bar being tapped three times to achieve a mean number
(in seconds); this allows the results to become more reliable since the manual tapping
procedure can lead to inconsistencies in timings. Finally, durations between each tap are
also present which give a coherent estimation of the amount, and placement, of rubato.
Table 4.1 relates to Paderewski’s performance, and Table 4.2 relates to Penneys’s.
114
Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Etude In E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Great
Pianists of the 20th Century (Philips, 1999) CD 456919
115
Rebecca Penneys, Etude In E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Chopin Etudes: Complete (Centaur
Records, 1994) CD 2210
49
Table 4.1 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Ignacy Jan
Paderewski.
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.87
2 1.87 1.87 1.87 1.87 1.77
3.68 3.62 3.63 3.64 2.15
3 5.77 5.87 5.72 5.79 1.68
7.53 7.47 7.42 7.47 2.8
4 10.29 10.23 10.29 10.27 1.9
12.21 12.15 12.15 12.17 2.03
5 14.24 14.18 14.19 14.2 1.92
16.16 16.1 16.11 16.12 2.53
6 18.69 18.63 18.63 18.65 1.85
20.56 20.55 20.39 20.5 2.83
7 23.31 23.36 23.31 23.33 1.67
25.96 25.07 25.96 25 2.69
8 27.83 27.88 27.83 27.69 1.66
28.31 28.42 28.31 28.35 2.56
9 31.84 31.83 32.06 31.91 3.7
35.63 35.62 35.57 35.61
Table 4.2 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Rebecca
Penneys
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.88
2 1.76 2.03 1.87 1.88 1.87
3.63 3.84 3.79 3.75 2.1
3 5.49 5.66 5.6 5.58 2
7.42 7.69 7.64 7.58 2.01
4 9.5 9.72 9.56 9.59 1.89
11.37 11.59 11.48 11.48 1.9
5 13.24 13.51 13.4 13.38 1.94
15.16 15.43 15.38 15.32 1.11
6 16.3 16.52 16.47 16.43 1.54
18.77 19.16 18.99 18.97 1.85
7 20.75 20.92 20.81 20.82 1.49
22.18 22.4 22.34 22.31 1.66
8 23.83 23.1 22.99 23.97 1.48
25.36 25.58 25.42 25.45 1.08
9 27.4 27.56 27.62 26.53 2.02
28.53 28.58 28.54 28.55
I found that comparisons in beat duration could be realised clearly when plotted in bar
graphs. Figures 2.1 and 2.2 show bar graphs plotting the half-bar durations against the bar
50
numbers. Figure 2.1 reveals the results of Paderewski and figure 2.2 reveals those of
Penneys.
Figure 2.1 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Ignacy Jan
Paderewski, indicating half-bar durations.
4
3.5
3
2.5
2 Duration (secs)
1.5
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Figure 2.2 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Rebecca
Penneys, indicating half-bar durations.
2.5
2
1.5
1 Duration (secs)
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Visually it is clear that more rubato is used by Paderewski, with durations fluctuating
from 1.86-2.8 seconds from bar 3-3 ½. Penney’s half-bar durations are more stable,
51
generally lasting around 1.7 seconds. There are peaks and troughs at similar times in both
performances, such as at bars 6-6 ½ (at a perfect cadence) lasting 1.85 seconds with
Paderewski and 1.54 seconds with Penneys, and also at bars 8½-9 (another perfect
cadence) lasting 3.7 seconds with Paderewski and 2.02 seconds with Penneys. Both
pianists start at the same tempo yet, due to greater implementations of rubato,
Despite there being major differences in the conditions of the above performances and
those in my empirical study, I intended to present and analyse the results of my empirical
study in a similar way, observing peaks and troughs in duration related to bar numbers
Summary
Although this methodology suffices for an initial study, one could identify many ways
of strengthening it. One could test physical reactions to structures as Sloboda has done, as
well as compose a longer extract and test other harmonic structures. One could also
measure other expressive parameters apart from rubato such as body movement and
volume. One could ask more subjects to take part, and give them more senses to invoke
from their memories such as smell and sound. The data could be plotted onto other forms
of charts and the questionnaire could be more extensive. Having said that, this research is
at undergraduate level: it is primitive and lacks resources which are typically exploited at
postgraduate level. This is a new way of analysing the effects on rubato and, although
flaws may exist, I have no doubts that the results will create interest in the subject matter.
52
Results of Subject X
Table 1.1 The results under Condition 1
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.11
2 1.1 1.13 1.12 1.11 0.79
1.98 1.82 1.9 1.9 0.93
3 2.92 2.57 3.01 2.83 1.17
3.9 4.23 3.86 4 1.11
4 5.06 5.02 5.24 5.11 1.31
6.16 6.45 6.64 6.42 0.86
5 7.31 7.23 7.3 7.28 0.91
8.24 8.13 8.2 8.19 0.96
6 9.18 9.12 9.16 9.15 0.96
10.11 10.14 10.09 10.11 1.16
7 11.05 10.97 11.8 11.27 0.65
11.92 11.86 11.99 11.92 0.84
8 12.75 12.79 12.74 12.76 1.1
13.85 13.9 13.83 13.86 1.08
9 14.94 14.9 14.98 14.94 0.32
15.93 15.9 15.91 15.91
1.4
1.2
0.8
Duration (secs)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
54
0 0 0 0 0.7
2 0.71 0.68 0.72 0.7 0.95
1.65 1.65 1.64 1.65 0.96
3 2.64 2.6 2.61 2.61 0.94
3.57 3.53 3.56 3.55 1.06
4 4.61 4.62 4.62 4.61 1.09
5.71 5.7 5.68 5.7 1.03
5 6.76 6.7 6.74 6.73 1.59
8.29 8.34 8.32 8.32 0.86
6 9.17 9.25 9.15 9.19 1.03
10.22 10.23 10.2 10.22 0.82
7 11.04 11 11.08 11.04 0.87
11.92 11.89 11.93 11.91 0.83
8 12.74 12.75 12.72 12.74 1.16
13.9 13.92 13.88 13.9 1.42
9 15.32 15.3 15.35 15.32 1.3
16.64 16.63 16.61 16.62
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
Duration (secs)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.7
55
2 1.7 1.68 1.71 1.7 1.55
3.24 3.26 3.25 3.25 1.03
3 4.28 4.27 4.29 4.28 0.99
5.27 5.25 5.29 5.27 0.99
4 6.26 6.28 6.24 6.26 1.92
8.18 8.19 8.18 8.18 0.96
5 9.12 9.14 9.17 9.14 0.99
10.11 10.13 10.14 10.13 0.69
6 10.82 10.8 10.83 10.82 0.89
11.7 11.71 11.71 11.71 0.92
7 12.63 12.66 12.61 12.63 0.93
13.57 13.53 13.59 13.56 0.72
8 14.28 14.29 14.28 14.28 0.99
15.27 15.25 15.29 15.27 0.98
9 16.26 16.27 16.23 16.25 0.94
17.19 17.17 17.23 17.19
2.5
1.5
Duration (secs)
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 0.83
56
2 0.83 0.81 0.84 0.83 0.88
1.81 1.78 1.83 1.81 1.1
3 2.91 2.92 2.9 2.91 0.98
3.9 3.86 3.92 3.89 1.11
4 5 5.03 4.98 5 1.32
6.32 6.31 6.34 6.32 1.24
5 7.58 7.51 7.6 7.56 1.58
9.17 9.16 9.1 9.14 1.02
6 10.16 10.12 10.21 10.16 1.1
11.26 11.24 11.28 11.26 0.88
7 12.14 12.15 12.12 12.14 0.81
12.96 12.97 12.92 12.95 1.1
8 14.06 14.03 14.07 14.05 0.95
15 15.02 14.97 15 1.64
9 16.64 16.66 16.62 16.64 1.1
17.74 17.76 17.73 17.74
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
Duration (secs)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.58
2 1.59 1.53 1.61 1.58 1.56
57
3.13 3.14 3.14 3.14 1.19
3 4.34 4.3 4.36 4.33 1.04
5.38 5.36 5.37 5.37 1
4 6.37 6.35 6.39 6.37 1.48
7.85 7.83 7.88 7.85 1.17
5 9.01 9.03 9.02 9.02 0.81
9.83 9.87 9.8 9.83 0.82
6 10.65 10.64 10.67 10.65 0.72
11.37 11.38 11.35 11.37 0.88
7 12.25 12.27 12.23 12.25 0.82
13.07 13.04 13.09 13.07 0.65
8 13.73 13.72 13.72 13.72 1
14.72 14.74 14.71 14.72 0.88
9 15.6 15.61 15.58 15.6 1.04
16.48 16.44 17 16.64
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
Duration (secs)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Results of Subject Y
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
58
1
0 0 0 0 0.99
2 0.99 0.97 1.01 0.99 0.93
1.92 1.92 1.9 1.92 0.93
3 2.85 2.83 2.88 2.85 1.1
3.95 3.99 3.91 3.95 0.86
4 4.83 4.8 4.81 4.81 1.24
6.04 6.07 6.05 6.05 1.09
5 7.14 7.15 7.12 7.14 0.89
8.02 8.01 8.07 8.03 0.97
6 9 9.04 8.97 9 0.77
9.77 9.74 9.79 9.77 0.97
7 10.71 10.73 10.78 10.74 1.15
11.59 12.06 12.02 11.89 0.53
8 12.41 12.45 12.39 12.42 0.91
13.34 13.35 13.31 13.33 0.89
9 14.22 14.21 14.24 14.22 0.77
14.99 15.01 14.96 14.99
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
Duration (secs)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 0.98
2 0.99 0.97 0.98 0.98 0.89
1.87 1.86 1.89 1.87 1.04
59
3 2.91 2.93 2.91 2.91 0.88
3.79 3.76 3.81 3.79 1.29
4 4.89 4.9 4.9 4.9 1.53
6.43 6.44 6.42 6.43 0.82
5 7.25 7.26 7.23 7.25 1.25
8.4 8.39 8.41 8.4 0.88
6 9.28 9.27 9.29 9.28 0.96
10.22 10.24 10.25 10.24 0.9
7 11.15 11.11 11.17 11.14 1.18
12.3 12.32 12.33 12.32 0.8
8 13.13 13.11 13.12 13.12 1.32
14.39 14.44 14.36 14.4 2.11
9 16.53 16.5 16.56 16.51 1.71
18.22 18.24 18.21 18.22
2.5
1.5
Duration (secs)
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 0.88
2 0.88 0.86 0.89 0.88 0.98
1.87 1.86 1.84 1.86 1.05
3 2.91 2.93 2.9 2.91 1.01
3.9 3.91 3.88 3.9 1.11
60
4 5 5.03 5.01 5.01 2.55
7.58 7.52 7.56 7.56 0.98
5 8.52 8.57 8.54 8.54 0.88
9.4 9.42 9.43 9.42 0.91
6 10.33 10.31 10.34 10.33 1
11.32 11.35 11.33 11.33 0.92
7 12.25 12.27 12.23 12.25 1.04
13.29 13.27 13.3 13.29 0.76
8 14.06 14.03 14.07 14.05 1.17
15.22 15.24 15.2 15.22 1.34
9 16.59 16.51 16.57 16.56 1.36
17.91 17.92 17.94 17.92
2.5
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.98
2 1.98 1.96 2 1.98 0.99
2.97 2.95 2.99 2.97 1.2
3 4.18 4.17 4.16 4.17 0.87
5.06 5.03 5.02 5.04 1.18
4 6.21 6.26 6.18 6.22 1.69
61
7.91 7.93 7.88 7.91 0.84
5 8.74 8.79 7.71 8.75 0.79
9.51 9.58 9.52 9.54 0.82
6 10.38 10.35 10.34 10.36 1
11.32 11.36 11.39 11.36 0.99
7 12.25 12.26 12.28 12.26 0.89
13.13 13.14 13.18 13.15 0.89
8 14.01 14.05 14.06 14.04 0.8
14.94 14.95 14.92 14.94 1.38
9 16.32 16.34 16 16.32 1.45
17.74 17.76 17.79 17.77
2.5
2
1.5
Duration (secs)
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.74
2 1.76 1.74 1.72 1.74 1.11
2.86 2.86 2.82 2.85 1.11
3 3.96 3.99 3.94 3.96 0.91
4.89 4.86 4.9 4.87 1.16
4 6.04 6.02 6.03 6.03 1.65
62
7.69 7.68 7.67 7.68 0.88
5 8.57 8.53 8.59 8.56 0.78
9.34 9.36 9.32 9.34 0.88
6 10.22 10.24 10.21 10.22 1.02
11.21 11.24 11.26 11.24 0.9
7 12.14 12.12 12.16 12.14 0.88
13.02 13.04 13.01 13.02 0.93
8 13.95 13.98 13.94 13.95 0.88
14.83 14.85 14.82 14.83 1.37
9 16.2 16.21 16.24 16.2 1.5
17.52 17.53 17.51 17.52
2
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1 Duration (secs)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Results of Subject Z
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 0.97
2 0.99 0.97 0.95 0.97 0.99
1.98 1.95 1.94 1.96 1.17
3 3.13 3.15 3.12 3.13 0.92
63
4.07 4.05 4.03 4.05 1.12
4 5.17 5.18 5.15 5.17 1.57
6.76 6.73 6.74 6.74 1
5 7.75 7.74 7.72 7.74 0.89
8.63 8.62 8.65 8.63 0.89
6 9.51 9.52 9.54 9.52 1.09
10.6 10.62 10.61 10.61 0.76
7 11.37 11.38 11.35 11.37 0.83
12.2 12.21 12.24 12.2 0.84
8 13.02 13.06 13.03 13.04 0.8
13.95 13.96 13.91 13.94 1.01
9 14.94 13.93 15.97 14.95 0.98
15.93 15.9 19.96 15.93
1.8
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
Duration (secs)
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 0.86
2 0.88 0.83 0.86 0.86 1.07
1.92 1.93 1.95 1.93 1.14
3 3.08 3.07 3.04 3.07 0.96
4.01 4.02 4.05 4.03 1.1
4 5.11 5.13 5.16 5.13 1.52
6.65 6.63 6.67 6.65 1.01
5 7.69 7.64 7.65 7.66 1.38
64
9.06 9.02 9.04 9.04 1.19
6 10.22 10.24 10.23 10.23 1.23
11.48 11.44 11.46 11.46 1
7 12.47 12.42 12.49 12.46 0.82
13.29 13.27 13.28 13.28 0.77
8 14.06 14.03 14.06 14.05 0.78
14.83 14.8 14.86 14.83 0.82
9 15.66 15.68 15.62 15.65 0.84
16.48 16.49 16.51 16.49
1.6
1.4
1.2
1
0.8 Duration (secs)
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.08
2 1.09 1.04 1.1 1.08 1.39
2.47 2.49 2.46 2.47 0.99
3 3.46 3.48 3.43 3.46 1.2
4.66 4.64 4.69 4.66 1.08
4 5.71 5.73 5.79 5.74 1.69
7.41 7.42 7.47 7.43 0.82
5 8.23 8.25 8.26 8.25 1.01
9.28 9.24 9.25 9.26 0.97
6 10.21 10.24 10.25 10.23 0.85
65
11.09 11.1 11.04 11.08 0.95
7 12.02 12.05 12.04 12.03 0.86
12.9 12.85 12.91 12.89 0.84
8 13.73 13.71 13.76 13.73 0.9
14.61 14.6 14.6 14.63 1.98
9 15.59 15.63 15.62 15.61 0.86
16.47 16.5 16.43 16.47
2.5
1.5
Duration (secs)
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 1.98
2 1.98 1.96 2 1.98 0.99
2.97 2.95 2.99 2.97 1.2
3 4.18 4.17 4.16 4.17 0.87
5.06 5.03 5.02 5.04 1.18
4 6.21 6.26 6.18 6.22 1.69
7.91 7.93 7.88 7.91 0.84
5 8.74 8.79 7.71 8.75 0.79
9.51 9.58 9.52 9.54 0.82
6 10.38 10.35 10.34 10.36 1
11.32 11.36 11.39 11.36 0.99
66
7 12.25 12.26 12.28 12.26 0.89
13.13 13.14 13.18 13.15 0.89
8 14.01 14.05 14.06 14.04 0.8
14.94 14.95 14.92 14.94 1.38
9 16.32 16.34 16 16.32 1.45
17.74 17.76 17.79 17.77
2.5
1.5
Duration (secs)
1
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Time (seconds)
Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration
1
0 0 0 0 2.64
2 2.64 2.66 2.63 2.64 1.14
3.79 3.75 3.78 3.78 1.25
3 5 5.03 5.06 5.03 0.96
5.99 5.95 6.02 5.99 1.61
4 6.7 6.73 6.7 6.6 1.85
8.46 8.42 8.47 8.45 0.9
5 9.34 9.35 9.36 9.35 1.09
10.44 10.47 10.42 10.44 0.91
6 11.37 11.35 11.33 11.35 1.08
12.41 12.46 12.43 12.43 0.85
7 13.29 13.26 13.3 13.28 1.11
67
14.39 14.41 13.36 14.39 0.77
8 15.16 15.14 15.18 15.16 1.07
16.2 16.23 16.25 16.23 1.3
9 17.52 17.55 17.51 17.53 0.98
18.51 18.53 18.5 18.51
2.5
0.5
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Bar Number
Given the above, the following observations can be made about each subject during the
conditions:
Subject X
Condition 1
68
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.79-1.31 seconds with 4 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.32-1.16
Condition 2
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.7-0.96 seconds with 0 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.82-1.59
Condition 3
Half-bars between 1-4½ have a duration range of 0.96-1.76 seconds with 4 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.69-0.99
Condition 4
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.83-1.32 seconds with 4 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.81-1.64
Condition 5
69
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 1.04-1.58 seconds with all 7 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.65-1.04
Under Condition 1, it appears that the subject used more rubato in bars 1-4 ½ than in 5-
9. Generally, the subsequent conditions summon more rubato from bars 1-8. Examining
the diversity Condition 2 (invoking sadness) and Condition 3 (invoking love), more
rubato was used in bars 1-4 (structures expressing love) under Condition 3; visa-versa,
more rubato was used in bars 5-9 (structures expressing sadness) under Condition 2.
rubato was used in bars 1-4 under Condition 5, even more than under Condition 3; visa-
versa, more rubato was used in bars 5-9 under Condition 4, even more than under
Condition 2.
Subject Y
Condition 1
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.86-1.24 seconds with 3 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.53-1.15
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.82-1.53 seconds with 3 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.8-2.11
seconds with 4 half-bars lasting over 1 second and 1 bar lasting over 2 seconds.
Condition 3
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.88-2.55 seconds with 3 half-bars
lasting over 1 second and 1 bar lasting over 2 seconds. Half-bars between 5-9 have a
lower duration range of 0.88-1.36 seconds with 5 half-bars lasting over 1 second.
Condition 4
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.84-1.98 seconds with 4 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.79-1.45
Condition 5
71
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.88-1.74 seconds with all 5 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.78-1.5
Under Condition 1, it appears that the subject used more rubato in bars 1-4 than in 5-9.
Generally, the subsequent conditions summon more rubato from bars 1-9. Examining the
diversity in Condition 2 (invoking sadness) and Condition 3 (invoking love), more rubato
was used in bars 1-4 (structures expressing love) under Condition 3; visa-versa, more
rubato was used in bars 5-9 (structures expressing sadness) under Condition 2.
rubato was used in bars 1-4 under Condition 4, even more than under Condition 3; more
rubato was used in bars 5-9 under Condition 4, even more than under Condition 2.
Subject Z
Condition 1
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.92-1.57 seconds with 4 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.76-1.06
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.86-1.52 seconds with 5 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.77-1.38
Condition 3
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.82-1.69 seconds with 5 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.84-1.98
Condition 4
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.84-1.98 seconds with 4 half-bars
lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.79-1.45
Condition 5
73
Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.9-2.64 seconds with 4 half-bars
lasting over 1 second and 1 half-bar lasting over 2 seconds. Half-bars between 5-9 have a
lower duration range of 0.77-1.3 seconds with 5 half-bars lasting over 1 second.
Under Condition 1, it appears that the subject used more rubato in bars 1-4 than in 5-9.
Generally, the subsequent conditions summon more rubato in all bars. Examining the
diverse Condition 2 (invoking sadness) and Condition 3 (invoking love), more rubato was
used in bars 1-4 (structures expressing love) under Condition 3; more rubato was used in
bars 5-9 (structures expressing sadness) under Condition 3 also. Examining the extra-
diverse Condition 4 (sadness) and Condition 5 (love), more rubato was used in bars 1-4
under Condition 5, even more than under Condition 3; visa-versa, more rubato was used
Q.1: Before Condition 2, did you experience the emotions of love and sadness resulting
different mood. The more I played it became apparent that that the first phrase was slushy
Subject Y: Yes. The first time I played the extract I could tell from the chromaticism
and major intervals that the first section was romantic, and the second section was sad
Subject Z: Yes. The first phrase reminded me of romantic film music, whereas the
was eighteen to go off to higher-education. I visualised the end of the prom when
Subject Z: I imagined my dog who died a few years ago. Whenever I think of him I
get sad.
75
Q.3: What was your programme in Condition 5?
proposed to me.
Q.4: Did you utilise any techniques to assist your mental visualisation? If so, what were
they?
Subject X: Yes. Before I played under the last condition, for example, I pieced
together the memory which was helped by remembering the ring of the doorbell, what we
Subject Y: Yes. I tried to make the images brighter, imagine exactly what clothes
Subject Z: I found that I could visualise better when I looked up; that seemed to
can exist between experienced emotions of the memory, images of the memory, harmonic
structures and rubato. Rubato was used under Condition 1 without a visual stimulus,
probably because each subject realised the two segregated sets of structures and the
emotions they represented (as confirmed in the questionnaire). Under this condition,
more rubato was applied at structures representing love: this might relate to the subjects’
77
personalities or emotional states that day. One could investigate this by asking subjects
rubato increased around harmonic structures of the Study Extract which correlated to the
emotion of the programme. Not only does this support the research of Cooke and
Sloboda, this suggests truth in the expressionistic belief of Seashore et al. that music can
induce the same type of emotions –real emotions as Aristotle calls it– which we
experience in life. It also supports Stephen Davies’s claim that, when we visualise, we
become more aware of musical structures which correlate to the emotion of the
programme. However, formalists such as Rosen, Goodson, and Kivy have a point when
they state the importance of context. One can easily give counter-examples to Cooke and
Sloboda based on this. Take the trio Suscepit Israel –a canticle from Bach’s Magnificat.
The text is ‘Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiae suae’ (He has
helped his servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy) and, on the word Suscepit
in this context? This confirms that the emotional effects of music are dependent on both
context and harmony, a point made by Hudson in terms of the application of rubato.
could visualise, and did so using techniques to make the memory more associative in a
sensory way –making lights brighter and smelling things stronger. Subject Z even said
that he looked up to visualise –a technique advocated by Brandler and Grinder. This all
consolidates theories of Stanislavski, Willbourn, and Garcia, who claim that imagery is
perceived differently by each individual and everyone should choose their own imagery
to heighten expression.
Formalistic views concur with a break in trend. This occurred in two instances: Subject
Y used more rubato in structures representing love when asked to think of his own
programme invoking sadness; in the second, Subject Z used more rubato in structures
representing sadness when asked to think of my programme invoking love. This suggests
that there are no watertight barriers between these two emotions even though Meyer has
done his best to contrast them in terms of valence and intensity. In the case of Subject Z,
had not experienced this emotion, or he perceived it differently to how I did. As Ekman
states, love is a higher-cognitive and more complex emotion, and can be perceived
differently in different cultures. In either case, this validates the use of free imagination as
the subject did not break the trend when he was asked to think of his own programme. In
116
See Appendix 3
79
the case of Subject Y, maybe she could not visualise that memory particularly well –it
could have been a bad choice as it appears that she visualised other memories well.
Plessinger and Willbourn have noted that this occurs. In the future, subjects could spend
more time invoking the most associated memories which induce the strongest emotions
before playing.
It appears that, rather than advocating formalistic approaches, the above suggests flaws
in methodology of which Sloboda has warned. As discussed in Chapter 2, there are many
open-minded study such as this will no doubt add to the many other studies which have
not been accepted completely. However, it appears that the overall objective has been
reached by the means chosen. Cultivating a careful method of self-expression, ideas from
both expressionism and formalism have been integrated and tested by a successful, initial
study.
CONCLUSION
This dissertation has proved that a relationship can exist between mental imagery from
the memory, emotion from the memory, harmonic structure, and rubato. Having
supported isolated aspects of the relationship from a wide range of secondary sources,
and having supported the relationship in its entirety by conducting an empirical study,
one hopes that performers who fail to self-express might consider trying out the method
in which this relationship has been manifested. We have seen that this is a harmless
80
method which can be used up until one achieves a more natural access to real emotions
I advocate this method as it appears that, due to the influence of constrained, rational
thinking in Western society, many performers and teachers now underestimate the
new aesthetical research at Cardiff University confirms this substantially, indicating the
many problems of musical autonomy.117 Even though it is a shame that we are compelled
to prove the essence of music in this way, we live in a society that demands such proof
before considering consideration. Let us hope, therefore, that the substance of this
dissertation can further interest in performers and teachers so that they may carry forward
APPENDICES
117
‘Hanslick and Problems of Musical Autonomy,’ incomplete doctoral dissertation, (Accessed 1 April
2006) < http://www.cf.ac.uk/music/pg/researchprogrammes.html>
118
Cooke, D, op. cit., pp. 89-90
81
Major Second: As a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a whole-tone
tension down to the tonic, in a major context, pleasurable longing, context of
finality.
Minor Third: Concord, but a ‘depression’ of natural third: stoic acceptance,
tragedy.
Major Third: Concord, natural third: joy.
Normal Fourth: As a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a semitonal
tension down to the minor third, pathos.
Sharp Fourth: As modulating note to the dominant key, active aspiration.
As ‘augmented fourth’, pure and simple, devilish and inimical forces
Dominant: Emotionally neutral; context of flux, intermediacy.
Minor Sixth: Semitonal tension down to the dominant, in a minor context:
active anguish in a context of flux.
Major Sixth: As a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a whole-tone
tension down to the dominant, in major context, pleasurable longing in a
context of flux.
Minor Seventh: Semitonal tension down to major sixth, or whole-tone
tension down to minor sixth, both unsatisfactory, resolving again down to the
dominant: ‘lost’ note, mournfulness.
Major Seventh: a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a semitonal tension
up to the tonic, violent longing, aspiration in a context of finality.
119
Costa M., Bitti, P. E. R., Bonfiglioli, L., Psychological Connotations of Harmonic Musical Intervals
(University of Bologna, 2000), 28, 4-22
82
happy, right, pure, quiet, stable, shining.
Normal Fourth: Lugubrious, active, tense.
Sharp Fourth: Hostile, averse, destructive, mysterious.
Dominant: Consonant, pleasurable, stimulating, gentle,
acrimonious, healthy, agreeable.
Minor Sixth: Pleasant, consonant, painful, discontented, strained,
distressing, active, unstable.
Major Sixth: Pleasant, consonant, unstable, sweet, desirous, bright,
Tense.
Minor Seventh: Dissonant, sad, painful, empty, melancholy, severe,
strained, bewildered, lugubrious, unsatisfied.
Major Seventh: Dissonant, tense, bitter, disagreeable, gloomy, optimist.
120
Cooke, D., op. cit., pp. 115-166
83
Descending Minor, 5-4-3-2-1: Expresses incoming emotion of pain in a context of
finality; acceptance of, yielding to, grief; discouragement and depression; passive
suffering; and despair connected with death.
Minor, 5-3-2-1: Expresses a passionate outburst of painful emotion which does not
protest further, but falls back into acceptance –a flow and ebb of grief. Restless sorrow –
neither complete protest nor acceptance.
Minor, 1-2-3-2-1: “To look on the darker side of things” in a context of immobility,
neither rising up to protest, nor falling back to accept. Expresses brooding, an obsession
with gloomy feelings, a trapped fear, or sense of inescapable doom, especially when
repeated over and over.
Major, 5-6-5: (Major 3rd on the subdominant – I-Vc-I). This is a “simple assertion of
joy,” also an element of longing or pleading when played slowly; a joyful serenity also.
Minor, 1-2-3-2: Gloomy, both Beethoven and Tchaikovsky used this in works called
‘Pathétique.’ The 6-5 of the dominant is an appoggiatura. In a slow tempo it expresses a
sense of brooding self grief swelling out briefly into a burst of anguish and dying away
again. When it’s quick, the feeling is of agitated obsession.
Major, 1-2-3-4-5-6-5: Expresses the innocence and purity of angels and children, or
some natural phenomenon which possesses the same qualities in men. It is an affirmation
of maximum joy.
Minor, 1-2-3-4-5-6-5: Expresses a powerful assertion of fundamental unhappiness, the
“protest” of 1-3-5 being extended into the anguish of 1-6-5.
Major, 8-7-6-5: This is a fall from the tonic to the dominant. Expresses incoming
emotion of joy, an acceptance or welcoming of comfort, consolation, or fulfilment.
Ending on dominant, it has an open, continuing feeling towards the future. No finality.
Minor, 8-7-6-5: Expresses a painful emotion, an acceptance of, or yielding to, grief;
passive suffering; and despair connected with death.
Minor, descending chromatic scale: Expresses a despairing descent; more “weary,”
lament, death. If it’s slow, it is like a slow, painful sinking; ebbing away.
Major, chromatic scale: Expresses a feeling of passionate love: Godly in Bach, erotic
in Tchaikovsky, and a lullaby in Schubert.
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DISCOGRAPHY
Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Etude in E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Ignacy Jan
Rebecca Penneys: Etude in E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Chopin Etudes: Complete
The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century (NVC Arts, 2002), DVD B00004UF01
88
WEBOGRAPHY
<music.sc.edu/ea/keyboard/PPF/5.1/5.1.PPFpp.sec4.html >
<musicteachermag.com/motivationalrepertoire.htm>
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Plessinger, A., The Effects of Mental Imagery on Athletic Performance (Accessed 5
October 2005)
<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/mentalimagery.html>