Talk on Musical Interpretation — Visual Tools for Perceived Dynamics and Points of Gravity
type: CreativeWork
description: Typical for Western classical music is the process of interpreting and conveying a written score into sounding music. However, sometimes the communication of musical issues between musicians may be experienced as aggravating. In educational contexts in a broad sense, it might be advantageous if this communication could be facilitated, for example, by using visual illustrations as a complement to the verbal language. The final aim of the present PhD project is to introduce a further investigation of the relationship between what musicians do when performing classical compositions and how the music will be experienced by listeners familiar with this kind of music. As an indispensable preparative step for this purpose, based on established conventions of melody phrasing, two special visual tools were developed: the Melody Phrasing Curve and a system for notating metrical points of gravity. In two empirical studies, the relevancy of these visual tools, intended to simplify the communication of matters linked to musical interpretation, was tested. This purpose includes the exploration of musical thoughts coming up when the tools are employed by professional musicians as instruments for illustrating their musical experiences. The Melody Phrasing Curve is a continuous line that is drawn by free hand into a special device indicating approximately the experienced dynamical fluctuations within the melody part of a composition. In the two phases of Study A, this phrasing curve was tested from the perspective of music professors listening to classical piano excerpts recorded on audio tape. The results indicate that the visual tool mentioned might be used as an instrument for illustrating the experienced changing dynamics of the melody part, primarily in piano music of a clear homophonic character. In the consecutive Study B, the other visual tool, the system for notating metrical points of gravity, was introduced. This tool was used by four professional musicians, together with…
abstract: Typical for Western classical music is the process of interpreting and conveying a written score into sounding music. However, sometimes the communication of musical issues between musicians may be experienced as aggravating. In educational contexts in a broad sense, it might be advantageous if this communication could be facilitated, for example, by using visual illustrations as a complement to the verbal language. The final aim of the present PhD project is to introduce a further investigation of the relationship between what musicians do when performing classical compositions and how the music will be experienced by listeners familiar with this kind of music. As an indispensable preparative step for this purpose, based on established conventions of melody phrasing, two special visual tools were developed: the Melody Phrasing Curve and a system for notating metrical points of gravity. In two empirical studies, the relevancy of these visual tools, intended to simplify the communication of matters linked to musical interpretation, was tested. This purpose includes the exploration of musical thoughts coming up when the tools are employed by professional musicians as instruments for illustrating their musical experiences. The Melody Phrasing Curve is a continuous line that is drawn by free hand into a special device indicating approximately the experienced dynamical fluctuations within the melody part of a composition. In the two phases of Study A, this phrasing curve was tested from the perspective of music professors listening to classical piano excerpts recorded on audio tape. The results indicate that the visual tool mentioned might be used as an instrument for illustrating the experienced changing dynamics of the melody part, primarily in piano music of a clear homophonic character. In the consecutive Study B, the other visual tool, the system for notating metrical points of gravity, was introduced. This tool was used by four professional musicians, together with…
author: Fridell, Ingemar
language: eng
keywords: Music, communication of musical issues, visual tools, perceived dynamics, melody phrasing, points of gravity, visual illustrations, musical experiences, Musical interpretation
date published: 2009
date modified: 2026-07-24T02:59:36Z
provider: University of Lund
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Malmö Academy of Music, Lund University