Studying Emotional Expression in Music Performance

Author(s): Alf Gabrielsson

Source: Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education , Summer, 1999, No.
141, The 17th International Society for Music Education: ISME Research Seminar
(Summer, 1999), pp. 47-53
Published by: University of Illinois Press on behalf of the Council for Research in
Music Education
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Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education Summer, 1999, No. 141

Studying Emotional Expression in Music

Performance

Alf Gabrielsson
Department of Psychology
Uppsala University
Uppsala, Sweden

Introduction

To attain expressive performance should be a goal for all performing artists, not least
in music. Musicians, whether instrumentalists or singers, differ very much in this respect.
Those who are able to find a genuine and personal expression usually receive most
attention and appreciation by the audience. High technical skill is certainly important but
not enough. The musician must have an adequate representation of the music in question,
an understanding of what the music is about, its structure and meaning, and know how to
make this evident in the performance.
Although this is probably generally known and accepted, both teaching and research
tend to be dominated by questions concerning formal and technical aspects of the
performance rather than questions regarding expression (Scherer, 1991). The ever in-
creasing demands on technical skill and the highly competitive music business make
many teachers emphasize technically impeccable performance and conformity to "ac-
cepted" ways of performance (Persson, 1994; Persson, Pratt, & Robson, 1992). Repp
(1995) notes that "Music critics and other observers ... often comment on the relative loss
of diversity in performance ... One component that may contribute to the reduced origi-
nality of young artists is the competitive nature of the music business today ... The
training of today's young pianists ... is oriented toward making them successful competi-
tors, not unique individuals" (pp. 24-25). Comments by many music students tell a
similar story: interpretive originality comes second relative to technical perfection and
conformity to standard performance.
With regard to research, studies on representation of music as well as measurements
of music performance have mostly focused on formal-structural aspects (Gabrielsson,
1999). This mirrors the influence of cognitive psychology during the last decades. The
performer should have a proper structural representation of the music, and this should be
reflected in the performance so as to make the listener perceive the correct meter, phrases,
harmonic progressions, relations between different parts of the piece etc (Clarke, 1988;
Sloboda, 1985). For instance, phrases may be separated by inserting micro-pauses; a
hierarchical structure can be reflected by varying the amount of ritard towards the end of
units on different levels; asynchronization of tones in chords is useful to emphasize the
melody part; variations in dynamics, timing and articulation are used to provide proper
accents etc (Bengtsson & Gabrielsson, 1983; Palmer, 1989, 1992; Shaffer, 1981, 1984;
Sloboda 1983; Todd, 1989).
Recently, however, other aspects have obtained increased attention. Representations
of music are discussed in terms of spatio-motor patterns (Baily, 1985), imagery, narra-
tives and moods (Persson, Pratt, & Robson, 1992; Shaffer, 1992, 1995), or verbal
representation (Clarke, 1993). The importance of emotional expression in music is

Thanks to my coworkers in these investigations and to The Bank of Sweden Tercen-

tenary Foundation for supporting our research project Expressive Performance in Music,
Dance, Speech and Body Language.

47

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48

emphasized (Gabrielsson, 1988; Shaffer, 198

present report.

Emotional Expression
Davidson (1993) and Kendall & Carterett
of performers' intentions regarding musical
of music either with appropriate expression
expression. Davidson made video recordin
servers could reliably distinguish between t
ings (the sound was removed). The perfor
variations in tempo, timing, dynamics an
expression, but there was considerable varia
Although these studies "only" refer to
reasonably assumed that the appropriate
certain emotions related to the piece in q
Belinda" from Purcell's Dido and Aeneas,
Ohgushi (1987) had a violinist perform the
with ten different expressions (for instanc
that listeners could recognize, but also misi
In recent studies of our research group i
& Gabrielsson, 1997; Gabrielsson, 1994, 1
& Lindstròm, 1995; Juslin, 1997a, 1997b, 1
Finarelli, 1994; Baroni, Caterina, Regazzi,
the expression and communication of speci
subjected to experimental analysis. The prin
music and asked to perform them so as t
usually short and monophonic to facilitate
well-known, played from a score or by hea
the so-called basic emotions - such as hap
others. Furthermore a performance withou
reference. The instruments hitherto used a
percussion, synthesizer, guitar rock band,
stored in computer memory and analyzed in
to bring about the prescribed emotional ex
experiments in which listeners judge the
express the intended emotions. Only the
analysis.

Results

The results generally show that all performance variables - tempo, timing, ampli-
tude/dynamics, intonation, timbre, tone onsets and offsets, vibrato, and so forth - are
affected by the instructions concerning different expressions. There are also considerable
variations depending on which instrument is used and on which musical genre the piece
and/or the performer belong to. Furthermore, there is obvious variation among different
performers, even though the performances present no technical problems whatsoever.
In a recent experiment professional performers playing violin, saxophone, and
singing were asked to perform the tune What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor in
order to make it sound happy, sad, angry, fearful, solemn, tender, and without expression.
Listening tests were conducted to find out if the intended expressions were perceived. For
example, each of the seven versions obtained from a female singer were rated by nine
students in music psychology on adjective scales corresponding to the intended emotions
(happy, sad, and so forth; the no expression version was rated on a scale for expressive-
ness). Each scale extended from 10 (maximum) to 0 (minimum). Analyses of variance

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 Gabrielsson

supplemented
scale correspon
of other (non-
happy for the
sad, angry, fea
As seen in Ta
ers - look at th
"non-correct"
sad version rec
the no expres
scale. These res

Table 1
Mean Ratings and Significance Values for Different Versions of
What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor

Intended

expression Happy Sad Angry Tender Fearful Solemn Expressive

Happy 8.2 0.2**** 2.0*** 0.0**** 0.4**** 1.5**** 6.0****
Sad 0.2**** 8.6 0.0**** 5.2 ns 3.2* 0.2**** 7.7****
Angry 0.2**** 0.0**** 6.2 0.0**** 1.6*** 0.0**** 4.1*
Tender 0.0**** 5.8* 0.0**** 4.8 2.4** 1.2**** 5.4***
Fearful 0.0**** 2.8**** 0.2**** 0.6**** 7.0 0.0**** 6.1****
Solemn 2.8**** 0.4**** 2.0*** 0.2**** 0.2**** 9.0 6.0****
No expression Q.Q**** 1.6**** 0.0**** 0.0**** 0.0**** 0.0**** 0.7
Probability levels: *.05 **.01 ♦♦♦.001 ♦♦♦♦.0001 ns = non significant

An example of the analysis of different performances is seen in Figure 1, which

shows the amplitude envelopes for happy and tender versions performed on violin. The
happy version was played much faster (duration about 7 seconds) than the tender (about
23 seconds), furthermore with higher sound level and more airy (staccato) articulation
than the tender version. Tone onsets and offsets were rapid in the happy version, slower
(more rounded) in the tender version.
The combined results from our investigations so far may be summarized as follows:
Happiness is expressed by means of fast tempo, moderate to loud sound level, airy
articulation, rapid tone onsets and decays, bright timbre, moderate variations in timing, no
or little final ritardando.
Sadness: slow tempo, low or moderate sound level (at times louder), legato articula-
tion, rather slow tone onsets and deacys, rather dull than bright timbre, more variations in
timing, often procouned final ritardando, use of vibrato.
Anger: very rapid tempo, loud sound level, mostly non-legato articulation, very
sharp tone onsets and decays, harsh timbre (distorsión), moderate variations in timing
(but structural reorganizations may occur), often increased contrast between long and
short notes, no final ritardando.
Fear: varying tempo, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, often in combination with
large deviations in timing and structural reorganization; low sound level, mostly staccato
or non-legato articulation, sometimes final acceleration, vibrato may be used.
Tenderness: slow tempo, mostly low sound level, legato articulation, soft tone
onsets and decays, soft timbre, diminished contrast between long and short notes (often

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50

Figure 1. Amplitude envelopes for happy an

the Drunken Sailor performed on violin. Hor
ear voltage scale.

implying large deviations in timing), final

Solemnity: slow or moderate tempo, m
articulation, mostly rapid tone onsets, rath
timing, final ritardando.
No expression: generally little variation

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 Gabrielsson

timbre, no vibr
Of course, the
investigations u
more details s
Lindstrom, 199
studies have be
1995) and mor
abilistic functi

Discussion

To be able to express and communicate different emotions is certainly a crucial part

of musicianship and of musicality in general. In our investigations we find that certain
musicians are much more able than others to express the intended emotions in such a way
that listeners really perceive them. The question is: what do these performers do that
others are not able to accomplish? With a successively increasing database on the
characteristics of "successful" performances we may be able to establish certain criteria
for expression of different emotions in performance. The criteria will differ depending on
instrument and musical genre but there should be a core of common characteristics. Such
criteria may be used in teaching and discussing various types of performances, and visual
representations of performances like that in Figure 1 (and in other forms not shown here)
can be very instructive for improving performance. The musicians in our investigations
find these experiments challenging and thought-provoking and take great interest in the
execution of the experiments and the results, which they then discuss further with
colleagues and students.
An important part of musicality is also to be able to apprehend different emotions in
music. Our listening experiments reveal considerable individual differences in this re-
spect. On the whole happy, angry and fearful versions are usually easily identified, as well
as no expression versions, whereas sadness and tenderness are often mixed up. The
perception (and performance) of solemnity varies a lot among individuals. From a
functionalistic perspective it is reasonable to assume that basic emotions should be easier
to express and to perceive than other more complex or "mixed" emotions (Juslin, 1997a,
1998). Listening to and discussing emotional expression in music should also be an
essential component in music education.
Our studies represent but a beginning of empirical research on emotional expression
in music performance. They have to be continued and expanded, incorporating more
realistic performance situations, more instruments/ensembles, analyses of selected per-
formances available on phonograms and so forth. Video recordings are useful as supple-
ments (Davidson, 1993; Ohgushi & Hattori, 1996). The interaction between the emo-
tional character implicit in the music itself and the means used by the musician in
performing the music with different expressions is crucial, and research on this question
is in progress (Lindstrom, 1997).

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