Systematic Approaches to Musical Expression

• To most musicians the notion that dynamics and timing are used expressively would be obvious
• Rubato, stress, contrast, and the like are all terms used by musicians to describe various kinds of expression.
• Traditionally, for mos performers, expression cannot be categorized, parameterized and even written on a score. In this sense any sort of expression is far from being systematic.
• The score is a rough ``interpretation'' of ideologiccal, emotional or structural content usually seen as a source for a performer's expression.
• However, studies (Clarke, 1988; Windsor & Clarke, 1997; Repp, 1990) show that:
  • Musical performances share systematic patterns of timings and dynamics, both between and within different performer's executions of the same piece.
  • Evidence:
    1. Measurement of performances
    2. Models of performance
    3. Experimenta tests of thories of expression
    4. Most of these from a psichological and cognitive scince perspective.
  • Several of these studies conclude that the source of musical expression lies within the structure of the music that is played.
  • Some results include the fact that pianists intentionally and sytematically (although not necessarily consciously) deviate from notated durations because such durations ferom the score are sytematically related to the structure of the music being played.
  • The grouping structure or phrase structure of a piece can be shown to correspond to systematic changes in instantaneous tepo and dynamics. For this reason it is important to focus on grouping structure (Hierarchy of phrases) to the exclusion of metrical structure ( A hierarchy of beats and bars).