The purpose of this study was to examine the influences of facial expression and conducting gesture on perceptions of choral conductor and ensemble expressivity. College musicians (N = 156) viewed excerpts of two choral conductors who had been recorded conducting with either an expressive conducting gesture and a neutral/static face or an expressive facial expression and a neutral/static conducting gesture. They then rated the expressivity of the conductor and of the ensemble. Results indicated no significant differences in participant ratings of choral conductor expressivity or ensemble expressivity (p > .05) between conditions. Responses to open-ended questions revealed four themes that impacted perceptions of ensemble and conductor expressivity: facial expression, conducting gestures, musical elements, and conductor investment.
BuchananH. J.MehaffeyM. W. (Eds.). (2005). Teaching music through performance in choir.
GIA Publications.
2.
ByoJ. L., & AustinK. R. (1994).
Comparison of expert and novice conductors: An approach to the analysis of nonverbal behaviors.Journal of Band Research,
30(1), 11–34.
3.
CohenJ. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.).
Lawrence Erlbaum.
4.
CreswellJ. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.).
SAGE.
5.
DenzinN. K.LincolnY. S. (Eds.). (2005). The SAGE handbook of qualitative research (3rd ed.).
SAGE.
6.
DragR. M.& ShawM. E. (1967).
Factors influencing the communication of emotional intent by facial expressions.Psychonomic Science,
8, 137–138. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03331587
7.
FaulF.ErdfelderE.LangA.-G.& BuchnerA. (2007).
G*Power 3: A flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences.Behavior Research Methods,
39, 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146
8.
GibbsG. (2007). Analyzing qualitative data.
SAGE.
9.
HarperR. G.WiensA. N.& MatarazzoJ. D. (1978). Nonverbal communication: The state of the art.
John Wiley.
10.
JohnsonC. M.FredricksonW. E.AcheyC. A.& GentryG. R. (2003).
The effect of nonverbal elements of conducting on the overall evaluation of student and professional conductors.Journal of Band Research,
38(2), 64–77.
11.
LivingstoneS. R.ThompsonW. F.& RussoF. A. (2009).
Facial expressions and emotional singing: A study of perception and production with motion capture and electromyography.Music Perception,
26, 475–488. https://doi.org/10.1525/mp.2009.26.5.475
12.
MadsenC. K.& MadsenC. H. (2016). Teaching/discipline: A positive approach for educational development (5th ed.).
Contemporary Publishing Company of Raleigh.
13.
MadsenC. K.& YarbroughC. (1985). Competency-based music education.
Contemporary Publishing.
14.
MalandroL. A.& BakerL. L. (1983). Nonverbal communication.
Random House.
15.
ManfredoJ. (2008).
Factors influencing curricular content for undergraduate instrumental conducting courses.Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education,
175, 45–62. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40319412
16.
MayneR. G. (1992). An investigation of the use of facial expression in conjunction with musical conducting gestures and their interpretation by instrumental performers [Doctoral dissertation,
The Ohio State University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (UMI No. 9238229)
MorrisonS. J.PriceH. E.GeigerC.& CornacchioR. (2009).
The effect of conductor expressivity on ensemble performance evaluation.Journal of Research in Music Education,
57, 37–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429409332679
19.
MorrisonS. J.& SelveyJ. (2014).
The effect of conductor expressivity on choral ensemble evaluation.Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education,
199, 7–18. https://doi.org/10.5406/bulcoursesmusedu.199.0007
20.
Napoles, J. (2012). The influences of presentation modes and conducting gestures on the perceptions of expressive choral performance of high school musicians attending a summer choral camp. International Journal of Music Education, 31, 321–330. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761411434823
21.
Nápoles, J., Babb, S. L., & Willie, K. (2014). The effect of baton use in fast and slow tempi on perceptions of choral conductor and ensemble performance. International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, 5(1), 15–25.
22.
Nápoles, J., & Silvey, B. A. (2017). Effects of conductor baton use on band and choral musicians' perceptions of conductor expressivity and clarity. Journal of Research in Music Education, 64, 474–486. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429416678216
23.
PasqualeJ. D. (2008). Directed listening for wind ensemble conductors: A pedagogy for developing aural analysis and effective rehearsal strategy [Doctoral dissertation,
The University of Oklahoma].
24.
PriceH. E.& ByoJ. L. (2002).
Rehearsing and conducting. In R. Parncutt & G. E. McPherson (Eds.), The science and psychology of music performance: Creative strategies for teaching and learning (pp. 335–351).
Oxford University Press.
25.
PriceH. E.& ChangE. C. (2005).
Conductor and ensemble performance expressivity and state festival ratings.Journal of Research in Music Education,
53, 66–77. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345607
26.
PriceH. E.MannA.& MorrisonS. J. (2016).
Effect of conductor expressivity on ensemble evaluations by nonmusic majors.International Journal of Music Education,
34, 135–142. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761415617925
27.
PriceH. E.& WinterS. (1991).
Effect of strict and expressive conducting on performances and opinions of eighth-grade band students.Journal of Band Research,
27(1), 30–43.
28.
RominesF. D. (2003).
A survey of undergraduate instrumental conducting curricula.Journal of Band Research,
38(2), 80–90.
29.
RudolfM. (1995). The grammar of conducting: A comprehensive guide to baton technique and interpretation (3rd ed.).
Schirmer Books.
30.
SaldañaJ. (2016). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (3rd ed.).
SAGE.
31.
SherrillM. H. (1986).
An analytical study of videotaped rehearsal and conducting techniques of selected junior and senior high school band conductors.Dissertation Abstracts International,
47(4), 1231.
32.
Silvey, B. A. (2013). The role of conductor facial expression in students' evaluation of ensemble expressivity. Journal of Research in Music Education, 60, 419–429. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429412462580
33.
Silvey, B. A., & Fisher, R. A. (2015). Effects of conducting plane on band and choral musicians' perception of conductor and ensemble expressivity. Journal of Research in Music Education, 63, 369–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429415597888
34.
Silvey, B. A., & Koerner, B. D. (2016). Effects of conductor expressivity on secondary school band members’ performance and attitudes towards conducting. Journal of Research in Music Education, 64, 29–44. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429415622451
35.
Silvey, B.A., Wacker, A., & Felder, L. (2017). Effects of baton usage on college musicians’ perceptions of music performance. International Journal of Research in Music Education, 35, 333–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/0255761416667465.
36.
ThompsonW. F.GrahamP.& RussoF. A. (2005).
Seeing music performance: Visual influences on perception and experience.Semiotica,
156, 203–227. https://doi.org/10.1515/semi.2005.2005.156.203
Van WeeldenK. (2002).
Relationships between perceptions of conducting effectiveness and ensemble performance.Journal of Research in Music Education,
50, 165–176. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345820
39.
WhitakerJ. A. (2011).
High school band students' and directors' perceptions of verbal and nonverbal teaching behaviors.Journal of Research in Music Education,
59, 290–309. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022429411414910
40.
WöllnerC. (2008).
Which part of the conductor's body conveys most expressive information? A spatial occlusion approach.Musicae Scientiae,
12, 249–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/102986490801200204
41.
YarbroughC. (1975).
Effect of magnitude of conductor behavior on students in selected mixed choruses.Journal of Research in Music Education,
23, 134–146. https://doi.org/10.2307/3345286
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
