Music, Thought,
and Feeling
Understanding the Psychology of Music
Second Edition
William Forde Thompson
Macquarie University
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESSs of
fa
and
CHAPTER 9
Performing Music
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this chapter you should be able to:
iL
6.
Identify the major expressive devices used by music
performers.
Explain how performance expression is used to
communicate musie structure.
Describe the analysis-by-synthesis methodology.
Appraise the concept of musical talent.
Summarize sources of bias in the adjudication
of performances.
Provide a psychological account of music
improvisation
237238 Chapter? Performing Music
Sound Examples 9.1.1-9.1.4
Examples of musical directives to.a
performer: Sound example 9.1.1
ritardendo (a gradual slowing
down); Sound example 9.1.2,
accelerando (a gradual speeding
up}; Sound example 9.1.3,
crescendo (a gradual increase in
volume); and Sound example 9.1.4,
dlminvendo (a gradual decrease in
volun)
Sound Examples 9.2.1-9.2.2
“These are two versions of an
excerpt from Brahms’ Intermezzo
in A Major, contained in the
accompanying box on page 23;
the sound examples extend
beyond the scare excerpt,
Sound example 9.2.1.2 MID!
file containing no performance
‘expression-A computer program
has been instructed to reproduce
with strict precision the pitches and