Psychology of Music
Volume 31 2003
Editor: Susan Hallam
sempre :
Society for Education, Music and Psychology Research
SAGE Publications
ISSN 0305-7356
Psychology of Music
Volume  Number  January 
EDITORIAL
5
A RT I C L E S
Jeanne Bamberger
The development of intuitive musical understanding:
a natural experiment
7
John McCormick and Gary McPherson
The role of self-efficacy in a musical performance examination:
an exploratory structural equation analysis
37
Luan Ford and Jane W. Davidson
An investigation of members’ roles in wind quintets
53
Elizabeth S. Nawrot
The perception of emotional expression in music: evidence from
infants, children and adults
75
Stephanie Wilson
The effect of music on perceived atmosphere and purchase
intentions in a restaurant
93
BOOK REVIEWS
Robert Rowe, Machine Musicianship
Reviewed by Jonathan Impett
113
Tim Miles and John Westcombe (eds), Music and Dyslexia:
Opening New Doors
Reviewed by Katie Overy
116
7
A RT I C L E
The development of intuitive
musical understanding: a natural
experiment
Psychology of Music
Psychology of Music
Copyright © 
Society for Education,
Music and Psychology
Research
vol (): ‒
[- ()
:; ‒; ]
J E A N N E B A M B E RG E R
M A S S AC H U S E T T S I N S T I T U T E O F T E C H N O L O G Y
Tracing the compositional process of two musically untrained
college students, this close case study demonstrates their ability to produce
archetypal tonal melodies, even when working initially within the constraints of
tonally and metrically ambiguous melodic materials. The two students were
representative of a sample of about 75 who participated in a new approach
to music fundamentals supported by a novel, interactive computer music
environment. Students’ logs, including their composition sketches, decisionmaking, analysis of progressive modifications and completed compositions, serve
as evidence and data for analysis. It is argued that, when students work at their
own pace with immediate sound feedback, can modify given materials and have
access to multiple representations at differing levels of detail, they are able to
make explicit their intuitive criteria for compositional decision-making, as well as
proposing an intuitive model of a ‘sensible tune’.
A B S T R AC T
KEYWORDS:
archetypes, experimental methodology, learning, music theory, musical
intuitions, perception, structural functions
Introduction
This article reports on a close case study of two musically untrained college
students as they go about the task of composing melodies within the constraints
of certain given materials. The two students,1 who are the subjects in this
natural experiment in music cognition and the development of musical
understanding, are representative of some 75 students who have participated
in a new approach to music fundamentals, supported by a novel interactive
computer music environment. The students’ logs trace their composition
sketches, decision-making and analysis of progressive modifications. In this
article, these logs, together with their completed compositions, serve as the
data for analysis.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
The data show that the students, taken as typical musically untrained
adults, are able to produce coherent tonal melodies, even when given tonally
and metrically ambiguous melodic materials with which to work. With the
opportunity to work at their own pace – with immediate sound feedback from
interim sketches, together with access to multiple representations at differing
levels of detail – the students are also able to develop, to some extent, explicit
criteria for their decision-making as they design-in-action.
I argue, in particular, that the students’ decision-making processes and the
resulting compositions embody the schemes Rosner and Meyer (1982) have
called ‘archetypes’:
[Archetypes] establish fundamental frameworks in terms of which culturally
competent audiences . . . perceive, comprehend, and respond to works of art . . .
Archetypes may play a significant role in shaping aesthetic experience and
fostering cultural continuity in the absence of any conscious conceptualization
about their existence, nature, or kinds. Rather, they may be and usually are
internalized as habits of perception and cognition operating within a set of
cultural constraints. (p. 318)
While Rosner and Meyer demonstrate the validity of these claims by asking
subjects to listen for instances of archetypal structures, in the cases discussed
here, students actually generate these archetypes. Even when given unfamiliar
(modal) materials with which to work, the musically untrained students
shape the materials to conform to the archetypal features and relations we
associate with the commonplaces of familiar folk and popular songs.
Analysis of the work of the two students complements but also raises
questions concerning this growing body of research in cognition and
perception. The vast majority of these experiments in the field have only
involved perception, i.e. subjects are asked just to listen to carefully controlled, often very brief, stimuli and to make judgments along some predetermined rating scale. Paradigmatic of these earlier studies and probably
most distant from the present naturalistic study are the so-called ‘probe-tone’
experiments where subjects listen to musical stimuli intended to establish a
tonal context, and are then asked to make ranked judgments with regard to
the ‘fittedness’ of selected ‘probe tones’ (Leman, 2000: 481). While there
have been a number of variations on this approach, the work of Krumhansl
and her collaborators is paradigmatic of the model (Krumhansl and Kessler,
1982; Clarke and Krumhansl, 1990; Krumhansl, 1990).
The work of Deliège et al. (1996) on ‘real-time listening’ and particularly
the so-called ‘puzzle’ experiment (pp. 141ff) most closely resembles the study
under discussion here. However, there are significant differences in results.
The authors of the ‘puzzle’ experiment report that the data ‘seemingly
demonstrate that non-musician subjects possessed little capacity to produce
coherent tonal structures’ (p. 143). Moreover, ‘The results appear to indicate
that sensitivity to tonal–harmonic structure and function derives largely
from formal musical training’ (p. 155).
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
A question to be addressed, then, is this: in spite of the similarities between
the two experiments, how can we account for the differences in results? There
are a number of factors involved including the difference in materials. Nonmusician subjects in the ‘puzzle’ experiment were asked to listen to segments
from a Schubert dance written for piano, which they had not previously
heard. The task was to
. . . recreate the most coherent piece possible within a given time using the ‘kit’
of [prepared] segments. Subjects built a piece simply by moving these icons so
as to arrange them in a linear order . . . Subjects could listen to the segments
and to their constructed ‘piece’ as often as they wished. (p. 141)
The musically untrained students in our experiment were also given
segments represented by icons on a computer screen and asked to make a
coherent piece by arranging the icons in a linear order. However, the segments in the students’ situation were taken from Ambrosian chant (in contrast
to a full-textured piano piece) which they had not heard previously, but the
task was simply to make a coherent melody, i.e. with no harmonic accompaniment. Further, the boundaries of segments chosen from the Schubert piece in
some cases (e.g. segments 1 and 2) seemed (to this listener) to interrupt
melodic grouping in favor of harmonic boundaries. Given a single melodic
line, the segments in the students’ experiment consisted of 5–8 melody notes
specifically chosen to be consistent with structural melodic boundaries.
Equally important were differences in the working conditions in the two
situations. In the students’ experiment:
●
●
●
the task was open-ended;
participants worked at individual work stations in a computer music lab
and in their own time;
there were no time-constraints.
Further, working in the given computer environment, participants were
encouraged to:
●
●
●
●
make small changes in the pitch or duration of the segments if they felt it
necessary in building coherence;
listen critically and frequently to the results of their ongoing experiments;
actively reflect on their strategies by keeping a running log of decisions
and results;
make use of multiple kinds and levels of representations that were made
available.
The focus for the students, themselves, and also for the teacher/researcher,
was on the evolution not the evaluation of the students’ work. I argue that all
of these components together provide a greater potential for deeply interrogating the mental strategies guiding working perception – the ‘knowledgein-action’ of musically untrained subjects (Schön, 1983: 59).
The contrasting views of experimental research illuminate the tension
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between, on the one hand, researchers who strive in their experimental
design and methodology for objectivity, including controlled environments
(stimuli and choice of subjects), as well as consistent, statistical measures as
units of analysis; and, on the other hand, researchers whose experimental
environments are designed to be exploratory and to enhance the potential for
close naturalistic observation and probing analysis of generative behavior.
(See Auhagen and Vos, 2000, for a view of this tension with respect to
‘tonality induction’, in particular.)
In the Introduction to Vygotsky’s Mind in Society (1978), the editors
(Michael Cole et al.) describe this contrast more generally:
. . . the purpose of an experiment as conventionally presented is to determine
the conditions controlling behavior. Quantification of responses provides the
basis for comparison across experiments and for drawing inferences about
cause-and-effect relationships.
For Vygotsky, the object of experimentation is quite different . . . Vygotsky
believed that . . . to serve as an effective means . . . the experiment must provide
maximum opportunity for the subject to engage in a variety of activities that
can be observed, not just rigidly controlled. (pp. 11–12)
But rather than pitting one approach against the other, it is more
interesting to assume that knowledge gained in each situation is useful and
then to think about the possible meanings of ‘rigor’ and ‘relevance’ in both
types of experimental design. In the light of such reflections, differences in
the nature of evidence and of results that accrue can be more productively
and practically understood.
The task, the environment and the materials
The two students, whose work is followed in detail in this article, are typical of
those undergraduates at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) who
elect to take the elementary music fundamentals course to satisfy a portion of
the humanities/arts requirement for graduation. In classes of 12 to 15
students, the majority are majoring in a science or engineering subject, most
have had no formal music background, while one or two play some
instrument a little (usually self-taught guitar). The classes, which meet for
3 hours per week for about 12 weeks each semester, typically include a few
1st-year, mostly 2nd- and 3rd-year, and a few 4th-year students. Over the
past 3 years, the students’ work has been facilitated by the text, Developing
Musical Intuitions, and its accompanying computer environment, Impromptu
(Bamberger, 2000).
The composition project, which is the primary focus here, is usually
assigned in the 3rd week of the semester. A previous introductory project
involves students in simply reconstructing given tunes (some familiar, some
unfamiliar) using as their ‘units of work’ melodic segments we call
‘tuneblocks’. Figure 1 shows an abbreviated version of Impromptu’s computer
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
C
A
T
A
L
O
G
TUNEBLOCKS
LASS
PLAYROOM
G
R
A
P
H
I
C
S
FIGURE
1 ‘Lassie’ in the tuneblocks window.
screen for reconstructing the tune, ‘Did You Ever See a Lassie’, one of some
20 tunes included in the tuneblocks catalog with which students can work.
New sets of tuneblocks are easily made.
Each of the patterned icons in the TUNEBLOCKS area, when clicked, plays
one of three brief and structurally salient motives (‘tuneblocks’) needed to
reconstruct the tune. The patterns on the tuneblocks icons are simply neutral
designs with no reference to the melodic shapes. The intention is to focus the
students’ attention on listening rather than looking. The tuneblock labeled
LASS in the TUNEBLOCKS area of the screen plays the complete tune,
‘Lassie’.
For those unfamiliar with the tune, ‘Lassie’, the score and the tuneblocks
are shown in Figure 2.
FIGURE
2 ‘Lassie’ in conventional music notation and tuneblocks.
To reconstruct the tune, students listen as often as they like to the whole
tune and to the tuneblocks, individually. Then, dragging blocks into the
PLAYROOM area, they experiment with arranging them and listening back
to the results as they search for the order of occurrence that plays the complete tune. Pressing the space bar causes the synthesizer to play the
blocks currently in the PLAYROOM while the GRAPHICS Window at the
bottom of the screen shows a ‘pitch contour’ representation for these blocks –
an easily accessible rough sketch of melodic shape. The PLAYROOM area in
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Figure 1 shows the arrangement of
blocks that plays the first part of the
tune, ‘Lassie’.
Nearly all students (including children as young as 6 years of age) are able
to complete this task. This seems strong
evidence that these structurally meanF I G U R E 3 Static, conventional schematic.
ingful elements (tuneblocks) are intuitive
units of perception. The process of reconstructing a tune is one of
‘constructive analysis’. That is, the students make and hear the structure of a
tune gradually emerging. When reconstruction is complete, the result is
mappable onto a conventional schematic, e.g. a b a c, shown in Figure 3.
To help students reflect on their work, an ‘Explorations’ section in the text
points out certain common organizing principles found in the reconstructed
tunes. These include antecedent–consequent phrase relations (as in the
beginning of ‘Lassie’), repetition, return, sequence
and structural hierarchies.
Hierarchies are represented
in several ways, including
‘structural trees’ such as
the one shown in Figure 4.
Students were reminded of
these analyses as they went
on to compose their own
tunes in the next project.
FIGURE
4 Structural tree.
Composing original tunes with tuneblocks
In this second project, the one with which this article is primarily concerned,
students work within the same computer environment but now using a set of
unfamiliar tuneblocks as the material constraints with which to compose
their own original melodies. A critical part of both projects is asking students
to reflect on and keep a log of the process as an integral part of the process itself.
Thus, there are two rounds of investigation here: in the first round, the
students’ reflections constitute research into their own intuitive understanding; the second round involves meta-investigations into the results of
the students’ personal research.
The students’ working process and their papers follow instructions given
in the text. Therefore, to provide the reader with relevant background, an
abbreviated version of these instructions follows:
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
Instructions
Using a set of unfamiliar tuneblocks, make a tune of your own that makes sense
and that you like. There is no given tune to match; there is no right answer.
Consider the following questions as you listen to and experiment with the
blocks:
●
●
●
What are the specific features and relations that differentiate one block from
another?
What are the musical features that seem to generate the possible structural
function of each block (beginning, ending, middle, etc.)?
Which blocks seem to go well together and why? Why do you dislike a
particular sequence of blocks? What did you do to fix it, and why is the new
sequence better?
Make a description of the structure of your completed tune including the
functional relations among the blocks, e.g. antecedent–consequent relations,
repetition, return, etc. Also describe how you group tuneblocks to form bigger
blocks (phrases and sections). Be sure to keep a log of your progress and try to
account for the decisions you make along the way. (Bamberger, 2000: 26–7)
The sets of blocks with which the students composed tunes early in this
composition project were in the familiar tonal style of common folk songs.
The set with which the students are concerned here were modal blocks
actually taken from an Ambrosian chant. Students were not told that blocks
were taken from an existing melody.
These materials and a subsequent atonal set were specifically chosen
because it was expected that the students would hear them as ‘strange’. With
this in mind, students were given the following questions as a basis for
reflecting on their response to this material.
In what ways are the features (e.g. rhythm, pitch relations) of these blocks
different from the others you worked with?
● What can these differences tell you about the kinds of relations that you are
used to and that you have come to take for granted as generating coherence in
the tunes you find ‘ordinary’? (Bamberger, 2000: 29)
●
As the papers will show, it was critically important that students were
encouraged to make small changes in the given blocks. They did so by using
the Edit Window to open up the blocks and look at their ‘contents’ (see Figure
5). Specifically, students were told:
If you find that a block just doesn’t work for you, you can experiment with
changing some of its pitches and/or durations to make it work better. But if you
do make changes, keep track of the changes in your log. In your paper, try to say
what you didn’t like about the original block and how your changes improved
it.
Opening the Edit Window for Block 1, notice the two lists of numbers, one
labeled P, for pitches; the other labeled D, for durations. A good way to explore
the meaning of these numbers is to listen to what happens if you change them.
(Bamberger, 2000: 30–1)
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
FIGURE
5 Edit Window for Ambrosian, Block 1.
The analysis that follows focuses particularly on the features that emerge
during the evolution of the students’ work. The analysis is intended as an
example of ‘thick description’ in exploring phenomenologically dense and
provocative data. Thomas Kuhn, in his book, The Essential Tension (1977),
comments on this direction of research in an essay titled, ‘The Function of
Measurement in Modern Physical Science’:
. . . much qualitative research, both empirical and theoretical, is normally
prerequisite to fruitful quantification of a given research field. In the absence of
such prior work, the methodological directive, ‘go ye forth and measure,’ may
well prove only an invitation to waste time. (p. 213)
Following Kuhn, the mode of empirical qualitative research pursued here is
intended to raise questions that are relevant to research in music cognition
and also to re-thinking curriculum, particularly in the elementary music
fundamentals classroom (see also, Bamberger, 1996).
1. The student papers
The first paper is by a student I call Linz. Linz was a 4th-year student with no
formal music background, majoring in biology. The second paper is by a 1styear student I call Keven, a computer science major. Keven played drums in
the school band, knew how to read drum notation, but ‘not notes’, i.e. he had
no experience of playing melodies or reading pitch notation.
Figure 6 shows the Ambrosian blocks, along with the graphic (pitch
contour) and notated versions of each.
The representations students actually saw were the icons for the
Ambrosian tuneblocks along with pitch contour graphics for icons that they
had placed in the PLAYROOM. So that students could refer to the blocks in
their papers, the blocks were given number names, 1–5, according to the
order in which they appear in the TUNEBLOCKS area. Staff notation has been
added for the reader’s convenience.
The Impromptu screen for working with the Ambrosian blocks is shown in
Figure 7.
The students’ papers are presented here with only minimal edits so that
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
Blocks
FIGURE
Pitch contour
Staff notation
6 The Ambrosian blocks.
readers can follow the evolution of the students’ reflections as their musical
intuitions gradually emerge. The students’ papers and the evolving tunes
have been divided into a series of developing ‘sketches’, using as boundary
Tuneblocks - AMBROSIAN
C
A
T
A
L
O
G
Speed
TUNEBLOCKS
PLAYROOM
G
R
A
P
H
I
C
S
FIGURE
7 Ambrosian TUNEBLOCKS screen: Block 1 in PLAYROOM.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
criteria moments when a student shifts direction or focus of attention, or
when a particular problem becomes an extended source of development.
Analytic comments are inserted between successive sketches.
LINZ ’ S PAPER
First impressions
Listening to each of the blocks once and then going through each of them a
second time, I noticed how Blocks 1 and 5 began with the same three notes –
perhaps they could make a combination together. I also noticed that, of the five
blocks, only Block 3 seemed to make a suitable ending. Therefore, I tentatively
called Block 3 my ending block. Block 5 seemed to make a good beginning.
I noticed how all the blocks shared the same tempo – I mean, the duration
between each of the notes was equal. This actually made the song seem very
monotonous and boring.
This feeling of monotony was strengthened after looking at the pitch contour
where I saw that none of the blocks seemed to have any large jumps down or up.
This gave the feeling that the tune sort of hovered around one note and the
constant stepwise movement left my ears wanting some excitement and actually
needing to hear jumps to widely spaced-apart pitches.
Comments
Right from the outset, Linz associates specific features of the blocks with
certain feelings – for example, equal durations with ‘monotonous’ and stepwise
movement with ‘wanting some excitement’. These initial associations guide
Linz to emergent design criteria: variation in rhythm and in pitch contour are
going to be necessary for a tune that she likes and that will make sense.
Linz tentatively assigns an ending function only to Block 3. From this we
can assume that she is hearing pitch C, with which Block 3 ends, as the most
stable pitch, i.e. a quasi ‘tonic’. However, Linz later develops additional
criteria necessary for generating a convincing ending for her melody (see
Sketches 7–9).
Sketches 1 and 2: beginnings
I decided to start with the combination of Block 5 going to Block 1.
I liked the sound of Block 5 as a beginning because to my ears, the sense of
starting something is best portrayed with a block which seems to go in different
directions – up and down.
Sketch 1
FIGURE
8 Block 5 going to Block 1 (Sketch 1).
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
However, I also noticed that Block 1 sounded like it wanted to go somewhere but
was stopped abruptly halfway there – a sort of question that needed an answer.
To utilize this potential call and answer format, I placed Block 1 before Block 5. I
repeated Block 1 because the repetition seemed to give it more of a sense of a
half-finished idea.
Sketch 2
FIGURE
9 Question–answer (Sketch 2).
Comments
Linz shows an unusual ability to shift her focus among modes of attention
and this has a reciprocal effect: a perceived potential structural function,
‘beginning’, leads to noticing particular features, ‘wide range’. In turn,
specific kinds of features suggest potential structural functions: for instance,
of Block 1 she says, ‘repetition . . . gives a sense of a half-finished idea’. As
criteria for a ‘sensible tune’ begin to emerge, Linz critiques her initial
decisions: the ‘question’ features of Block 1 win over the ‘up and down’
features of Block 5 for an effective beginning.
Sketch 3: first modifications
At this point I wanted to break up the monotony of the tempo, so I decided to
modify Block 1 so that the fifth note was held for the same amount of time as the
first four notes combined.
Immediately, this changed the character of the piece and placed an emphasis on
the first note and fifth note of the block.The long holding of the note also added
FIGURE
10 Editing Block 1.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Sketch 3
11 ‘An emphasis on the first and fifth note . . . Block 5 seemed to finally get
somewhere’ (Sketch 3).
FIGURE
to the anticipation I had of hearing something else. Now I felt there should be
something that answered the call of the repeated blocks. Block 5 was a very good
start because it began the same as Block 1 but instead of stopping halfway
through, it continued forward and seemed to finally get somewhere.
Comments
Recall that Linz has no experience with music notation or with the specific
meaning of Impromptu numbers, yet she chooses to lengthen the last note of
Block 1 by an amount proportional to the other notes in the block, i.e. by ‘the
same amount of time as the first four notes combined’. While her purpose
was simply to break up ‘the monotony of the tempo’, the proportional
extension of the last note of Block 1 results in actually transforming the
metric structure. An unfamiliar 5-beat metre becomes a familiar duple metre
which she succinctly describes as: ‘an emphasis on the first note and fifth
note of the block’. Not surprisingly, the transformation to a familiar metre,
‘immediately changed the character of the piece’.
FIGURE
12 Duple metre.
Adding Block 5, attentive also to motion and more global structural
functions, Linz hears that the extended and elaborated Block 5 ‘continued
forward and seemed to finally get somewhere’.
Sketches 4 and 5: looking ahead
Next, I tried to find the continuation of the answer. I didn’t like the way Block 3
sounded because it felt too much like the ending of the piece and I didn’t feel that
my song could finish there because there had been no development yet.
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
FIGURE
13 ‘There had been no development yet’.
I decided to keep Block 2 after Block 5. Block 5 seemed to naturally divide into
groups of four notes with the strong beat being on the 1st and 5th notes, so to
keep with this trend, I modified Block 2 so that the final note would be the same
duration as the first four notes combined.
Sketch 4
Block 1a
FIGURE
Block 1a
Block 5
Block 2a
14 Modified Block 2 (Sketch 4).
I was starting to get an idea of how I wanted the form of my piece to be. Block 1a
is introduced as the start of something that we haven’t figured out yet. It gets
repeated again but it doesn’t really get any further. Finally, with the addition of
Block 5, we get the movement of the piece into an actual idea. However, we
throw in a second block which doesn’t quite finish off the idea (Block 2a). If we
play Block 5 again, we can see that we have an antecedent consequent phrase that
needs to be completed.
Sketch 5
(To be completed)
FIGURE
15 ‘An antecedent–consequent phrase that needs to be completed’ (Sketch 5).
Comments
Alert now to the question of when a piece sounds finished, Linz reasons that
it is too soon to end because ‘there had been no development yet’. Pausing to
reflect on the large design of her song, Linz shifts from narrative mode, where
she represents her emerging song as if it were an unfolding story plot or
perhaps a logical argument (‘something that we haven’t figured out yet . . .
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
the movement of the piece into an actual idea’) to the logic of musical
functions: ‘we have an antecedent–consequent phrase that needs to be
completed’.2
Sketch 6: a generative problem
The final thing to do was complete the antecedent consequent phrase using the
final two blocks (Blocks 3 and 4). I still heard Block 3 as the only block I could use
as an ending so I placed it at the end and put Block 4 before it. I didn’t like having
the note that is shared between Blocks 4 and 3 being repeated because it was like
a stop in the motion of the piece.
Sketch 6
Block 1a
Block 5
FIGURE
Block 1a
Block 5
Block 5
Block 2a
Block 4
16 ‘A stop in the motion of the piece’ (Sketch 6).
Comments
Moving from detail to larger design, Linz identifies a problem: the repeated
notes form a ‘stop in the motion of the piece’. Her effort to solve that problem
becomes the generative force driving the whole series of modifications that
follow.
Sketches 7, 8 and final tune: evolving solutions
I switched Blocks 2 and 4 (again modifying Block 4) but still had the problem of
that same note being played three times.
Sketch 7
FIGURE
17 ‘Still the problem of the same note played three times’ (Sketch 7).
I tried repeating Block 2 so that it would have more motion preceding the
repeated note but this made the song seem boring. Next, I deleted the fifth note
of Block 2 (making a new Block, 2aa), and repeated it so that there would be a
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
Sketch 8
Block 1a
Block 1a
Block 5
Block 4a
F I G U R E 18 Repeated Block 2aa: ‘upward and downward progression . . . without repetition’
(Sketch 8).
constant upward and then downward stepwise progression of notes without any
repetition in the middle.
I didn’t like how the notes (5 2aa 2aa 3) were played with exactly the same
duration. In order to keep the music going forward . . . I kept the repetition but
changed the block so that the first two notes get played twice and ‘twice’ as quick
(Block 2b).
Contents of Block 2aa
FIGURE
“...played twice as quick”
19 ‘First two notes get played twice and “twice” as quick’ (Sketch 9).
With 2aa 2b, I had the sense that just as I was about to get bored with the
rhythm, there was a sudden quickening of the tempo that pushes the song
forward to the end. In addition, I extended the last note of Block 3 so that it
would make a more convincing ending.
Final tune
The single letter ‘a’ denotes where I changed the rhythm so that the duration of
the last note was longer.
FIGURE
20 ‘Pushes song forward to the end’.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
FIGURE
21 Final song.
Analysis
The structural hierarchy: there is a brief introduction followed by the antecedent
phrase and a consequent phrase. The consequent phrase is longer than the
antecedent phrase and made up of more blocks.
FIGURE
22 Linz’s tree diagram.
Final comments
Between Sketch 6 and the Final Song, Linz goes through a series of
transforming modifications, all of them directed towards solving the problem
she identified on listening to Sketch 6, thus keeping the motion of the piece
going forward to the end.
It is notable that Linz has not deviated from her initial identification of
Block 3 as the only one with which her song could end. The thrust of this
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
final series of modifications is her search for a way to make that ending a
convincing one – a convincing outcome of what she has already made.
As Schoenberg (1975) comments:
Even in the relatively simple forms, those most nearly related to the
fundamental tones . . . tonality does not appear automatically, of itself, but
requires the application of a number of artistic means to achieve its end
unequivocally and convincingly. (p. 274)
Linz’s problem-solving is particularly characterized by her quick shifts
from one mode and one kind of representation to another, resulting in a
gradually evolving and expanding ‘repertoire of possibles’ with respect to
creating coherence. It is in this process that Linz makes tangible and explicit
her emergent intuitive criteria for ‘a tune that makes sense’.
Table 1 summarizes the series of modifications in Sketches 6–8. The table
includes the identified problem, the actions Linz takes, and the purpose of
these actions towards a solution of the problem she has set.
The emergent features of Linz’s final tune include the following basic
characteristics of tonal melodies:
●
●
●
●
clearly articulated and (mostly) balanced phrases;
consistent (duple) metre;
resolution to a tonic cadence;
antecedent/consequent phrases.
TA B L E
1 Linz’s final design solutions
Problem
Sketch 6
Repeated notes: ‘like a stop
in the motion of the piece’
Sketch 7
Still 3 repeated notes
Too boring
Sketch 8
Each note is played with
same duration
Sketch 9
Unexciting
Action
Purpose of action
Switch Blocks 2 and 4
To reduce 4 repetitions
to 3
Repeat Block 2
To make more motion
before repeated notes
To make constant
upward and downward
stepwise progression
with no repetition
Delete 5th note of Block 2
(new Block 2aa) and repeat
‘First two notes played twice To keep the music
and “twice” as quick’ (new moving forward.
block (2b). Repeat it.
Block 2aa followed by
Block 2b
To ‘push song forward to
the end’.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Beyond these basics, her work also includes attention to larger scale
relationships:
●
●
●
●
detail as means towards larger design;
goal-directed motion;
motivic development;
rhythmic contrast.
Linz’s effective use of multiple means of generating coherence and
multiple modes of representation calls to mind Marvin Minsky’s (1986)
comments on the importance of multiple representations:
A thing with just one meaning has scarcely any meaning at all. That’s why it’s
almost always wrong to seek the ‘real meaning’ of anything.
Rich meaning-networks, however, give you many different ways to go: if you
can’t solve a problem one way, you can try another. True, too many
indiscriminate connections will turn your mind to mush. But well-connected
meaning structures let you turn ideas around in your mind, to consider
alternatives and envision things from many perspectives until you find one that
works. And that’s what we mean by thinking! (p. 64)
KEVEN ’ S PAPER
First impressions
1(a) The process
OK, so when these blocks were described as weird, you weren’t joking.
Ambrosian was a lot harder to make sense of, and I was thankful that I could
modify the blocks.
One of the first things I noticed was that making balanced sections is going to be
difficult. I also realized I hadn’t found any sections that sounded like a good
ending.The note that I felt should be the tonic was not found at the end of any of
the blocks.
Block 4 felt a bit like an ending, so I decided to work with it to find out why. I
discovered that the 3rd note was actually what I thought the tonic should be, but
instead of coming back to it, it stayed up a step, which sounded horrible. Based on
this, I modified Block 4 to make Block 6, which returned to the tonic. Here’s my
Block 6:
P: E D C D C
D: 4 4 4 4 4
FIGURE
23 Block 6 returns to the tonic.
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
I also observed that there was no rhythmic variation whatsoever. I suspected that
this would make separation of sections difficult.
Comments
Unlike Linz, Keven uses ‘measure’, ‘group’ and ‘section’ interchangeably to
refer to a phrase, but never actually uses the term ‘phrase’. Further, Keven
makes ‘balance’ a priority right from the outset. Similar to antecedent–
consequent, ‘balance’ was defined and exemplified in the text and in the
recorded compositions in the previous project.
Even before beginning to compose, Keven notices that the given materials
are going to be problematic. For example, he comments, first, that to make
‘balanced sections’ is going to be a problem since the given blocks differ in
number of beats; second, he fails to find a ‘section’ that sounds ‘like a good
ending’; and third, the need for ‘separation of sections’ is a problem because
there is ‘no rhythmic variation’.
The issue of finding a good ending block presents an interesting musical
puzzle. Notice that Keven does hear a possible tonic (C) in the middle of Block
4. To use this found tonic, Keven modifies Block 4 to return to the C, thus
creating an ending block that he finds satisfactory. But why, then, does he
reject Block 3 since it, too, ends with the designated tonic, C?
This seems a clear example of the influence of situation or context.
Consider, for example, the difference in situation generated, even on such a
small scale, by Blocks 3 and 4:
Block 3
FIGURE
Block 4
24 Situation and function.
Within Block 3, the C is preceded by a falling perfect 4th (D4–A3), directly
approached by a rising minor third (A3–C4), and with no leading tone. By
convention, this context only weakly generates C as a tonic. In contrast, the C
in the middle of Block 4, which Keven does hear as a tonic, is approached
stepwise from above, E–D–C, an archetypal tonic-generating gesture – i.e. by
convention heard and labeled as scale degrees 3–2–1.
Further, Keven comments that Block 4 ‘instead of coming back to [the C]
. . . stayed up a step, which sounded horrible’. Keven’s strong response could be
accounted for as his intuitive hearing of an unfulfilled implicative relationship:
An implicative relationship is one in which an event – be it a motive, a phrase, and
so on – is patterned in such a way that reasonable inferences can be made both
about its connections with the preceding events and about how the event itself
might be continued and perhaps reach closure and stability. (Meyer, 1973: 110)
25
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Following this view, Keven’s modification of Block 4, the return to C,
satisfies the implication of the previous gesture – E–D–C – and also satisfies
his tacit criterion for an ending block. Moreover, Keven’s hearings of Blocks 3
and 4, which initially seemed inconsistent with one another, now become not
only reasonable but also evidence for his strategic know-how – what Schön
(1983) has called ‘knowing-in-action’.
Sketches 1–3
I decided to start with Blocks 5 and 2 because there was similarity between them.
Each had an ‘arched’ section that went up two notes then down two notes. Since
5 had its arch at the end and 2 was only the arch, I put 5 first.This puts the arches
closer together and made the sequence more obvious.
Sketch 1
FIGURE
25 ‘Each had an arched form’ (Sketch 1).
However, this arrangement felt very unresolved, so I put my newly created Block
6 ending after the 5, and it felt like a nice closing. However, I still wanted to use
the sequence I first created, so I put them together: 5–2 5–6.
Sketch 2
FIGURE
26 ‘A nice closing’ (Sketch 2).
This sounded ok at first, but the second time I listened to it, I realized I didn’t like
the way the two parts ran together. As I had anticipated, there was no separation
between the antecedent phrase and the consequent phrase. I fixed this by making
Block 7, which was just Block 2 modified so that the last note was a half note
instead of a quarter note.
To keep things balanced, I modified Block 6 so it also had a half note at the end.
FIGURE
27 Block 7, ‘half note instead of quarter note’.
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
Sketch 3
Block 5
Block 7
Antecedent
FIGURE
Block 5
Block 6
Consequent
28 ‘To keep things balanced’ (Sketch 3).
Comments on Sketches 1–3
Both Linz and Keven use ‘similarity’ as a basis for coupling blocks at the
beginning of their tunes. However, their similarity criteria are significantly
different: Linz is hearing a similarity (‘Blocks 1 and 5 began with the same
three notes’), while Keven is most likely seeing a visual similarity (‘Each had
an “arched” section’). Indeed, the functional relationships among the pitches of
the ‘arches’ in Blocks 5 and 2, including intervals, accents and implied
harmonic functions, suggest that Keven’s attention to visual appearance
leads him to spuriously label the ‘arched shapes’ a ‘sequence’. (For an incisive
discussion of the prevalent mismatch between visually seen transformations
versus musically heard transformations among beginning music students, see
Narmour, 2000: 376–83.)
FIGURE
29 Similar visual form, but a sequence?
In Sketch 3, Keven encounters and resolves an anticipated design
constraint – a ‘separation’ problem. Extending the last note of Block 2, he
solves the ‘separation’ problem, and extending the last note of Block 6 he
satisfies the priority he has put on ‘balance’, as well.
Sketch 4
At this point I wondered whether there would be a simple way to modify the
other blocks so that the balancing would be easier. The first half of my piece (part
A) had 14 beats per group. I would like to try maintaining the 14 beat grouping
throughout. I would likely have to leave Block 5 out of part B because it
dominated part A. That left me with only 5 beat blocks. I’d also have to have an
extended block like 6 or 7 to gain separation. That left me with 8 beats to fill. I
thought about trying to stretch one of the blocks, but decided to just chop 2
notes off of one of the blocks and combine it with a 5-beat block, instead.
Playing around, I discovered that Block 2 could make a good beginning, too, so I
used it with this different function. Block 1 sounded good after it, except for the
last bit that sounded too much like the end of Block 2 again. Since I was looking
for a block to cut anyway, I created Block 8 by cutting the last 2 notes out of
Block 1.
27
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Next I needed a way to end this 14-beat ‘measure’. I had
Blocks 2 and 8, so I was looking for a 6-beat block to fill it
out. I didn’t like 6 so I went with 7 again.
FIGURE
30 Block 8.
Sketch 4
FIGURE
31 ‘To end this 14-beat measure’ (Sketch 4).
Comments on Sketch 4
Still focused on ‘balancing’, and once again looking ahead, Keven proposes
three design constraints specific to the current situation before going on:
1. maintain the 14-beat grouping;
2. leave out block 5 – it dominated Part A;
3. have an extended block to gain separation.
Having made a plan, Keven feels free to begin ‘playing around’ – i.e. he
returns to experimenting, listening and working by ear. Block 2 can serve as
both a beginning as well as an ending; Block 1 conveniently fits his plan for a
needed 3-beat block – a perfect candidate to ‘chop 2 notes off of ’; adding a
beat to Block 7 works to meet his primary constraint – he has another 14beat phrase.
Evolving solutions and the final tune
I was then looking for a way to end the piece. Repeating the previous measure
with antecedent–consequent sounded like it could work. It was a little odd having
2 right after 7 since they are essentially the same measure, but since they were
serving different functions, it was OK.
Block 5
Block 7
Antecedent
FIGURE
32 ‘Antecedent–consequent’?
Block 5
Consequent
Block 6
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
I still had Block 3 yet, which I didn’t really like the sound of at all. While it did
end on the tonic, I didn’t like the way it repeated it twice. It sounded like it
would be better if the 4th note was up a little so it could come down to the tonic.
However, when I tried it, it didn’t sound as good as it did when I sang it to
myself. I discovered that I had subconsciously raised the 3rd note as well, and
with that modification, it finally started to sound like something! Moving the
second note up as well made it a little bit better, too. In addition to moving the 3
middle notes up one step, I also made the last note twice as long, as I had with
the other 6-beat blocks. Thus, my final Block 9 was:
P: D E B D C
D: 4 4 4 4 8
1(b) Making an accounting
FIGURE
33 Block 3 transforms into Block 9.
A
A
FIGURE
34 Final tune.
FIGURE
35 Keven’s tree chart.
A·
B
29
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Much of my motivation was derived from concern for balanced sections. I
recognized initially that I was going to have to modify the length of some blocks in
order to make a coherent piece. I would also need to modify the length of some
notes in order to break the monotony of straight quarter notes. Looking over the
structure of the piece, familiar patterns are visible. AA’ and BB’ both form
antecedent–consequent pairs.There is a lot of repetition of the motif in Block 2/7
which helps tie the whole piece together. There is a sequence with Block 7 and
the end of Block 5.
Final comments
After proposing another ‘antecedent–consequent’, Keven leaves behind his
anticipatory calculating and takes off to explore in search of a block to
function as an ending. But there is a surprising change here. Recall that while
Keven initially heard a tonic (C) in the middle of Block 4 and modified the
block so as to end it on that tonic, he did not hear the C with which Block 3
ends as also a tonic. Now, after working with the blocks, listening to them in
new situations, but apparently without noticing the change, Block 3 becomes
a possible ending block, as it was for Linz from the beginning. However, while
Keven is satisfied that Block 3 ends with the tonic, that is not sufficient in
itself to make an acceptable ending. And once more, as with Linz, it is
repetition that is a problem: ‘I didn’t like the way it repeated it [the tonic]
twice’.
The need for closure triggers a whole series of modifications, but with
quite different strategies and quite different results as compared with Linz. In
search of a satisfying close, Keven entirely abandons his pre-planning lists of
constraints. Improvising, singing to himself, ‘subconsciously’ experimenting,
he tests and reflects on the results. Through this process, one-by-one he
‘pushes’ all but the first and last pitches of Block 3 up one step, with each
‘push’ a response to the newly created implications for continuation of the
previous change.
FIGURE
36 ‘Moves the 4th note up to come down to the tonic’.
FIGURE
37 ‘Finally started to sound like something!’.
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
FIGURE
38 ‘Second note up made it a little bit better, too’.
Of particular significance is Keven’s response to the modification that
brings in the missing leading tone: ‘it finally started to sound like something!’
(Figure 37). This response is evidence that Keven clearly recognizes he has
stumbled upon something useful to his quest. The whole process seems a
remarkable example of a series of intuitively guided choices that result in the
transformation of a modal motive that Keven heard initially as not even
ending with a tonic, into a typical tonal cadential figure. Indeed, Keven has
created a motive that is close to one of Rosner and Meyer’s (1982) archetypes
– a ‘changing note melody’.
A changing note melody is one in which the main structural tones of the
pattern consist of the tonic (1), the seventh or leading tone of the scale (7), the
second degree of the scale (2), and then the tonic again. (Rosner and Meyer,
1982: 325)
To complete this series of improvised modifications, Keven returns to his
by now familiar turn – assuring balance: making ‘the last note twice as long’,
the 5-beat block becomes a 6-beat block, and he has 14 beats in all. These
modifications could be seen as similar in goal to the single modification Keven
made to Block 4, but in reverse. That is, in modifying Block 4, Keven was
looking for an appropriate continuation for what was already implied, i.e. a
return to the implied tonic. Now the problem Keven solves is to build up
implication so that the final closure is a satisfying one.
Reflecting back on his process and his final tune, Keven searches for the
means he has found useful to the task of making a ‘coherent piece’. Keven’s
expressed criteria, together with his improvised modifications in achieving
them, make clear that his knowledge-in-action includes an intuitive feel for
making the pitch relations that convincingly create the particular coherence
he is seeking.
While Keven’s strategies and procedures differ from those of Linz,
primarily in the degree to which Keven tends to plan ahead in making his
design constraints, their final tunes share many of the basic features that
characterize tonal melodies. The following are the primary emergent features
of Keven’s tune:
●
●
●
●
balanced phrases;
clearly articulated phrase boundaries;
resolution to a tonic cadence;
hierarchical structure (motive, phrase, section);
31
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
●
clearly defined structural functions including:
● antecedent–consequent phrase relationships
● realization of implications for continuation
● development (motivic repetition and variation)
● motion towards closure and an archtypical tonal cadence.
As Schön (1983) observes:
When we go about the spontaneous, intuitive performance of the actions of
everyday life, we show ourselves to be knowledgeable in a special way. Often we
cannot say what it is that we know. When we try to describe it we find ourselves
at a loss, or we produce descriptions that are obviously inappropriate. Our
knowing is ordinarily tacit, implicit in our patterns of action and in our feel for
the stuff with which we are dealing. It seems right to say that our knowledge is
in our actions. (pp. 49–50)
3. Conclusions
SUMMARY OF IMPLICIT AND EXPLICIT CRITERIA FOR A ‘ SENSIBLE TUNE ’
Results of the two close case studies indicate that, as anticipated in the
Introduction, both students were able to shape tonally and metrically
ambiguous melodic materials so as to produce coherently structured tonal
melodies. Further, the students were able to develop, to some extent, explicit
criteria for their decision-making. However, despite the following similarities
in features and relations embodied by the two students’ melodies, their
strategies and their priorities clearly differ.
Balanced phrases
Keven gives precedence to balanced phrases, making it an explicit constraint
right from the outset. Linz does not explicitly state ‘balance’ as a desired
feature, but she implicitly does so by successfully making each of her inner
phrases the same (8 beats) in total time.
Articulation of phrase boundaries
Again, Keven is explicit about the articulation of phrase boundaries when he
notices that lack of rhythmic variation will make the ‘separation of sections’
difficult. Linz is not as explicit but, also bothered by the unvaried rhythm, she
proportionally lengthens the last notes of all the 5-beat blocks and in doing
so also clearly articulates their boundaries.
Metre
As for metre, Linz’s proportional lengthening of phrases results in
unambiguously generating duple metre. Keven does not explicitly speak of
accents or of metric considerations, but being insistent on balanced phrases,
he does, in this sense, make a 14-beat metric. The melody may also be heard
in 2/4, in which case there are 4 phrases, all 7 measures long and grouped
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
(irregularly) as 4+3 bars (14 beats). I find the latter proposal less satisfactory
especially because, given the other features, the 7-bar phrases feel somewhat
‘tipsy’.
TONALITY AND STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONS
With respect to tonality, both students leave no doubt that they are able to
hear, to make, and appropriately to use a tonal center along with other
structural functions in relation to it. However, once again the students differ
with respect to how they go about satisfying these criteria and to the specific
features that they accept as meeting their demands.
Most powerful with regard to context, function and higher-level melodic
grouping structure is the quest by both students in the ending phase for a
sense of progressive movement towards a stable goal. For Linz, her aim to define
and solve this problem is explicit. Through a series of cumulating, primarily
rhythmic modifications, the block chosen for her ending (Block 3), despite its
weakly defined tonic, successfully functions to achieve a stable resolution.
Keven, in contrast, does not initially hear Block 3 ending on the tonic at all.
However, once he does, he focuses on his dissatisfaction with the pitch
relations within the block. Incrementally changing one pitch at a time, he
recognizes the power of the leading tone when he hears it and, by using it,
creates an archetypal tonal cadence.
It is important to emphasize that the characteristics I attribute to the
students’ tunes are interpretations, made after-the-fact and after-the-acts, and
only then couched in music-theoretic terms. The students’ own criteria were
emergent, evolving primarily as actions or reactions in the process of
designing, improvising and building their melodies.
It is interesting in retrospect to compare evidence from the students’ work,
particularly in the last series of modifications, with the formal ‘probe-tone’
experiments of Krumhansl and others. In contrast to the predesigned but
often rather musically impoverished context-creating stimuli with which
these formal experiments begin, students in the informal composition
situation demonstrate their perception of tonality as a structural function
within self-generated contexts. In particular, the perception of tonality is
embedded in efforts to satisfy situated structural implications – a feel for the
tension of moving forward towards the stability of arrival.
Hasty’s (1997) remarks in relation to the importance of situation as a
function of musical process effectively captures this sense of evolution and
emergence. He says ‘a piece of music or any of its parts . . . while it is going
on, is open, indeterminate, and in the process of becoming a piece of music or
a part of that piece (p. 3).
Evidence from analysis in this natural experiment also helps to account for
the differences in results as compared with those of subjects in the Deliège et
al. (1996) experiment who ‘seemingly demonstrate that nonmusician subjects
possessed little capacity to produce coherent tonal structures’ (p. 144ff). As
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
argued earlier, the evidence now makes it clear that if musically untrained
students are given time, an environment that encourages reflection and the
opportunity to evolve critiera as they ‘play with’ given material, they are
indeed able to produce coherent melodic (at least) tonal structures.
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS
If a general pedagogical approach emerges from this study, it rests on the
finding that the basic characteristics of tonal structure are already part of
musically untrained students’ intuitive knowledge-in-action. Thus, a
curriculum for elementary music fundamentals classes should recognize, build
on and help students develop these intuitions in at least the following ways:
●
●
●
●
●
first, give students ‘units of work’ that are consistent with their intuitive
‘units of perception’ – aggregated, structurally meaningful entities such as
motives, figures and phrases;
second, provide a working environment such that materials are easily
manipulated at mutiple levels of structure – for instance, at the aggregate
motive level, and also easily modified at the more detailed level of their
pitch and duration ‘contents’;
third, encourage compositional, action-based projects that necessarily
direct students’ attention to context and within contexts to structural
functions;
fourth, give students easy access to a variety of representations that
include: multiple sensory modalities, multiple graphics and multiple
levels of musical structure;
fifth, encourage students to invoke strategies that will help make their
intuitive knowledge explicit, e.g. listening critically, designing, improvising/
experimenting and reflecting on decision-making criteria, along with
trying to account for results.
The advocated approach is noticeably different from that assumed in more
conventional music fundamentals texts. These differences are well described
by Granados (2001) in the distinction he makes between ‘problem space’ and
‘design space’ in relation to educational strategies more generally (Granados,
2001: 504–5).
‘Problem space’ (as Granados uses it) best characterizes exercises at the
beginning of traditional music fundamentals classes where there is a ‘welldefined problem’ and an unambiguous solution. ‘Design space’ describes a
process of defining and re-defining problems as an inherent part of ongoing
work. Instead of being given a priori names for elements, and specific
strategies for finding problem solutions, students progressively notice new
elements as these emerge with each new modification (for more on this
approach, see Bamberger, 1991/5).
Later, when students are introduced to conventional notations and
theoretical units of analysis, these traditional basics serve as a source of
Bamberger: Intuitive musical understanding
answers to questions that students have put to themselves in their previous
reflective conversations back and forth with their materials. The
fundamentals thus become a necessary framework within which students
more fully describe and account for their own initially tacit and intuitive
perceptions of musical coherence. Going forward from here, the foundation
has now been laid for students to learn to hear and appreciate more complex,
less immediately accessible compositions as their abilities for inquiry and
acquisitiveness grow and deepen. Rather than giving up their intuitions,
students are learning how to understand them better and then build on them.
NOTES
1.
2.
The two students featured in this article were chosen because their papers were
more complete and more clearly written than some others, not because the
content was particularly exceptional.
Linz has taken the term, ‘antecedent–consequent phrase’, from the previous tune
building project where it was defined and examples given (Bamberger, 2000: 25).
Linz recognizes a potential instance of the type and with it the possibility of
actually making one.
REFERENCES
Auhagen, W. and Vos, P.G. (2000) ‘Experimental Methods in Tonality Induction
Research: A Review’, Music Perception 17: 417–34.
Bamberger, J. (1991/5) The Mind behind the Musical Ear: How Children Develop Musical
Intelligence. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bamberger, J. (1996) ‘Turning Music Theory on Its Ear: Do We Hear What We See: Do
We See What We Say?’, International Journal of Computers and Mathematics Learning
1(1): 48–74.
Bamberger, J. (2000) Developing Musical Intuitions: A Project-Based Introduction to
Making and Understanding Music. New York: Oxford University Press.
Clarke, E.F. and Krumhansl, C.L. (1990) ‘Perceiving Musical Time’, Music Perception 7:
213–51.
Deliège, I., Melen, M., Stammers, D. and Cross, I. (1996) ‘Musical Schemata in RealTime Listening’, Music Perception 14: 117–60.
Granados, R. (2001) ‘Constructing Intersubjectivity in Representational Design
Activities’, Journal of Mathematical Behavior 19: 503–30.
Hasty, C.F. (1997) Meter as Rhythm. New York: Oxford University Press.
Krumhansl, C. (1990) Cognitive Foundations of Musical Pitch. New York: Oxford
University Press.
Krumhansl, C. and Kessler, E. (1982) ‘Tracing the Dynamic Changes in Perceived
Tonal Organization in a Spatial Representation of Musical Keys’, Psychological
Review 89: 334–68.
Kuhn, T.S. (1977) ‘The Function of Measurement in Modern Physical Science’, in The
Essential Tension. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Leman, M. (2000) ‘An Auditory Model of the Role of Short-Term Memory in ProbeTone Ratings’, Music Perception 17: 481–509.
Meyer, L.B. (1973) Explaining Music. Berkeley: University of California Press.
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Minsky, M. (1986) The Society of Mind. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Narmour, E. (2000) ‘Music Expectation by Cognitive Rule-Mapping’, Music Perception
17: 329–98
Rosner, B.S. and Meyer, L.B. (1982) ‘Melodic Processes and the Perception of Music’,
in D. Deutch (ed.) The Psychology of Music. New York: Academic Press.
Schoenberg, A. (1975) Style and Idea. New York: St Martins Press.
Schön, D.A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New
York: Basic Books.
Vygotsky, L.S. (1978) Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological
Processes, ed. Michael Cole, Vera John Steiner, Sylvia Scribner and Ellen
Souberman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
J E A N N E B A M B E RG E R is Professor of Music at the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology where she teaches music theory and musical development. Her research
is interdisciplinary, focusing on perceptual change through the observation and
analysis of children and adults in moments of spontaneous learning situations. She
was a student of Artur Schnabel and Roger Sessions, and performed extensively in the
US and Europe as piano soloist and in chamber music ensembles. She attended
Columbia University and the University of California at Berkeley, receiving degrees in
philosophy and music theory. Professor Bamberger’s most recent books include The
Mind behind the Musical Ear (Harvard University Press, 1995) and Developing Musical
Intuitions: A Project-Based Introduction to Making and Understanding Music (Oxford
University Press, 2000). Forthcoming publications include: ‘Changing Musical
Perception through Reflective Conversation’, in R. Horowitz (ed.) Talking Texts:
Knowing the World through the Evolution of Talk about Text (International Reading
Association) and ‘Restructuring Conceptual Intuitions through Invented Notations:
From Path-Making to Map-Making’, in S. Strauss (ed.) The Development of Notational
Representations (Oxford University Press).
Address: Music and Theater Arts, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Room
4-246, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 01239-4307, USA.
[email: [email protected]]
37
A RT I C L E
The role of self-efficacy in a
musical performance
examination: an exploratory
structural equation analysis
Psychology of Music
Psychology of Music
Copyright © 
Society for Education,
Music and Psychology
Research
vol (): ‒
[- ()
:; ‒; ]
J O H N M C C O R M I C K a n d G A RY M C P H E R S O N
U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W S O U T H WA L E S
The study reported here investigated cognitive mediational processes
in the context of a music performance examination. The prime purpose was to
focus on an aspect of musical learning – graded music examinations – that has
hitherto received little research attention. The sample consisted of 332
instrumentalists who were completing Trinity College, London, graded,
externally assessed performance examinations. Analysis of survey data was
carried out using structural equation modelling. The analysis suggested that, in
motivational terms, and consistent with research carried out in other academic
contexts, self-efficacy was the best predictor of actual performance. The authors
conclude that whilst practice plays a vital part in the development of a
musician’s capacity to perform well, it should not be considered in isolation from
motivational and related variables.
A B S T R AC T
K E Y W O R D S : examinations, musical performance, practice, self-efficacy, strategy use
Introduction
Recent years have seen a considerable growth in the number of studies
addressing the cognitive mediational processes which impact on positive
motivation in academic achievement contexts (Murphy and Alexander,
2000). However, relatively little of this research has been validated in the
domain of music, especially musical performance (McPherson and
McCormick, 1999). This is remarkable on at least two counts: first, the fundamental role played by achievement motivation, particularly in educational
domains (Covington, 2000; Eliot and Church, 1997; Maehr and Meyer,
1997); and second, the acknowledged high demands placed on musical performers who seek to achieve at a high level (Ericsson et al., 1993; Lehmann
and Ericsson, 1997; Sloboda and Davidson, 1996).
sempre :
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Given the strength of findings in academic research, two components
involved in regulating learning seem especially important for music performance. First, the cognitive strategies musicians employ to monitor and control
their learning have been shown in academic subjects such as mathematics
and science to result in higher levels of cognitive engagement, which in turn
lead to higher levels of achievement (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990). Results
from a music investigation by McPherson and McCormick (1999) suggest
that these findings might also apply in music learning. In their study, piano
students (aged between 9 and 18) who did greater amounts of practice were
more likely to rehearse music in their minds plus make critical ongoing judgements concerning the success or otherwise of their efforts. Students who
reported more time spent practising were more capable of organizing their
practice in ways that provided for efficient learning; for example, practising
the pieces that needed most work and isolating difficult sections of a piece
that needed further refinement. This result suggests that student musicians
who are more cognitively engaged while practising not only tend to do more
practice, but may also be more efficient with their learning. This is also consistent with other researchers (for example, Hallam, 1998; O’Neill, 1997;
Williamon and Valentine, 2000) who have concluded that
. . . while the length of time learning to play an instrument and an estimate of
time spent practising are important predictors of learning outcome, they are
not the only factors in accounting for achievement and that a range of different
factors may come into play when different aspects of achievement are considered. (Hallam, 1998: 125)
In addition, the second author has identified a hierarchy of cognitive
strategies that students employ when performing music in various ways, and
reported that these help predict the skills of performing rehearsed repertoire,
sight-reading, playing from memory, playing by ear and improvising
(McPherson, 1993, 1996, 1997). His results parallel findings of academic
subjects, and have implications for music pedagogy, in that better student
musicians are likely to possess a sophisticated repertoire of strategies that
they use when performing and practising. In contrast, weaker instrumentalists are likely to display a naive understanding of how to transfer information
obtained from musical notation or aurally into an appropriate musical
response (McPherson, 1993, 1996, 1997). This is further illustrated in
Hallam’s (2001a, 2001b) studies with young instrumentalists. She concludes that learners’ use of effective strategies when practising and performing depends on how successfully they have acquired the range of aural
schemas that allow them to monitor and control their performance. In her
view, efficiency of a strategy increases with expertise and depends on a mix of
metacognitive and domain knowledge upon which students draw to monitor
and evaluate their playing.
Extending these findings, Williamon and Valentine (2000) have reported
that the relationship between the amount of practice and practice efficacy
McCormick and McPherson: Self-efficacy in a musical performance examination
may be more subtle than previously thought, and have argued that both the
quality and quantity of a musician’s practice need to be examined when
investigating the determinants of musical skills. This is especially important
given Hallam’s (1998) conclusion that even with purposeful practice, students will vary on a variety of dimensions, including how successfully they
are able to concentrate while practising, adopt appropriate improvement
strategies, and understand the nature of what they are learning. These subtle
cognitive processes impact on both the quality and quantity of a musician’s
practice. However, more work is needed to determine more precisely how they
occur, and under what conditions they may be taught.
A second important element concerned with regulating one’s learning
while practising a musical instrument includes self-regulation, employed
when students decide to manage their own learning by blocking out distractions or making a conscious effort to practise. In academic subjects such as
mathematics and science, self-regulatory processes are thought to stimulate
cognitive engagement and help students perform better (Pintrich and De
Groot, 1990; Zimmerman, 1995).
Research in academic areas suggests, however, that ‘knowledge of cognitive and metacognitive strategies is usually not enough to promote student
achievement; students also must be motivated to use the strategies as well as
regulate their cognition and effort’ (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990: 33).
Practising merely for recreation does not guarantee increased skill, so without a real desire to learn, no student can expect to improve, let alone maintain whatever level she or he has already attained (Lawler, 1977). Successful
musicians of all types are characterized by a desire to improve their performance and increase their skills, and there are many parallels in the rigour and
focus of self-taught rock and classically trained student musicians. Successful
musicians in both groups not only invest large amounts of time practising
but possess a deep desire to master their craft (Ericsson et al., 1993; ShehanCampbell, 1995; Walser, 1993). Consequently, our theoretical framework
includes motivational components such as intrinsic value, defined as the
learner’s ‘beliefs about the importance and interest of the task’ (Pintrich and
De Groot, 1990: 34) and anxiety, which deals with the level of anxiety a student experiences when performing in public or for one of the graded external
performance examinations which are typical in music education.
The concept of self-efficacy, which originated in the work of Bandura
(1977), is also of critical importance, because it is particularly salient in
specific performance activities (Bandura, 1997; Zimmerman, 2000). Selfefficacy is defined as ‘the conviction that one can successfully execute the
behavior required to produce the outcomes’ (Bandura, 1977: 79). In this sense,
self-efficacy may seem closely tied to theories of self-concept and self-competence in that it does include personal judgements of ability (Pintrich and
Schunk, 1996). Where it differs, however, is that self-efficacy also includes being
able to organize and execute the actions or skills necessary to demonstrate
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
competent performance. For example, self-efficacy for music performance not
only implies a self-recognition of being a good instrumentalist, but also
explicit judgements about the skills necessary to perform in front of others,
such as in a music examination or concert. Another important distinction is
that self-efficacy judgements are made in relation to a specific type of performance (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996; Stipek, 1998). A trumpeter might
lower his or her efficacy judgements for playing a high note in a particular
piece because of a sore embouchure; a pianist may display lower self-efficacy
when faced with the challenge of learning a difficult piece in what she or he
might feel is too short a timeframe.
In studies of academic achievement, perceptions of personal competence
‘act as determinants of behaviour by influencing the choices that individuals
make, the effort they expend, the perseverance they exert in the face of difficulties, and the thought patterns and emotional reactions they experience’
(Pajares, 1996b: 325; see also Bong and Clark, 1999; Hackett, 1995).
According to Pintrich and Schunk (1996), the optimum level for self-efficacy
is to have slightly higher perceptions of efficacy than is justified by one’s
actual real ability. Indeed, students with high self-efficacy in a particular
domain are more likely to choose more challenging tasks, exert more effort,
persist longer and be less likely to experience debilitating anxiety (Bandura,
1986; Pajares, 1996a; Zimmerman, 2000). In contrast, even accurate selfperceptions can result in ‘lower optimism and lower levels of self-efficacy’s
primary functions – effort, persistence, and perseverance’ (Pajares, 1996b:
340).
Academic research shows that students tend to avoid tasks and situations
for which they feel inadequate, and concentrate on tasks and activities with
which they feel they can cope (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996). Although no
specific research has been found in music that focuses on self-efficacy (as
defined by Bandura and cited earlier), Hallam’s (1998) review of evidence
does suggest that students who perceive themselves as musically inadequate
tend to turn to other sporting and leisure activities and are less likely to continue learning their instrument.
Given the context and how they are organized, externally graded performance examinations such as those offered by Trinity College, London and the
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music offer a unique framework
from which to examine young musicians’ self-efficacy perceptions. This is
particularly important given that these perceptions are likely to fluctuate,
depending on the person’s physical condition and mood, plus external factors
such as the nature of the task and the social milieu (Pintrich and Schunk,
1996).
The study reported here investigated each of these cognitive mediational
processes in the context of a music performance examination, using structural equation modelling to explore the relationships among these aspects of
motivation, music practice and performance. Our purpose was to focus
McCormick and McPherson: Self-efficacy in a musical performance examination
attention on an aspect of musical learning in which many hundreds of thousands of children worldwide participate each year, but which has received
almost no research attention; namely, graded music examinations.
Method
The sample consisted of 332 instrumentalists, between the ages of 9 and 18
years (mean12.81; SD = 2.32), who were completing Trinity College, London
graded, externally assessed performance examinations at 15 different regional and metropolitan centres across three Australian states. Students who participated were learning to play either piano, or a string, brass or woodwind
instrument.
The Trinity College, London examinations, involve requirements that are
similar to other examination systems such as the Australian Music
Examinations Board and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.
Candidates are required to perform prepared pieces with piano accompaniment, technical exercises, and études from a graded syllabus in front of a
trained, professional examiner who provides a mark according to whether
the performance was unsatisfactory (below 65), a pass (65–74), a merit
(75–84) or a distinction (85 or above). Students undertaking these types of
examinations can progress through the various grades from initial, grades 1
to 8, and diplomas (Associate, Licentiate and Fellowship).
Although estimates of examiner reliability were not available for the
Trinity College external performance examination, they were still considered
appropriate, based on the efficient manner in which these examinations are
administered and controlled, the rigorous system of accrediting examiners,
and the fact that these types of awards are generally acknowledged by the
profession in the countries in which they are offered as an important indication of a musician’s overall ability to perform music (see further, McPherson
et al., 1997).
In the months preceding the study, teachers who were preparing students
were sent copies of a letter and asked to distribute them to all students (and
their parents) who were undertaking all levels of the Trinity College examinations. The letter explained the aims of the study and provided examples of the
types of questions to be asked. It also invited candidates to participate in the
study by arriving at the examination centre earlier than required in order to
complete a questionnaire immediately before entering their examination.
Importantly, this procedure allowed for efficacy beliefs and actions to be
measured in close temporal proximity to the students’ examination, based on
evidence that the ‘closer in time, the better the test of causation’ (Bandura,
1997: 67). Like other researchers (e.g. Bandura, 1997; Bong and Clark,
1999) we felt that the most reliable indication of self-efficacy would come
from a measure administered immediately before candidates entered their
examination.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
MEASURES
Approximately 65 percent of subjects who received the invitation completed
a self-report questionnaire that included 16 items on self-regulatory learning
components (Cognitive Strategy Use, Self-Regulation) and motivational components (Intrinsic Value, Anxiety, Self-Efficacy) of instrumental learning.
Subjects were instructed to respond to items using a 7-point Likert-type scale
(1 = ‘not at all true of me’ to 7 = ‘very true of me’). Items were adapted from
a research self-report questionnaire that has proved effective in studies of
academic learning (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990) and earlier work by the
researchers (McPherson and McCormick, 1999, 2000).
The Cognitive Strategy Use items focused on rehearsing strategies (e.g. ‘If I
can’t play a piece I always stop to think about how it should go’), elaboration
strategies (e.g. ‘I’m always thinking about pieces I’m learning by singing
them through in my mind’ and ‘When I’m practising I often stop playing and
think about how the music should go’) and organizational strategies (e.g.
‘The first thing I do when I practise is ask myself “What do I need to practise
most today?’”, ‘When I practise I always say to myself “I made a mistake, I
must try this section again”’ and ‘When I learn a new piece, I spend most of
my time practising the most difficult sections’).
The Self-Regulation items were concerned with effort management (e.g. ‘If
I can’t play a piece, I leave it until the next lesson’, ‘I sometimes forget to do
my practice’, and ‘I don’t like to learn hard pieces’). The Intrinsic Value items
were concerned with the students’ interest in learning their instrument (e.g.
‘Doing well on my instrument is important to me’ and ‘Playing my instrument is my favourite activity’). The Anxiety items were concerned with performance anxiety on the test each candidate was about to undertake (e.g. ‘I
have an uneasy, upset feeling when I perform in front of people’ and ‘I’m
scared I might freeze up when the examiner asks my scales’).
Self-Efficacy was assessed using the item ‘I have fully mastered the requirements for today’s examination’. This item reflects how the candidate felt
about his or her capacity and skills to perform well in the examination. To
extend the measure of Self-Efficacy, candidates were also asked ‘How good a
musician do you think you are, in comparison with other students of your
own age? Would you say that you are poor, below average, average, above
average, or outstanding in comparison with other students of your same
age?’ and ‘What result do you think you will get for your exam today?’ For the
former question they indicated their response by ticking one of seven categories: unsatisfactory (below 65), low pass (65–9), high pass (70–4), low
merit (75–9), high merit (80–4), low distinction (86–90), or high distinction
(91–100). These types of measures are consistent with self-efficacy measures
used in academic research, in which students are asked to rate themselves on
a scale according to how confident they feel about their ability to complete a
test or performance task (Pintrich and Schunk, 1996).
The questionnaire included a further 11 items which sought to obtain
McCormick and McPherson: Self-efficacy in a musical performance examination
information on how much practice had been undertaken during the month
leading up to the examination, and the frequency with which subjects practised various activities on their instruments. Subjects were asked how many
times a week they practised and for how long. An estimate of their Practice
Time was computed by multiplying the number of practice sessions per week
by the number of minutes averaged for each session. Subjects also used a 5point scale (never, rarely, sometimes, often, every day) to indicate the frequency with which they practised different types of activities during their home
practice, such as Informal Aspects of Practice (i.e. playing by ear for own
enjoyment, improvising own music), Formal Aspects of Practice (i.e. using a
warm-up routine, practising scales/arpeggios, plus studies and études, and
sight-reading music), and Repertoire (playing new unlearned pieces, playing
older familiar pieces).
At the end of each day of performance examinations, the secretary
overseeing the Trinity College examinations collated each of the completed
questionnaires and then wrote on the top right-hand corner each student’s performance examination result. The grade level was represented by the grade
(preliminary or grade 1 through 8) of the examination each student was sitting.
Analysis and discussion
Structural equation modelling was carried out using LISREL 8.3 (Joreskog
and Sorbom, 1996) and the data were normalized using the procedure
included in LISREL 8.3. This methodology was chosen for two principal
reasons. First, structural models specify causal relationships among latent
variables and, although the data are cross-sectional in nature, the students
completed their questionnaires prior to the performance examination.
Second, unlike multiple regression, LISREL estimates measurement errors.
Although the weighted least squares method, using the asymptotic covariance matrix estimated from the polychoric correlation matrix, is generally
preferred with ordinal data, this was not possible, given the modest sample
size. Consequently, maximum likelihood was employed with a covariance
matrix as recommended by Joreskog and Sorbom (1996). Preliminary analysis consisted of confirmatory factor analyses. Anxiety (2 items), Cognitive
Strategy Use (5 items), Self-Regulation (4 items), Self-Efficacy (3 items),
Formal Practice (frequency: 4 items) and Informal Practice (frequency: 2
items) were found to have adequate fit (GFI > .90) either as single factors
when there were sufficient degrees of freedom, or in pairs. Fit statistics of
other conceptualized factors, Intrinsic Value and Repertoire, were unsatisfactory; consequently, the related items were not included in further analysis.
Three variables, Practice Time, Result and Grade Level, were represented
by single measures. Following Joreskog and Sorbom (1989), error variance
was set for these three variables, somewhat arbitrarily, at .15, which was considered better than assuming no error term at all.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
ANALYSIS
1
A tentative initial model with Self-Efficacy as an endogenous variable was
posited. The first step in composing the initial model was to consider which
variables could be conceptualized as directly related to self-efficacy and the
examination result, and which as intervening. It should be emphasized that
this did not involve any notion of causality, given the cross-sectional nature
of the data and the exploratory nature of the analysis. However, it can be
argued that this model reflects temporal relationships, because the measure
of self-efficacy was taken immediately prior to the examination, and the other
variables largely reflected past behaviours and practices before the students’
formal examination.
The key feature of the initial model is that Anxiety, Practice Time, Formal
Practice, Informal Practice and Grade Level do not have direct paths to the
examination result, but are hypothesized to have indirect effects (through
Self-Efficacy, Grade Level and Cognitive Strategy Use) to Informal Practice,
Practice Time and Formal Practice. The hypothesized relationships were
based on logical argument. For example, it was considered that time spent
practising could be predicted by Anxiety, Grade Level and Self-Regulation, but
Cognitive Strategy Use was more likely to be related to the form of practice,
either formal or informal. So whilst the initial model is only one of many possible models, its specification is based on substantive grounds (Hair et al.,
1992; Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993).
Overall, the model was found to be approaching a reasonable fit of the
data (χ2 = 475.16, df = 211, p < .01; χ2/df = 2.25; standardized RMSR =
.07; RMSEA = .06; GFI = .89; AGFI = .85) and is shown in Figure 1 with
standardized path coefficients. However, as the purpose of the analysis was
essentially ‘model generating’, the parameter estimates, the residuals and the
modification indices were examined (Joreskog and Sorbom, 1993). Paths
from (1) Anxiety to Self-Efficacy and Practice Time, (2) Grade Level to Formal
Practice and achievement, and (3) Practice Time to Performance were found
to be non-significant. It should be noted that there were no significant
hypothesized paths from Anxiety to any other variable. All non-significant
paths were eliminated and there was a concomitant small improvement in
the fit (for example, GFI = .90). Perusal of modification indices for latent variable paths suggested a single additional direct path from Cognitive Strategy
Use to Self-Efficacy. Logically, Cognitive Strategy Use could be predicted to be
associated with Self-Efficacy. Analysis was repeated with this path, resulting
in a marginal improvement in the fit (χ2 = 337.46, df = 159, p < .01; χ2/df =
2.17; standardized RMSR = .06; RMSEA = .06; GFI = .91; AGFI = .88). The
final model is shown in Figure 2.
A key feature of the final endogenous model is that Anxiety is no longer
included. The sole direct path to Performance is from Self-Efficacy with a relatively high standardized coefficient of .68. Interestingly, two variables, Grade
Level and Cognitive Strategy Use, are negative predictors of Self-Efficacy. For
McCormick and McPherson: Self-efficacy in a musical performance examination
FIGURE
1 Self-efficacy endogenous standardized initial model.
Grade Level, this relationship may reflect the increasingly demanding examination requirements as students move from lower to higher grades, and
perhaps, appreciate more the gap between their actual and desired grade
level. This result is consistent with a Wigfield et al. (1997) study that showed
a decline, over time, in children’s ability-related beliefs in a number of
subjects, including instrumental music.
The paths from Grade Level through Practice Time, through Self-Efficacy
to Performance, with positive coefficients, are also worth noting. This illustrates the value of examining grade and amount of practice together since, as
grades increase, respective examinations are longer and more demanding
and more practice is therefore required.
The negative relationship of Cognitive Strategy Use with Self-Efficacy may
be explained by the items used in the questionnaire which infer focusing on
errors and correcting them, e.g. ‘When I practise I always say to myself “I
FIGURE
2 Self-efficacy endogenous standardized final model.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
made a mistake, I must try this section again”’. However, in this model, that
negative relationship is somewhat offset by indirect effects through formal
practice and informal practice. Each variable, except for Self-Regulation,
has a direct path to Self-Efficacy. Hence, the most striking feature of this
model is that Self-Efficacy is a strong mediator between other variables and
Performance.
ANALYSIS
2
A competing model was posited on the basis of references in the literature to
self-efficacy affecting choice of activities, effort, persistence and self-regulation (Zimmerman, 2000), all of which may be conceptualized as related
to musical practice. Of course, this model does not reflect that the students
completed the questionnaires immediately prior to their performance
examinations. However, although Bandura (1997) argued that temporal
proximity of measurements was an important factor in establishing accurate
relationships between efficacy beliefs and actions, it may not be a necessary
requirement (Bong and Clark, 1999). This proposed model with Self-Efficacy
exogenous is shown in Figure 3. One Anxiety item had negative error covariance and the model could not be fitted to the data. The Anxiety variable and
related paths were eliminated and the procedure repeated. Paths from Grade
Level to Cognitive Strategy Use and from Self-Regulation, Formal Practice,
Informal Practice and Practice Time to Performance were non-significant,
and eliminated, and the analysis repeated. Fit statistics for this model were:
χ2 = 395.24, df = 160, p < .01; χ2/df = 2.47; standardized RMSR = .08;
RMSEA = .07; GFI = .89; AGFI = .86. Again, as this was a model-generating
process, modification indices were inspected and a path added from Cognitive
FIGURE
3 Self-efficacy exogenous initial model.
McCormick and McPherson: Self-efficacy in a musical performance examination
FIGURE
4 Self-efficacy exogenous final model.
Strategy Use to Self-Regulation. There was a small improvement in model fit
(e.g. GFI = .90), but the path from Cognitive Strategy Use to Performance was
non-significant and was subsequently eliminated. Inspection of modification
indices suggested adding a path from Cognitive Strategy Use to Informal
Practice. This resulted in yet another non-significant path from Self-Efficacy
to Cognitive Strategy Use. This path was eliminated and the analysis repeated.
The final model with Self-Efficacy as an exogenous variable is shown in
Figure 4. It should be noted that the fit statistics are very close to those for the
Self-Efficacy endogenous model (χ2 = 333.05, df = 158, p < .01; χ2/df =
2.11; standardized RMSR = .06; RMSEA = .06; GFI = .91; AGFI = .88).
The key features of the final self-efficacy exogenous model are not unexpected, given the endogenous model. There is a strong direct effect from SelfEfficacy to Performance, with no direct effects from other variables on
Performance. As was highlighted earlier, this is only one of a number of possible
models. Although the fit statistics of the two final models are very close, it
would seem logical to consider the self-efficacy endogenous model more appropriate for these data. Notwithstanding, the literature has conceptualized
self-efficacy both as a mediating variable between other cognitive variables
and performance, and as a variable which directly affects other cognitive and
behavioural variables (Zimmerman, 2000). Of course, direction of causality
cannot be established by these data. However, the competing models suggest
the desirability of these phenomena being studied with longitudinal data.
Conclusion
This study suggests that the relationship between self-efficacy and performance quality appears to be consistent with other academic contexts (Bong
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
and Clark, 1999; Pajares, 1996b; Pintrich and De Groot, 1990; Zimmerman,
2000). The study reported an exploration of relationships among variables
related to motivation, musical practice and performance. The principal result
is the strong association between self-efficacy and actual performance and
the former’s clear superiority as a predictor of actual performance in a graded
external music examination.
It is likely that the failure to fit the anxiety construct within both the models is a reflection of the suitability of the items rather than the actual role of
anxiety in the performance examination for these young musicians. The
intention was to develop items specific to the performance examination context. In retrospect, the use of a well-established instrument, such as
Spielberger et al.’s (1983) State–Trait Anxiety Inventory or Nagel et al.’s (1989)
music-specific measure, would have been a better choice. Moreover, state and
trait forms of anxiety could be predicted to play quite different roles in terms of
practice and performance. The inclusion of state and trait anxiety would
require different initial models to those employed in the analysis reported here.
Whilst performance examinations have much in common with other
forms of academic examinations, they differ from many in an important way.
In a highly charged music performance examination, the performer only has
one opportunity to perform at his or her best. There is no time to return and
revise an earlier decision, or to make more time available for one sub-task by
quickly dispatching another. Moreover, performance is arguably the most
important image-forming component of an individual’s identity as a musician. Consequently, it is perhaps not surprising that students’ perceptions of
self-efficacy should play a major role in how they perform. However, we still
do not understand properly the mechanisms whereby students come to
believe in their own abilities to perform well. Notwithstanding, this study
reinforces the view that whilst practice plays a vital part in the development
of a musician’s capacity to perform well, it should not be considered in isolation from motivational and related variables (Hallam, 1998; O’Neill, 1997;
Williamon and Valentine, 2000).
Further research with longitudinal data and refined instruments is desirable to unravel the mediating relationships of self-efficacy with aspects of
instrumental practice.
AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S
The authors wish to acknowledge valuable advice from the editor and two anonymous reviewers.
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JOHN McCORMICK
is a senior lecturer in educational administration in the School
of Education at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia. His broad
area of research interest is motivation in various settings. In addition to collaborative
work with Gary McPherson, he has carried out research in the areas of stress, anxiety,
leadership and organizational decision-making.
McCormick and McPherson: Self-efficacy in a musical performance examination
Address: School of Education, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
2052. [email: [email protected]]
G A RY M c P H E R S O N
completed his doctorate at the University of Sydney and is currently an associate professor of music education at the University of New South Wales
in Sydney, Australia. He has served on a variety of editorial boards for journals in
music education and music psychology, including Psychology of Music, and is currently the editor of Research Studies in Music Education. His published research addresses
visual, aural and creative aspects of musical performance in young developing
musicians, as well as self-regulatory and motivational issues that influence musical
development.
Address: School of Music and Music Education, The University of New South Wales,
Sydney, Australia 2052. [email: [email protected]]
51
53
A RT I C L E
An investigation of members’
roles in wind quintets
Psychology of Music
Psychology of Music
Copyright © 
Society for Education,
Music and Psychology
Research
vol (): ‒
[- ()
:; ‒; ]
L UA N F O R D a n d J A N E W. DAV I D S O N
UNIVERSITY OF SHEFFIELD
This article presents new findings regarding group processes in
chamber ensembles. Following work by Young and Colman, Butterworth, and
Murnighan and Conlon on the string quartet, a questionnaire was distributed to
wind quintets throughout the UK. A total of 55 respondents, representing 20
ensembles, participated in the study. Quantitative and qualitative data revealed
information about group formation, personnel recruitment and the use of
deputies, leadership, seating positions, verbal and non-verbal communication,
conflict, rehearsing and performing, audience effects, social aspects and
administration. The current study focuses on the role of the horn player in the
quintet and explores players’ attitudes and perceptions of their individual
careers, quintet repertoire, concert promoters and string quartets as an opposing
medium. Results are discussed with reference to the existing quartet studies and
to social psychological theory of group dynamics.
A B S T R AC T
K E Y W O R D S : chamber music, group dynamics, small group behaviour, social
interaction, wind ensembles
Introduction
RESEARCH PRECEDENTS
Applied psychological and sociological research into group dynamics, for
decades, has provided invaluable insights into teams in working environments, investigating ways in which managers and group leaders can help
their organizations to function most effectively (Young and Colman, 1979;
see Allport, 1924; Bales and Bargatta, 1955; and Zajonc, 1965); Shaw,
1971; Baumeister, 1984; Forsyth, 1990; Zander, 1994). Such research has
direct relevance in the field of music and a number of studies have been carried out relating to the orchestral working environment and interpersonal
sempre :
54
Psychology of Music 31(1)
dynamics involved in group function, including Faulkner (1973), Small
(1987), Frederickson and Rooney (1993), Atik (1995), Allmendinger et al.
(1996), and Levine and Levine (1996). The chamber music field has been
largely neglected with only a handful of studies to date (Young and Colman,
1979; Butterworth, 1990; Murnighan and Conlon, 1991; Davidson and
Good, 2002), all of which focus on one medium: the string quartet. (Alverno
[1987] also studied string quartets but in the context of the performing arts
medicine field rather than that of group dynamics. Therefore the authors
have not considered this research to be of direct relevance to the current
study.)
Young and Colman (1979) were the first to suggest that psychological
research into group dynamics could have relevance for chamber music
ensembles. However, their article simply summarizes some of the research up
to that time and discusses the theoretical issues of leadership within ensemble conflict, and audience effects within a string quartet. While revolutionary
for its time, the authors are aware of the speculative nature of their writing
and point out the need for empirical research.
Butterworth (1990) was the first psychologist to undertake a case study of
a chamber group. Her work takes the form of 15 hours of observation as well
as questionnaires and interviews with each of the members of the Detroit
String Quartet, a part-time ensemble drawn from a full-time professional
orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Butterworth provides a commentary on the rehearsals observed, followed by an analysis of leadership
roles, member interactions, group aspirations, personalities and conflict. The
study demonstrates that this quartet embodied many of the group processes
discussed by Young and Colman (1979), although one of the drawbacks of
Butterworth’s case study approach is that it only offers a one-sided view.
Blum (1986) and Rounds (1999) attempted to explore the group processes
of quartets by examining biographical texts. Whilst some interesting questions were raised, the second-hand nature of the biographical reporting
makes both these studies anecdotal. The authors are highly aware of the difficulties involved in trying to validate the biographical reporting.
Murnighan and Conlon (1991) undertook a detailed and empirically valid
large-scale study of 20 professional British string quartets, using semistructured interviews (supported by archival material) and some observations. With such a large sample they were able to provide a much more
balanced view of how quartets work, focusing on the relationship between
internal dynamics and group success.
Davidson and Good’s (2002) study focused on a string quartet comprising
students who had been working together for just six months. Through video
recordings and semi-structured interviews, the researchers examined the
social and musical co-ordination between the four players as they prepared
for their first recital. The ‘newness’ of the ensemble produced rather different
data from the professional quartets studied by Butterworth, and Murnighan
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
and Conlon, but it provided new insights into the ways in which chamber
musicians develop an awareness of their colleagues’ styles of playing, musical gestures and communicative behaviours.
The work of Davidson and Good (2002), and Murnighan and Conlon is
the most recent and far-reaching to date in the field of group dynamics of
chamber ensembles, and along with Young and Colman, and Butterworth,
they form the foundations for further investigation. The first author of this
current investigation has professional experience of wind quintets and, in
order to pursue the small group processes of chamber ensembles in more
detail, the comparable medium of the wind quintet became the focus of the
study.
WIND QUINTETS
The first wind quintets (flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon) were written
around 1800 and many composers wrote for the ensemble during the
Classical period. It was a popular professional and amateur form of music
making. Although the popularity of chamber ensembles, in general – and
string quartets, in particular – waned in the second half of the 19th century,
wind quintets continued to be written, often by leading performers whose indepth knowledge of the instruments meant their works were very appealing
for players and audiences alike (Stoneham et al., 1997), and the 20th century saw a great surge of interest in writing for wind instruments (SecristSchmedes, 1996). From a musicological perspective, it appears that the
contrasting colours and timbres available in a wind quintet are appealing to
many composers. From a psychological perspective, the contrasting timbres,
types of instrument and playing techniques make the wind quintet a potentially fascinating source of investigation into how individuals behave in order
to function as a group. Indeed, perhaps these contrasts will make the interpersonal dynamics of the ensemble very different to those of a string quartet
where the timbres and techniques of the instruments are much closer.
Additionally, working with five as opposed to four people in the wind
ensemble, the dyadic and triadic allegiances make the potential for
conflict quite different to those facing the string quartet members. These
questions along with others covered by the string quartet researchers were
pursued in the current project in a questionnaire study.
Methodology
RESEARCH INSTRUMENTS
The need to question as many quintets and address as many issues as possible
in the absence of any previous research meant that an observation and interview study would be impractical. Given time and financial constraints, and
the fact that wind quintets are geographically spread far and wide, it was felt
that a postal questionnaire would be the most effective method of gathering
55
56
Psychology of Music 31(1)
data (in line with recommendations by Oppenheim, 1966). Subsequently, a
21-page one-sided questionnaire was prepared consisting of 50 questions
using 5-point Likert scales and open-ended semi-structured questions.1 The
aim of the questionnaire was to enquire about quintets in general, whilst
investigating individual players’ points of view (additional comments were
encouraged wherever respondents felt it appropriate to add them). The
questionnaire emerged out of studying the previous quartet literature (as
discussed earlier), and the first author’s professional experience of wind
quintets. The questions related to the following themes: details of formation,
personnel changes, deputies, gender, age, careers of individual players, concert fees, frequency of rehearsals/concerts, rehearsal techniques, views
about over-rehearsal, performance nerves, verbal and non-verbal communication, leadership, seating plans, disagreements between players, social
aspects both in and outside rehearsals/performances, administration, programming policies, individual practice, players’ attitudes about string
quartets as an opposing medium, players’ concepts about wind quintet repertoire, concert promoters’ prejudices, positive and negative aspects of playing
in a wind quintet, priority of the quintet in their lives and how long they
envisage their group staying together.
The questionnaire was then piloted, working with the first author’s own
professional wind quintet. The remaining four players of this quintet were
asked to complete the questionnaire independently of one another and, at
the same time, to proof-read the text, check that the questions could not be
misinterpreted, amend errors and make suggestions for improvement. The
completed questionnaires were then returned to the first author for further
refinement.
PARTICIPANTS
The first author felt it necessary to find the largest number of professional
wind quintets possible by searching through national musical directories, the
names of which cannot be disclosed for reasons of anonymity. Following the
search, 30 quintets from all over the UK were contacted by telephone and
invited to participate in the study. All but three (who had disbanded) were
interested in being involved. Questionnaires were subsequently sent out to all
the members of 27 quintets throughout the UK (130 players in total). Two of
these players returned two questionnaires each because they were members
of two different quintets, and two groups were incomplete at the time of the
study, one group having just four members, the other only three. In total, 55
questionnaires were returned representing 20 quintets (a response rate of
over 60% of the 30 quintets originally contacted) generating quantitative
and qualitative data. Eight of these quintets were represented by just
one member, two quintets by two members, three quintets by three members
and one quintet by four members; six groups returned a full set of five questionnaires. Of the total sample, 17 of the groups were professional, three
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
semi-professional. Three quintets consisted entirely of players in full-time
orchestral positions; four quintets were split between players in full-time
orchestral positions and freelance players, while the remaining 13 quintets
were combinations of freelance musicians, instrumental teachers, arts
administrators, music retailers, students and non-musicians.
Results and discussion
In this article, some general results are explored by discussing both the quantitative and the qualitative data, and a case study of horn players is made
owing to the large numbers of changes in horn personnel discovered. A systematic content analysis was carried out (in line with Miles and Huberman,
1994) due to the large amount of qualitative data collected, and direct quotations from quintet members are used to illustrate the emergent themes. In
order to facilitate discussion in the following exploration of our data, the
emergent themes are compared with the findings of related psychological
studies and the previous string quartet work.
GENERAL FINDINGS
(i) Gender composition
Applying a frequency analysis to the data collected, it was discovered that no
one male–female combination of players was different from any other (χ2 =
6.4, df = 5, n.s.). Table 1 shows the distribution in terms of percentages,
revealing that only 15 percent (three quintets) were single-sex groups. These
results contrast strongly with the string quartet field where single-sex groups
tend to be in the majority (Murnighan and Conlon, 1991).
TA B L E
Males
1
2
3
4
5
0
1 Gender composition in wind quintets
Females
% of quintets
(N = 20)
4
3
2
1
0
5
15
35
15
20
5
10
The distribution of men and women playing the five instruments of the
wind quintet differed from that expected by chance (χ2 = 72, df = 1, p <
.001). Figure 1 shows the percentages of men and women playing each
instrument. From these data it is evident that flute players are mainly female
and horn players are predominantly male. This finding corresponds to work
by Abeles and Porter (1978), Delzell and Leppla (1992) and O’Neill (1997)
57
58
Psychology of Music 31(1)
%
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Flute
males
FIGURE
Oboe
Clarinet
Horn
Bassoon
females
1 Gender/instrument distribution in wind quintets (N = 20).
who, in studying preferences for musical instruments, found that males
would more typically choose brass instruments than woodwind, and that the
flute was largely popular with females.
(ii) How did the group form?
Applying a frequency analysis to the data collected, a significant result was
obtained (χ2 = 7.29, df = 2, p < .05). Table 2 shows the percentage of
responses given to possible ways of forming. From this, it is evident that
the majority of the wind quintets in the study formed whilst studying at
music college, or else forged links with colleagues later on in their careers. In
the qualitative data, players explained this categorization more fully by
expressing the desire to join forces with friends or acquaintances or to work
alongside people they liked and respected. For example, one bassoonist
wanted to
work with friends who have honest exacting standards.
One flute player expressed the wish to
improve my ensemble playing by working with other excellent musicians.
Changes over time From the entire data set, only two quintets have survived
without any changes of personnel since their formation. In fact, 77 percent
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
TA B L E
2 Group formation in wind quintets
% of quintets
(N = 20)
Place of formation
At music college
With colleagues
As an off-shoot from another ensemble
Other
50
45
5
0
of the quintets represented reported personnel changes. Of these quintets,
respondents revealed various reasons for players leaving groups: a change of
career, moving away to study, family problems, lack of commitment, personality clashes, geographic constraints or sub-standard playing. When the frequency of instrument changes was examined according to instrument, a significant effect was found (χ2 = 15.85, df = 4, p < .01). The percentages of
changes according to instrument are shown in Table 3. From this, it is
obvious that there are far more changes in horn player than any of the other
instruments. This startling difference has led us to make a case study of
the horn players and the data collected about them. Their results will be
discussed when examining the qualitative data collected from the questionnaire.
All the ensembles studied reported that each time a member left and a new
one joined, the group progress was affected – whether this was to the good or
the detriment of the group. This finding is consistent with the general psychological research on group dynamics (see Forsyth, 1990). Using a deputy
or substitute player has a similar effect. Yet, all wind quintets use substitutes,
which is generally considered necessary in the event of an individual player
in the ensemble wishing to accept alternative more financially rewarding
work, or the ensemble having to cancel a lucrative concert because of the
unavailability of a player. Here is one indicative comment from a very busy
freelance horn player:
All ensembles except string quartets and piano trios use deputies. One can only
get away with never using deputies if the quintet is full time (I can’t think of
TA B L E
3 Personnel changes in wind quintets
Instrument
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Horn
Bassoon
% of changes
9.5
9.5
21
43
17
59
60
Psychology of Music 31(1)
any full-time quintets in the UK) or if the fee is so good that one can turn down
large blocks of work that clash.
This attitude is in stark contrast to that of many string quartets who give
priority to their ensemble, only earning their ‘filthy lucre’ with extra freelance work (Murnighan and Conlon, 1991: 168) if and when time allows.
String quartets, being much more of a full-time ensemble, use deputies very
rarely if at all:
This wasn’t a job in which, with one person sick, you simply call the musicians’
union for a substitute. Even if an experienced violinist with a compatible musical temperament could be found – no small task – it would take months for the
new group to jell. (Steinhardt, 1998: 277)
Other commitments All wind quintets in the study, though professional,
classed themselves as part time. They rehearsed on average once a month, or
failing that, immediately prior to concerts. Unless members lived close to one
another and/or the group gave a lot of concerts, it was not practical to
rehearse more frequently than this due to players’ other work commitments.
A frequency analysis of the types of jobs undertaken by the quintet players
showed a statistical difference (χ2 = 192.4, df = 6, p < .0001). Table 4 shows
the distribution – in percentages – of the primary sources of income for the
quintet members in our study. From this, it appears that the significant
majority of quintet members follow freelance careers and that the most common source of work is instrumental teaching.
TA B L E
4 Primary sources of income for wind quintet players
Occupation
Full-time orchestral position
Freelance/instrumental teaching
Solo
Quintet
Music admin/retail
Student
Non-musical
% of quintet players
(N = 100)
22
60
1
4
8
2
3
(iii) Seating positions
When rehearsing and performing, wind quintets – like string quartets – have
to make decisions about how they should sit, and who they must sit opposite
or next to. The quintets do not have standard positions, whereas string quartets tend to choose between two basic positions (see Figure 2).
The variety of instruments and the additional player in a wind quintet create a greater number of choices. Nevertheless, it is possible that wind quintets may have derived some of their ideas from string quartet seating, as one
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
V2 Vla
V1
V2
C
V1
C
Vla
2 String quartet seating plans: V1 = 1st violin, V2 = 2nd violin, Vla = viola,
C = cello.
FIGURE
quintet member commented:
. . . flute is almost always in the same position, the rest varies a lot between
groups – bassoon may be at front or back depending on acoustics. The main
decisions are normally flute and clarinet opposite each other? Bassoon on outside to strengthen bass line? Direction of horn bell? Horn and bassoon together?
The flute invariably sits in the corresponding seat to that of the first violin
in the string quartet and many quintets like to have the bass (i.e. the bassoon)
coming from the middle, as is sometimes the case with cellists in quartets. It is
also important that the horn bell faces away from the audience so that the
sound does not project straight out at them. The clarinet, often sharing the
leading voice, is sometimes placed opposite the flute, although in some
groups the oboe assumes this position and the clarinet sits next to the flute.
The string quartet idea of keeping the inner parts on the inside is not strictly
adhered to in wind quintets, probably because the part writing is such that
the ‘inner parts’ are shared around the group rather than being confined to
certain instruments. The flute, for example, can provide beautiful soaring
melodies one minute, and supporting mid-range harmony the next.
A frequency analysis of the various permutations of seating plan was
undertaken, and a significant effect was found (χ2 = 25, df = 5, p < .001).
Figure 3 shows the six different seating plans our quintet members made.
Seating plan (1) is the most favoured amongst the quintets in the current
study and reinforces the ideas discussed earlier.
Of these quintets, half experimented with their seating plan before settling
(1) 55%
(2) 25%
H
O
F
O
C
(3) 5%
H
O
O
O
F
H
C
F
C
F
(6) 5%
C
B
C
B
B
F
H
F
(4) 5%
H
C
(5) 5%
B
B
B
O
H
3 Wind quintet seating plans: F = flute, O = oboe, H = horn, B = bassoon,
C = clarinet.
FIGURE
61
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
for their layout in an attempt to produce ‘the best homogeneous sound’, whereas 18 percent of quintets reported that that they ‘just followed tradition’,
although it is unclear exactly where or when such a tradition originated.
Leadership Traditionally, as outlined by Young and Colman (1979), string
quartets have always been led by the first violin. In Murnighan and Conlon’s
(1991) study too, the terms ‘leader’ and ‘first violinist’ were used almost
interchangeably by interviewees. In the wind quintets interviewed here, however, the leadership role is not so clearly defined. When asked whether they
considered their quintet to have a leader (as is the case for the string quartet),
significantly 63 percent said ‘no’, 32.7 percent said ‘yes’, and 3.7 percent did
not respond. Indeed, from the additional comments it was clear that, in most
cases, players took equal responsibility for leading the ensemble, as one clarinettist from a long-established group pointed out:
Each instrument has its own role and identity and we work as a team.
and as a horn player stated:
All members have strengths in different areas, so we are democratic in decision
making and respect each others’ strengths.
The term ‘leader’ can mean different things for different people. Sometimes
quintet leadership is perceived as an administrative role only, as illustrated by
one clarinettist:
The organization is done by me, but musical aspects are shared responsibilities
and interpretative ideas come from the ensemble; works well.
These players see their colleague as leader of their ensemble because:
. . . she does basically all the admin [and therefore] runs it!
while this group, who share the administrative duties, do not feel they have a
leader:
We do equal amounts of work for the quintet.
Returning to musical aspects such as expression and interpretation,
respondents felt it appropriate to share responsibility around the group. As
two flautists from different quintets pointed out, the concept of leading the
music was something which passed around the group according to the composition of the piece and the musical style:
It varies depending on the music being played. We are very aware of each other
and find that different players lead at different times.
The team is led by the player with the most important tune.
A frequency analysis revealed that the distribution of responses for each
instrument differed to that expected by chance (χ2 = 21.99, df = 5, p < .001).
Table 5 shows the percentages of responses, revealing that the majority considered the flautist to be leader.
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
TA B L E
5 Who do you consider to be leader?
% of responses
(N = 100)
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Horn
Bassoon
Unanswered
55.6
16.7
16.7
0
5.5
5.5
The flautist was in this position only in as far as she or he is responsible for
bringing other players in and off at the beginnings and ends of sections of
music. Players felt that the responsibility was then passed on to whoever had
the leading voice during the course of a piece. Respondents also regarded
their colleagues as leaders if they tended to have clear ideas about the direction of rehearsals, had strong personalities, or if they took on the responsibility for administrative duties.
Psychologists have found that in small groups, people sitting on the ends of
an inverted ‘V’ shape tend to emerge as leaders more frequently than those
sitting further in (see Bass and Klubeck, 1952). This study significantly reinforces this theory, as in the majority of quintets, the leader (if there is one) sits
at one of the wings. In this study, only two other identified leaders (an oboist
and a bassoonist) sit further in. Figure 4 shows which instruments are considered to be leader and how many of those sit at one of the wings.
In cases where more than one member of the same quintet responded to
the questionnaire, there were differences of opinion between these members
as to whether they have a leader and who that leader is. This suggests that, like
the successful quartets in Murnighan and Conlon’s (1991) study, wind quintets advocate democracy. It seems, however, that they still have their fair
share of conflict. According to Young and Colman (1979), conflict is likely in
3
X
2X
X4
1X
X5
Seating position
1
Flute
Oboe
Clarinet
Bassoon
10
1
FIGURE
2
4 Seating positions of leaders.
3
4
5
1
3
1
63
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
a quartet which can easily divide equally into two. In a quintet, the players
form sub-groups, causing a majority–minority split of 3/2 or 4/1. All groups
said that the majority view was the accepted one. This observation leads to
the next topic of discussion.
(iv) Group function
Zander (1994) states that people are more likely to achieve group goals if
they speak freely with one another and they are more likely to do this if they
have spent a lot of time together. This idea is reinforced by one clarinettist
whose quintet is long established, successful and busy:
We all get on really well together but feel free to take anyone or anything to task
– resulting in some pretty awful rows sometimes!
Conversely, some groups said they do not disagree at all. Given the human
temperament, it seems unlikely that there would be no disagreements, but if
they haven’t been playing together for very long and they rehearse less than
once a month, they may not feel comfortable in taking other players ‘to task’
(see Argyle, 1994: 9; Zander, 1994: 69).
According to Murnighan and Conlon (1991), string quartets play much
more than they talk when rehearsing. The wind quintets in this study show a
variety of approaches, as this horn player remarks:
With some groups there is so much empathy that it all happens in the playing.
Some need to talk. Both approaches are equally valid if the end result is good.
One clarinettist feels that:
Too much stopping to talk tends not to give good results for us, but often ‘looks’
and body language say more than words!
Indeed, eye contact was the most popular form of non-verbal communication, although the questionnaire did not successfully measure its frequency
or effectiveness. Expressive body movement was discussed less than might be
expected, although it is possible that players are not consciously aware of
their movements whilst playing, therefore rendering the results inaccurate
(see Davidson, 1997, for more details on expressive body movement in performance). In addition, unlike string players, wind instrumentalists cannot
see how their colleagues are producing their sound. Articulation, tone and
dynamics are produced inside the body and the instrument and so wind players
may need to use discussion to clarify technical matters. The ratio of discussion to actual playing was not successfully measured by the questionnaire.
The very different characteristics of the wind instruments lead the players
to comment that they need to be equally skilled as soloists and accompanists,
switching from leading voice to supporting harmony. Most reported being
happy to perform this juxtaposition of roles, although the questionnaire
revealed some striking findings regarding horn players. While many enjoyed the
challenges of wind quintet playing, some found the experience unrewarding,
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
uncomfortable, difficult or dull. It has already been shown that quintets have
had significantly more changes of horn player than any other instrument.
None of the horn players in this study take on leadership roles, nor do they
admit to having any responsibility for administrative duties. For this reason
we now examine our data more closely to explain why this may be so.
(v) Horn players
Of the quintet members questioned, one third reported bad experiences they
had encountered with horn-playing colleagues, claiming that their previous
horn players had perhaps been more committed to building up orchestral
contacts than to the future of the quintet and eventually this had an adverse
effect on the group. For example, one flute player commented:
The original player was extremely busy doing freelance playing which not only
cut down our rehearsals but affected [their] embouchure!
The horn player’s lack of sensitivity often frustrated colleagues who obviously
did take their group seriously and wanted it to work, as one oboist commented:
The original horn player didn’t really take wind quintets seriously and didn’t
want to rehearse, also didn’t really listen as a chamber music player.
Another group suffered from a lack of continuity in the format of their
quintet, owing to a series of horn players who were either unable or unwilling to commit themselves, as one bassoonist reported:
We had four changes of horn player! Two career changes, one long-term
deputy, one sacking (poor attitude and attendance).
If taken at face value, these comments paint a rather bleak picture of horn
players, suggesting that they lack the ability to commit themselves, display little talent and are incapable of taking chamber music seriously. However, this
was only true in one third of the quintets, which shows that there are plenty
of good, committed players in quintets.
Horn players’ own comments may help to provide a clearer and fairer idea
of what it is like to be the only brass player in a wind quintet and might begin
to explain why so few of them stick at it for very long.
Chamber music is completely different from orchestral playing.
This comment from one horn player and teacher seems rather surprising
because orchestral playing and chamber music playing do, of course, have
common elements, both requiring high levels of discipline, concentration
and listening skills. However, Reynolds (1997) seems to agree with this statement when he describes some of the difficulties of wind quintet playing from
a horn player’s point of view. He believes that woodwind players are able to
reproduce the music as written with relative ease, while
The orchestral horn player has to make conscious and deliberate adjustments
in volume, articulation, and release in order to play the traditional music
written for wind quintet. (p. 185)
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Consequently, as one very experienced horn player (having played in several
wind quintets) remarks:
For the horn, wind quintet is much harder than any other type of playing,
whether solo, chamber or orchestral.
Reynolds (a leading US horn player and teacher) goes on to explain why
this might be the case. Because woodwind players ‘generally have an attitude
that is less metronomically bound than brass players’ (p. 185), horn players
may feel uncomfortable about the timing of breaths and nuances. They are
less able to move around their instruments with the ‘astounding rapidity’ of
flutes and clarinets whose instruments are highly mechanized. Horn players
must be very sensitive to the range of colours offered by each of the woodwind instruments. The flute, for example, often dominates the quintet on the
top line, but when providing an inner voice in a similar range to that of the
horn it tends to project considerably less well, so careful balancing is needed.
The clarinet poses similar problems for the horn player because its ‘softest
notes are barely audible’, although the two can blend well together when the
volume is at mid-range and when parts are fairly close together. The oboe is
so different from the horn that ‘it is better to find ways to use the wonderful
differences in quality between these two instruments rather than to distort
one or the other, or both, in an attempt to blend’. Conversely, bassoonists
share a similar range and somewhat similar tone quality to that of the horn,
and can generally balance well, except in particularly loud passages.
Do the demands of wind quintet playing ever cause horn players to feel
inadequate alongside four woodwind players? Possibly as, according to Kemp
(1996), horn players tend to be more susceptible to anxiety and are generally
more introverted than their trumpet and trombone-playing colleagues.
Additionally, Baumeister (1984) found that performance suffered under pressure if participants felt self-conscious or anxious about their abilities. He
argues that self-consciousness increases performers’ awareness of stress,
pain or fatigue, causing them to hold back and not necessarily give of their
best. This may go part of the way to explain why, as some horn players
become tired during a particularly tough concert programme, they tend to
‘split’ notes. One player certainly feels uncomfortable at times and does not
like
. . . feeling responsible if I don’t play as well as hoped on a performance
while another hates
. . . being the one who can’t always play it right.
In contrast, one rather dissatisfied player seems to have overlooked all of the
challenges that wind quintets offer:
Sometimes the part isn’t very interesting!
These negative feelings can be related directly to Murnighan and Conlon’s
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
(1991) study on two counts. First, just as second violinists seldom have the
opportunity to express themselves freely in a solo line but are, nevertheless,
required to be as equally skilled and flexible as the first violin in order to support his or her sound, intonation, dynamic and so on, according to Reynolds
(1997):
Horn players must develop a willingness to trade the glamour of the leading
voice for the nobility of playing an inner voice superbly. This can be difficult for
an orchestral player for whom ‘projection’ is very important. (p. 186)
Second, it is worth pointing out that in a full-size symphony orchestra,
horn players usually play in a section of four, all of whom immediately
understand the technical difficulties of the instrument. In a wind quintet, the
horn player is suddenly the only brass player, so it seems that they need to feel
valued by their colleagues in the same way that second violinists require
recognition and respect from other quartet members. One rather contented
horn player confirms this idea when he describes what is for him the most
positive aspect of playing in a wind quintet:
... nice to be accepted and respected by the other members and by musicians
outside the group.
In fact, just as the quintets in this study have had more changes of horn player than any other instrument, Murnighan and Conlon (1991) reported that
‘everyone felt that a second violinist was the most likely member to leave a
quartet’ (p. 175).
On a more positive note, Reynolds (1997) sees wind quintet playing as a
positive learning experience for horn players, and as a challenge to the development of technical and music skill:
Wind quintet playing can have a refining effect on horn players, particularly in
the areas of style, balance, attacks, dynamics and rhythmic nuances.
Woodwind players tend to use dynamic and rhythmic nuances more freely than
brass players. This is probably due to their having a richer fund of solo literature. Brass players prize power and precision; woodwind players prize line and
elegance. These two attitudes can merge in a wind quintet if horn players are
willing to expand their musicianship to include these freedoms. (p. 186)
It seems that many horn players in the study are willing to ‘expand their
musicianship’ and are thoroughly positive about the whole experience of
playing in a wind quintet. This full-time orchestral player actually prefers
playing in a wind quintet:
My priorities are first solo work, second quintet, third orchestra.
This perhaps relates to Butterworth’s (1990) finding that musicians like to
play chamber music because they can influence how the music should go, a
luxury not possible in an orchestra where the conductor has the final say in
musical decisions. The fact that this player seems to be primarily pursuing a
solo career further suggests a desire to be more musically independent.
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On the other side of the coin, players feel that wind quintet playing helps
them in their orchestral work or other aspects of their careers. They seem to
be glad of
. . . the chance to explore new repertoire and to develop the chamber music
skills necessary in today’s musical environment
and the fact that wind quintet playing is
. . . stretching (technically and musically)
offers
. . . more challenging music than orchestral parts and is good for tuning and listening practice
and provides
. . . good discipline for individual standards.
Just as, in string quartets, the role of the second violinist has been highlighted as being of particular interest (Murnighan and Conlon, 1991), the
number of personnel changes, lack of leadership roles, reluctance to undertake administrative tasks, and the fact that some horn players appear less
confident about their abilities than their woodwind colleagues suggest that
horn players need to feel valued by other members of their group because
they have a very difficult role, being the only brass player.
(vi) Allied sociological issues
Wind quintets seem to face barriers that string quartets simply do not come
across. Not only have wind quintets been ignored by researchers, they are
often sadly neglected by concert promoters too, judging by the overall
response to the following statement from the questionnaire: ‘Concert promoters prefer to book string quartets rather than wind quintets.’
Many of the wind quintet players mentioned low morale. At least half of
respondents apologized for or complained about the wind repertoire and
compared it with that for string quartet whose ‘repertoire is much more
extensive and well known’.
Some players feel that the
lack of respect from music societies as a whole
and
getting overlooked by people who favour string quartets
are unfair and possibly the most negative aspects of playing in a wind quintet.
Other players tried to understand the situation from a financial point of
view. While it is not necessarily in the concert promoter’s interest to make a
profit on ticket sales, it is important to break even and not run at a loss; otherwise, a music society may have to fold. Several respondents seemed to think
that having ‘one less person to pay’ could be yet another incentive to booking
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
a string quartet as opposed to a wind quintet, although wind quintets tend to
be paid less than string quartets anyway. A fee of over £250 per person is
considered ‘very rare’ for a wind player in a quintet.
To follow up this point, personal communications with a London concert
hall confirmed that this is indeed the case, even with an internationally
renowned wind quintet attracting only the same fee as a middle-ranking
string quartet. Additionally, one of the world’s leading string quartets attracted three times the fee per player of a nine-piece wind ensemble of similar
standing.
Fees for wind quintet concerts start from less than £50 per player. Perhaps
wind players feel they have to keep their fees low so as not to deter concert
promoters from booking them. Wind quintets in general do not have the reputation of string quartets: only 40 percent of wind quintets in this study have
made commercial recordings and, of these groups, only two have made more
than five recordings. Players claim this is due to lack of public recognition
and the fact that the wind quintet repertoire is less well known than that of
string quartets, as one flute player suggests:
String quartets are a known factor and can generally programme a well-known
piece alongside a lesser-known work. Much of the wind quintet repertoire is
only known to wind players.
If audiences are used to hearing string quartets and continue coming to
hear string quartets why book an alternative? One reason might be to attract
more children and young people to concerts. Indeed, personal communication with a concert promoter revealed that a wind quintet recital had attracted a younger audience than that which usually attended their various string
quartet concerts because more children learn to play the flute and clarinet
than any other instrument. So there are evidently some powerful social and
cultural factors affecting employment of wind quintets.
Blending Young and Colman (1979) pointed out that the string quartet is
‘made up of four instruments of the same family, similar in timbre and
method of sound production’ (p. 12). If, as they suggest, some composers
have found difficulty writing for the string quartet because of its ‘lack of
colour contrasts’ (p. 12), it seems ironic that the wind quintet with its diversity of instruments does not attract more attention. While for some players,
It’s a fairly unusual and eccentric mix of sounds and can be quite a powerful
experience!
others understand that the ‘lack of a really homogeneous sound’ may be
off-putting for listeners.
Comparing string quartets and wind quintets, one very experienced freelance horn player said:
They [strings] have to rehearse much harder and in much greater depth.
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
The suggestion that string quartets have to work harder is interesting. Is this
because the repertoire is ‘better’ as has been suggested by several respondents, and therefore requires more in-depth analysis? Various biographical
accounts of string quartets (Blum, 1986; Steinhardt, 1988; Rounds, 1999)
describe how players rehearse together in enormous detail, even down to the
production, attack or articulation of individual notes. Some quartets
rehearse every day even though they are performing the same work up to 40
times in a season.
In comparison, it is ironic that 90.6 percent of wind quintet members
think that a piece of music can be over-rehearsed even though they rehearse
together less than once a month! Many wind quintet players do not feel sufficiently committed to the repertoire for whatever reason, and therefore may
not be inclined to spend hours and hours studying it. Because they have so
many other commitments they do not have the luxury of such in-depth
rehearsal. They have to earn a living and wind quintets do not generate a
great deal of income – ‘rehearsals without pay’ and ‘hard work for little
money’.
Some respondents feel that comparing the two mediums is difficult
because string quartets tend to work full time and wind quintets do not.
However, as one flute player points out:
If we were booked and playing as much as string quartets this would be
irrelevant.
Finally, respondents were asked how much of a priority their wind quintet
was in their life at the moment and how long they envisaged their group staying together. Applying a frequency analysis to the data collected revealed that
TA B L E
6 Attitudes and future aspirations
% of responses
(N = 100)
How long do you envisage your quintet staying together?
Always
For a long time
For a short while
Not long at all
Don’t know
NA
1.8
54.5
5.5
5.5
30.9
1.8
How much of a priority is your quintet in your life at the moment?
1 not at all
2
3
4
5 very much so
9.1
30.9
27.3
20
12.7
Ford and Davidson: Members’ roles in wind quintets
plenty of players clearly value the benefits of belonging to a wind quintet
(χ2 = 76.9, df = 5, p < .001). Table 6 shows the percentage responses reflecting the attitudes and future aspirations of the quintet members. More than
half were positive about their group’s future, hoping that it would keep going
for a long time. For the majority of players, however, their quintet was not a
high priority when considered alongside other commitments (χ2 = 9.44, df =
4, p < .1).
Thus it seems the wind quintet does not attract the social and cultural
interest of the string quartet, so important in enabling individuals to earn a
living.
Conclusions
This study has provided a large amount of data from a sample of ensembles
spread over a wide geographical area. It shows that wind quintets share certain features in common with string quartets: both ensembles require good
interpersonal dynamics in order to function effectively. In addition, however,
the wind quintet has its own distinctive set of issues: working as a team and
sharing the responsibilities of leadership; time management when rehearsal
time is limited; adapting to the change in group dynamic introduced by the
use of a deputy has a major effect; experimenting with seating arrangement
in order to achieve the best overall blend of sound; and promoting the ensemble and its repertoire in order to obtain work and earn respect can be problematic. Additionally, the horn player in particular needs to be either carefully
treated or trained to integrate more easily into the wind ensemble.
Obviously these are vital psychological, sociological and cultural issues
requiring much more study. Future research, especially in the form of observation, could provide more data, especially on rehearsal and concert behaviour; semi-structured interviews could also help clarify any ambiguities that
may have arisen through misinterpretation of our postal questionnaire.
Another research possibility might be to extend the existing questionnaire
study to quintets abroad. Any similarities between British and foreign groups
would help substantiate the findings of the present study whilst insights into
their differences would be fascinating. Another different angle could be to
undertake a more sociologically based interview study of concert promoters,
investigating their likes, dislikes and preferences for booking certain types of
ensembles and repertoire, in order to investigate if the thoughts and feelings
of the respondents of this study are justified.
There is no doubt that the wind quintet is a little-known medium worthy
of greater recognition. By introducing it to the field of music psychology we
have aimed to reawaken an interest in the social dynamics of chamber
ensembles whilst making some headway towards raising the profile of the
wind quintet.
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NOTE
1.
Copies of the questionnaire can be obtained from the first author via the email or
postal addresses cited at the end of this article.
AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S
The authors would like to thank all the quintet players who filled in and returned
questionnaires and, in particular, the Chameleon Ensemble for their valued input into
the pilot study.
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L UA N F O R D trained as a performer at Birmingham Conservatoire, and later read for a
Masters Degree in Psychology for Musicians at the University of Sheffield. She has
been clarinettist with the Chameleon Ensemble since 1993; this has led to a particular
interest in the social interaction of small chamber ensembles. In addition she enjoys a
combination of instrumental and classroom teaching, music animateur work and
orchestral playing. She is Co-ordinator of Woodwind and Brass at Birmingham
Conservatoire Junior School, and in 2001 she was awarded an honorary degree from
Birmingham Conservatoire ‘in recognition of distinguished work within the field of
music’.
Address: Department of Music, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK.
[email: [email protected]]
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is Reader in Music at the University of Sheffield. She has published
work ranging from musical development to performance. She teaches MA Psychology
for Musicians and MA Psychology of Music, runs the MA Music Theatre Studies and
currently supervises 15 PhD students. She also runs undergraduate modules on
Development of Musical Ability, Psychological Approaches to Performance and Music
Therapy. In addition to this, she is a busy performer and director, working in Opera
and Music Theatre. She was Editor of Psychology of Music from 1997–2001.
Address: as Luan Ford. [email: [email protected]]
JA N E DAV I D S O N
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A RT I C L E
The perception of emotional
expression in music: evidence from
infants, children and adults
Psychology of Music
Psychology of Music
Copyright © 
Society for Education,
Music and Psychology
Research
vol (): ‒
[- ()
:; ‒; ]
E L I Z A B E T H S . N AW R O T
M I N N E S O TA S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y M O O R H E A D
Two studies investigated the development of the perception of
emotion in music. In Study 1, preschool children and adults matched nine pieces
of music to five photographed facial expressions (happy, sad, anger, fear and
neutral). While children did not agree with the adult majority interpretation for
most pieces, their pattern of responding to the music, both with photograph
choices and spontaneous verbal labels, was similar to the adults. Important
methodological differences between this and previous research could explain the
inconsistencies. Study 2 used happy and sad music along with a dynamic visual
display in an intermodal matching experiment with 5- to 9-month-old infants.
Infants preferred the affectively concordant happy display but did not look longer
to the affectively concordant sad display as predicted. Taken together, these
results begin to explore how emotional perception from music may be due to
innate perceptual predispositions together with learned associations that develop
in childhood.
A B S T R AC T
K E Y W O R D S : development, emotion, infant, intermodal, music, perception
Infants, children and adults are sensitive to emotional information specified
from a wide range of sources, including facial and vocal expressions and
music. There is a growing body of research examining the development of
affective interpretations in music (Cunningham and Sterling, 1988; Dolgin
and Adelson, 1990; Gregory et al., 1996; Kastner and Crowder, 1990;
Kratus, 1993; Robazza et al., 1994; Terwogt and Van Grinsven, 1991). Much
of this work compares the responses of younger to older listeners in order
to identify consistencies in the interpretation of affect. However, the results
so far are equivocal. For example, Dolgin and Adelson (1990) found that
4-year-olds correctly identified emotions, including happy, sad, anger and
fear, from sung melodies. Furthermore, Kastner and Crowder (1990) found
sempre :
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that 3-year-olds matched positive (happy/interested) and negative (sad/angry)
faces to melodies played either in the major or minor chord consistent with
adults. However, Gregory et al. (1996) reported that 4-year-olds’ responses to
happy and fearful music were not above chance and others have found that
children confuse emotions of fear and anger in music (Robazza et al., 1994;
Terwogt and Van Grinsven, 1991).
Research has pointed out that confusion of fear and anger from music
might be the result of a mixed message. In the case of music with a composer’s intent to express anger, an appropriate reaction might be fear. In this
case, a particular response could represent the composer’s feeling (anger) or
the listener’s reaction (fear). Children’s egocentrism may predispose them to
interpret the music from only one perspective, namely their reaction rather
than the composer’s intention, and this may lead to an apparent confusion
(Terwogt and Van Grinsven, 1991).
The use of inconsistent methodologies together with children’s low levels
of responding under some task conditions may help explain other inconsistencies in the literature. For example, some research has judged children’s
interpretations in comparison to adults’ presumed correct answers (e.g.
Cunningham and Sterling, 1988) which becomes difficult when children
do not respond at high levels. Responding above chance levels is influenced
by the number of possible choices, and research designs vary from a twoalternative forced-choice task (e.g. Kratus, 1993) to a four-alternative forcedchoice task (e.g. Dolgin and Adelson, 1990), with some including neutral
affect categories, and others not. Kratus (1993) found greater consistency in
children’s responses compared to adults using a simpler, two alternative
forced-choice task, whereas Dolgin and Adelson (1990) found significant differences when more choices were presented, and when children’s responses
were analyzed in terms of correctness. Moreover, some studies elicited visual
responses (pointing to schematic or photographed facial expressions), and
others used verbal response sheets (Cunningham, 1988; Robazza et al.,
1994).
In addition to the research on children’s perception of emotion from
music, research has investigated the origins of emotional perception with
infant listeners. The ability of infants to detect emotional expressions would
be especially remarkable as it suggests a biological readiness for the discrimination of socially relevant signals. There is a rich literature demonstrating
infants’ perception of facial expressions of emotion (e.g. Nelson, 1985) and
vocal expressions of emotion (Walker, 1982; Walker-Andrews and Grolnick,
1983; Walker-Andrews and Lennon, 1991).
There is reason to believe that infants would be sensitive to emotional
information specified in music, too. For example, studies of infants’ looking
and listening preferences show that they perceive many of the formal properties of music similarly to adults, including information about pitch, melody,
tempo and musical phrase structure (Schellenberg and Trehub, 1996;
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Trehub et al., 1987, 1999; Trehub and Schellenberg, 1995; Trehub and
Trainor, 1993). Trainor et al. (2000) concluded that the musical quality of
infant-directed speech makes it a particularly effective means of emotional
communication. Fernald (1989) agreed that when it comes to communicating emotion through infant-directed speech, the melody is the message.
According to Rock et al. (1999) music ‘may be a more powerful medium than
speech for affective communication with infants’ (p. 527). But whether or not
infants interpret a discrete emotional message from music is not clear.
In a recent study, Rock et al. (1999) found that adults could reliably discern which type of music (lullaby or play song) was played to an infant based
on their attention. Lullabies could be considered as infant-directed music, in
keeping with the idea that caregivers adjust their communication style to
accommodate the listener (similar to infant-directed speech [IDS]). Infants
also appear to prefer the pleasing sounds of consonant music. Trainor and
Heinmiller (1998) reported that 4-month-olds listened longer to a set of consonant interval notes than dissonant interval notes and that this preference
was maintained when the dissonant intervals were placed into a naturalistic
musical context (a Mozart minuet). Furthermore, Zentner and Kagan (1998)
found that 6-month-olds not only preferred to listen to a consonant over a
dissonant version of a melody, but showed other meaningful behaviors as
well, including more vocalizing and less fretting during the consonant
melodies. Infants’ reactions to different types of music imply that they can
detect and act on the emotional message.
Gentile (1998) used an ecological approach to investigate the perception of
emotion from music, stating that the musical structure itself may specify an
emotional content. If this is the case, then adult listeners, as well as musically
naive and very young listeners, should be consistent in their judgments of
emotion from music. Adult listeners judged the emotional content of 28
musical excerpts using a combination of forced-choice and Likert scales.
Children as young as 3 years showed agreement with the adults’ judgments
for happy, sad and angry excerpts. Gentile went on to test whether 8-monthold infants could detect an emotional message from music previously rated by
the children and adults. Infants were first exposed to a 3-minute familiarization phase where they saw six dynamically posed happy expressions while
listening to six different happy musical excerpts. Following the familiarization
trials, one of three types of change conditions was presented: the music
changed (e.g. from happy to sad); the facial expression display changed (e.g.
from happy to sad); both the music and the display changed (e.g. both
changed from happy to sad). Analysis of the infants’ looking times found evidence for discrimination in all three change conditions. For example, when
the music changed to sad, infants looked less to the happy display. Likewise,
their looking time decreased when the faces changed to sad. When both the
display and music changed, infants looked less during the concordant sad displays than the concordant happy displays. Gentile’s (1998) study is among
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the first to test whether infants could detect a discrete emotional message
from musical structure based on findings with children and adult listeners.
The present series of studies were similarly designed to investigate the perception of emotion from music across these three age groups. Study 1 compared the interpretation of music by pre-school-aged children and adults.
Identical procedures were used for children and adults, including photographed facial expressions and a neutral emotion category. Analyses compared the pattern of choices made by each listener, rather than a judgment of
the correctness of the children’s answers, and verbal labels were included for
consideration.
In Study 2, 5–9-month-olds participated in an intermodal matching
experiment designed to measure their responses to affectively concordant and
discordant visual and musical stimuli. The intermodal matching paradigm
was chosen because research has shown that infants are capable of extracting invariant affective information from intermodal displays (Soken and Pick,
1999; Spelke and Owsley, 1979; Walker, 1982; Walker et al., 1983; WalkerAndrews and Lennon, 1991). While previous research used facial and vocal
emotional expressions, the present study was intended to extend that result to
include affective information contained in music. If infants in the present
study understood the emotional message contained in the music, they should
look longer to affectively concordant displays versus discordant displays.
Specifically, it was predicted that infants would look longer to a happy facial
expression when it was accompanied by happy music and likewise they would
look longer to a sad facial expression when it was accompanied by sad music.
Study 1
METHOD
Participants
Children attending two local day-care facilities were invited to participate
through letters sent home. Parental consent was received for 24 children,
ranging in age from 3–5-year-olds. Their mean age was 3.9 years (35 to 68
months) and 14 were boys. In addition, 20 adults ranging in age from 18 to
37 years participated (mean age 23.3 years; 11 women). Adult participants
were college students solicited through the department’s research subject
pool.
Stimuli
Facial expressions Stimuli included five photographs of a female model from
the shoulders up, posing naturalistic facial expressions including happy, sad,
anger, fear and neutral. These five photographs were selected from a group of
36 expressions by two undergraduates who rated these as the best examples
of each expression. Photographs were glossy finish, 9 × 13 inch color prints
on cardboard backing.
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Musical selections Nine musical pieces were selected to express the emotions
happy, sad, anger and fear by an experienced judge (a professor of music).
Two undergraduates then selected the best 20-second passage from each
piece to illustrate a discrete emotion. Pieces 1 and 2 both came from Mozart’s
Violin Concerto No. 5 (Allegro aperto); piece 3 came from Beethoven’s Symphony
No. 6 (Pastoral selection from ‘Awakening of happy feelings on arriving in the
country’); piece 4 was Bach from Gould’s Goldberg Variations (Aria 16, opening movement); piece 5 was from Vask’s Message (selection from Lauda); piece
6 was Barber’s Adagio for Strings from Platoon; and pieces 7, 8 and 9 all came
from Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky. In the following discussion, the pieces are
grouped by happy (pieces 1–3), sad or neutral (pieces 4–6) and fear or anger
(pieces 7–9). All nine pieces came from digital recordings.
Procedure
All participants were individually tested. The five photographs were laid out
on a table in front of the child. To ensure that each child could correctly identify the emotion in the faces, a pre-test was administered where the child was
asked to point to the face that looked happy, sad, afraid and angry. All of the
children correctly identified each facial expression. Following the pre-test,
children were told that they would listen to different pieces of music and
would have to ‘point to the face that goes with the music’. The nine 20-second
selections were played in a different random order for each participant. In
addition to their choices of the facial expressions, children were also asked to
give a verbal label to each piece of music. The procedure was identical for
adult participants with the exception of administration of the pre-test.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 1 shows how the majority of adults (50% or greater) matched the
musical pieces to the photographs. These choices can be taken as the presumed correct interpretation of each piece. The corresponding percentage of
children who agreed with that correct interpretation is also given. As piece 5
(from Vask’s Message) did not elicit a majority interpretation by either adults
or children, it was not analyzed further. The children’s choices were more
highly variable than the adults, with only one piece of music eliciting a
majority (over 50%) response that matched the adults. On average, 75 percent
of the children also provided a verbal label to each piece, and these were
consistent with their photo choices for seven of the eight pieces. Although
only a small percentage of children agreed with the adults’ majority choice in
each case, the performance levels of these 4-year-olds were similar to previous reports (e.g. Dolgin and Adelson, 1990). However, the children’s low level
of agreement with a single, adult choice does not preclude the possibility that
they were distributing their choices in a way that was consistent with the
adults. Therefore, the data were further analyzed to compare the pattern of
choices made by both children and adults.
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TA B L E
1 Percentage of children agreeing with adult majority choices for eight musical
piecesa
Piece 1 Piece 2 Piece 3 Piece 4 Piece 6 Piece 7 Piece 8 Piece 9
Age group happy happy happy neutral
sad
fear fear/anger anger
Adults
Children
70
61
95
26
90
38
55
17
60
22
50
35
45b
29b
50
26
aPiece 5 had no majority interpretation for either age group and so is not included here.
bThe majority interpretation of piece 8 was tied equally between fear and anger for
both adults (45% each emotion) and children (29% each emotion).
For each musical piece, a chi-square statistic (α = .05) was computed
to determine whether the children’s and adults’ choices across all five
photographed facial expressions were associated. Overall, the children’s and
adults’ pattern of choices did not differ for five of the eight pieces. Figures 1 to
3 show the results for the group of happy (pieces 1–3), sad/neutral (pieces 4,
6) and anger/fear (pieces 7–9) pieces, respectively.
Children were no different than adults for some music that adults interpreted as happy and neutral/sad. For example, for piece 1, children and
adults most often selected happy, χ2(4) = 2.0, p > .05, and for piece 4, sad and
neutral choices were not distributed differently, χ2(4) = 5.26, p > .05. There
was similar consistency for the fear/anger music. The pattern of responding
to pieces 7 and 8 was not different between children and adults, χ2(4) = 3.79,
p > .05 and χ2(4) = 7.4, p > .05, respectively. The similarity of the pattern is
more striking considering neither group responded to either piece with a
majority interpretation. The children’s verbal labels of these pieces were also no
different from either their photo choices, χ2(3) = 3.53, p > .05 or the adults’
choices, χ2(3) = 4.91, p > .05 (for piece 7). For piece 7, both children and adults
most often selected fear, followed by anger. For piece 8, both children and
adults equally selected fear and anger. Children’s verbal responses included
‘scarey’ followed by ‘mad’. Other responses to piece 8 included ‘monsters’ and
‘haunted house’. In these cases, there was remarkable similarity between children and adults in the interpretation of the music. In agreement with previous
reports (Gregory et al., 1996), these 4-year-olds did not respond above chance
to some pieces, perhaps implying that they confused angry and fearful pieces
(Robazza et al., 1994; Terwogt and Van Grinsven, 1991). However, by analyzing the pattern of their responses rather than the correctness of the majority choice, the consistency between children and adults becomes apparent.
For three of the eight pieces of music, children’s and adults’ patterns of
choices were different. For both pieces 2 and 3, most adults selected happy,
but the children’s choices were not significantly different from an equal distribution across the five facial expressions for both piece 2 (χ2(4) = 2.01, p >
.05) and piece 3 (χ2(4) = 5.17, p > .05). Likewise, most adults found piece 6
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% of participants choosing each face
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happy sad
anger
fear
neutral
Piece 1: Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5
happy sad
anger
fear
neutral
Piece 2: Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5
happy sad
anger
fear
neutral
Piece 3: Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6
1 Percentage of adults (filled bars) and children (open bars) selecting each of the
five photographed facial expressions that matched the ‘happy’ music: piece 1 Mozart’s Violin
Concerto No. 5 (upper chart); piece 2 Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5 (middle chart); and
piece 3 Beethoven’s Symphony No. 6 (lower chart).
FIGURE
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% of participants choosing each face
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happy sad
fear anger neutral
Piece 4: Bach from Gould’s Goldberg Variations
happy sad
fear anger neutral
Piece 6: Barber’s Adagio for Strings from Platoon
2 Percentage of adults (filled bars) and children (open bars) selecting each of the
five photographed facial expressions that matched the ‘sad/neutral’ music: piece 4 Bach from
Gould’s Goldberg Variations (upper chart), piece 6 Barber’s Adagio for Strings from
Platoon (lower chart).
FIGURE
sad, while children again chose each photograph equally often (χ2(4) = 9.39,
p = .05). However, in all three cases where the children failed to choose a single photograph to match the music, their verbal labels were no different from
the adults’ results. Figure 4 illustrates this by comparing the distribution of
both photo and verbal responses to piece 2. In the top chart, adults and children’s choice of photographs are different, with the children showing no
clear consensus. The bottom chart shows the children’s verbal labels of that
same piece of music. Now the adults’ and children’s pattern of responding is
no different (χ2(4) = 2.19, p > .05) with 73 percent of children calling this
piece ‘happy’. In this case, the children’s verbal labels were a better match to
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happy sad
% of participants choosing each face
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anger
fear neutral
Piece 7: Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky
happy sad
anger
fear neutral
Piece 8: Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky
happy sad
anger
fear neutral
Piece 9: Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky
3 Percentage of adults (filled bars) and children (open bars) selecting each of the
five photographed facial expressions that matched the ‘anger/fear’ music: pieces 7–9 (upper,
middle, lower charts), all taken from Prokofiev’s Alexander Nevsky.
FIGURE
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% of participants choosing each face
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happy sad
anger
fear neutral
happy sad
anger
fear neutral
Piece 2: Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5
4 Percentage of adults (filled bars) and children (open bars) matching a facial
expression to the happy music for piece 2. The top chart compares adults’ photograph choices
to children’s photograph choices, whereas the bottom chart shows children’s verbal labels.
FIGURE
the adults’ interpretation; this is also the piece where the children’s verbal
labels were most different from their photo choices (χ2(4) = 6.56, p = .07).
An important methodological difference between this and most previous
research was the use of a neutral facial expression choice. Gentile (1998)
found that adults did not use the ‘no-emotion’ label on a forced-choice verbal
response sheet, but he did not use this category for the children’s responses.
In the present study, both children and adults chose the neutral face about
equally often overall, although both groups chose this face most often in combination with the sad music (see Figure 2). The choice of a neutral face might
indicate that some pieces of music are not as transparent at communicating
an emotion (i.e. listeners might use this as a default choice when they are
unsure). Or they might be using this neutral face to represent a less intense
emotion, especially when it comes to sad music. For example, children only
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generated neutral verbal labels, namely ‘fine’ and ‘not sad’, for piece 6, which
adults clearly felt was sad.
Despite these differences, both children and adults consistently judged the
emotional quality for most of the musical selections. Study 2 was designed to
address the question of emotional interpretation of music with infant listeners. An intermodal matching paradigm was used to test whether infants
could detect the common affect from paired visual and musical stimuli. In
previous studies using this technique, infants looked longer to an affectively
matching visual display with accompanying vocal expression of emotion
(Soken and Pick, 1999), suggesting that they can extract an invariant emotional message in this type of situation.
Study 2
METHOD
Participants
Infants were recruited from birth announcements in the local paper. Parents
responded to invitations and brought their infants to the lab where informed
consent was received. A sample of 26 healthy, full-term 5–9-month-old
infants participated (15 girls; mean age of 31.8 weeks). Six additional infants
were dropped from the study due to fussy behavior.
Stimuli
Facial expressions The same female model who posed the static facial expressions for the photographs in Study 1 was videotaped for the happy and sad
expressions in this study. The model was videotaped from the shoulders up
under normal lighting while telling either a happy or sad story for two minutes. The model practiced each story and viewed the recording for feedback
before making a final version for each emotion. This type of naturalistic affective display was created similarly to other research with infants (Gentile,
1998; Haviland and Lelwica, 1987; Soken and Pick, 1999).
Music Happy music piece 1 (from Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 5) and sad
music piece 4 (Bach from Gould’s Goldberg Variations), which reflected the
children’s interpretations of happy and sad in Study 1, were used for Study 2.
Each of the two 20-second pieces were digitally edited to loop seamlessly and
continuously for approximately 2 minutes, the duration of each trial for the
infants.
Procedure
Infants were seated on their parent’s lap inside a 120-cm high three-sided
enclosure designed to reduce distraction and hide the recording equipment.
Infants were approximately 45 cm from the display, which included two
30-cm color monitors side by side and two centrally located speakers beneath
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the monitors. Behind the display and occluded by the back wall of the enclosure, a video camera was positioned 138 cm above the monitors. A 2-cm
aperture in the enclosure was used to view the infant and record looking
behaviors for later scoring.
The infants were presented with four 2-minute trials consisting of affectively concordant and discordant music/facial expression pairs. In each trial,
the infant listened to a single piece of music (either happy or sad) while viewing the pair of dynamic facial expressions. The lateral position of the
happy/sad displays was counterbalanced across the four trials for each
infant. The order of the first piece of music played was counterbalanced
across infants. However, for each infant the music was blocked so that the
same piece was played for the first two trials (repeated measures) followed by
the different piece for the last two trials. During the trials, the parents wore
headphones and listened to an unrelated piece of music to minimize the possibility that their behavior might influence their infants.
An observer naive to the lateral position of the facial expression and the
musical condition scored each infant’s looking behavior from videotape. The
observer measured the total amount of looking time to each facial expression
for the two music conditions across each of the repeated trials. Fixations off
screen were not included in the total looking time.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Table 2 shows the mean looking time of the 26 infants to each of the four
conditions in Study 2. Because there was no effect of trial (t(25) = 1.52, p
=.14), the looking times were averaged across the two trials in all analyses.
Concordant displays were those where the music and facial expression
matched (e.g. looking time to the happy expression when listening to the
happy music), while discordant displays were those where the music and
facial expression did not match (e.g. looking time to the happy expression
when listening to the sad music). Overall, the infants looked longer to the
happy displays than the sad displays in both the affectively concordant (M =
71.73) and discordant conditions (M = 62.08).
The looking time data were further analyzed following Walker (1982) and
Soken and Pick (1999). The proportion of total looking time (PTLT) was calculated for each of the affectively concordant and discordant pairs (see Table
2). In each case, this was the amount of looking time to a particular expression (e.g. happy expression during happy music) divided by the total looking
time in that condition (e.g. happy expression + sad expression during happy
music). The PTLT for the affectively concordant and discordant conditions
were then compared using a matched sample t test (significance levels were
two-tailed with α = .05). That is, the PTLT for the happy expression/happy
music (happy affectively concordant) and sad music (happy affectively
discordant) was compared. Likewise, the PTLT to the sad expression/sad
music (affectively concordant) and happy music (affectively discordant) was
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compared. Because this second comparison is identical to the first (the values
are one minus the other), only one t test is reported. The infants’ proportion
of looking time to the affectively concordant displays (happy M = .55, sad
M = .46) was not significantly different from that to the affectively discordant
displays (happy M = .45, sad M = .54; t(25) =.25, p > .05). However, infants
looked proportionally longer to the happy expression (M = .55) compared to
the sad expression (M = .45; t(25) = 3.18, p < .01).
2 Mean total looking time (TLT) and proportion total looking time (PTLT) to the
happy and sad facial expressions in concordant and discordant music conditions in Study 2
(SDs in brackets)
TA B L E
Affective display type
TLT
PTLT
Happy expression
Affectively concordant music
Affectively discordant music
71.73 (22.40)
62.08 (25.29)
.55a
.45
Sad expression
Affectively concordant music
Affectively discordant music
54.15 (24.00)
58.35 (21.38)
.46
.54
a Infants looked proportionally longer at the happy expression, t(25) = 3.18, p < .01.
Although the infants showed the predicted looking preferences only for the
affectively happy display (and not the affectively sad display), this preference
is evidence for discrimination. Gentile (1998) reported decreased looking
times to happy displays following a change to a sad piece of music, concluding that this was evidence for discrimination of the emotional content of the
music. The overall lower looking times and greater variability in the sad
music condition compared to the happy music condition (see Table 2) suggest
that the infants might have been more distracted and possibly upset by the
sad music.
These results support and extend Soken and Pick’s (1999) finding that 7month-olds discriminated between happy and sad facial and emotional
expressions. As in this study, the infants in their study did not show differences in looking time to the affectively concordant and discordant displays,
but they did show a significant preference for the happy expression. Along
with Gentile’s (1998) report, this is one of the first studies to extend the investigation of emotional interpretation in music from children to infants.
General discussion
Taken together, the results from Study 1 and 2 begin to address important
issues in the development of affective interpretation in music. In agreement
with previous research, Study 1 found that children as young as 4 years
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could interpret discrete emotions by matching music to facial expressions
(Dolgin and Adelson, 1990; Gentile, 1998; Terwogt and Van Grinsven,
1991). Children’s responses to all eight musical pieces were similar to adults
when both forced-choice photograph and child-generated verbal labels were
analyzed. However, unlike some previous reports (e.g. Robazza et al., 1994),
children’s judgments of anger and fear in music were similar to those of
adults. Important differences in methodology could explain this, as could previous findings of children’s apparent inconsistencies. For example, children’s
low levels of consensus in this and previous reports might be the result of
both task demands and analysis techniques. The use of a five-alternative
forced-choice task, while it has obvious ecological value, increases inconsistencies in children’s responding (Dolgin and Adelson, 1990; Kratus, 1993).
This, along with a comparison to adults’ correct interpretation, may increase
the apparent difference between children and adults. Under these conditions,
it may be beneficial to analyze the pattern of responding. When the adults’
and children’s distribution of choices were compared, their results were more
consistent. When inconsistencies did arise, the children’s verbal labels
appeared to be a better match to the adults’ responses.
As Gentile (1998) points out, inconsistencies may also be the result of the
different communicative value of the particular piece of music. Some pieces
may be more emotionally transparent than others, which could be due to any
number of reasons ranging from the composition (composer’s intent to communicate emotion), to the performance (performance media or quality), to
the listener (task demands, listener’s musical expertise or age). In Study 1,
adults varied from 45–95 percent agreement in their responses to the musical pieces, demonstrating the importance of careful choice of music. The
influence of the listener, too, is apparent. In the case of anger, the listener
may be responding to the expression of anger in the musical composition, or
to his or her own reaction of fear. In order to clarify these alternatives, it is
important to understand how listeners processed the task, especially with
regard to potential age differences. The use of a multiple-alternative forced
choice may complicate the task more for children who tend to respond from
an egocentric perspective.
The results of Study 2 support and extend previous research on infants’
perception of affect (Soken and Pick, 1998). Results indicated that infants did
show discrimination in the intermodal display; however, their overall preference for the happy expression warrants a cautious conclusion regarding their
understanding of the emotional content of the music specifically. Their looking preference during the sad condition, along with their overall decrease in
looking time during the sad music, does indicate a discrimination, but it was
not in the predicted direction in this intermodal matching task. Soken and
Pick (1999) explain their findings that infants preferred the happy expressions using the familiarity hypothesis which states that increased exposure to
a particular expression promotes learning and discrimination. This may also
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explain why the infants in Gentile’s (1998) study were able to demonstrate
discrimination during the affect change conditions as they were all first familiarized to 3 minutes of happy faces and happy music.
In the present study, as in Gentile’s (1998) research, infants looked less
during the sad music and looked less at the sad displays. However, for an
intermodal matching task, it is reduced looking time to discordant pairs, not
just lower overall looking time, that is necessary to demonstrate discrimination. It is likely that the infants’ lower overall looking during the sad music
might have prevented them from attending to the intermodal display, thus
masking their discrimination abilities during these trials. Alternatively, the
infants’ preference for the happy expression may simply have reflected how
the dynamics of the model’s movements captured their attention. A comparison of happy versus angry emotions would help to rule out this possibility
and could also help identify the component of the music (e.g. tempo) that is
associated with the emotion.
Previous studies of infants’ perception of music have focused on deconstructing the music into basic structural elements to determine what, if any,
musical component gives rise to a predictable reaction (e.g. looking preference). If such an element is found early in life, it might suggest an innate
mechanism for the detection of affect. One candidate for such a basic dimension is consonance (Crowder et al., 1991; Trainor and Heinmiller, 1998;
Zentner and Kagan, 1998). But the preference could be based on sensory
consonance resulting from a processing bias in the auditory system, or psychological consonance resulting from a learned preference for tonally pleasing notes. Even 6-month-olds could have learned such a preference from
accumulated experience with music through caregivers’ lullabies. In either
case, it is important that additional studies investigate infants’ ability to
detect discrete emotional messages from music.
Future research could also address whether infants can categorize emotion across different pieces of music in the way that they categorize the emotional tone of facial expressions (e.g. Kestenbaum and Nelson, 1990).
Infants’ categorical perception of speech sounds, color, and even some components of music such as octave equivalence (Demany and Armand, 1984)
suggest a systematic representation of the perceptual world. This might
reflect a predisposition inherent in the perceptual systems for vision and audition (Lynch et al., 1992), which could arise from the inherent stimulus structure. The ecological approach would predict that musically naive listeners,
including young infants, should be able to detect emotional invariants
(Gentile, 1998), as this ability is sure to have evolutionary value as a means
of emotional communication (Trainor and Heinmiller, 1998). Indeed, the
similarities in music processing between adults and infants (Trehub and
Schellenberg, 1995) may also suggest that infants could interpret emotion in
music in a predictable way.
Lynch et al. (1992) concluded that the perception of music by infants
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younger than one year is unaffected by musical acculturation. Indeed, infant
listeners often outperform adults (even musically trained adults) on some discrimination tasks, such as detecting mistunings in unfamiliar and unequal
step scales (Trehub et al., 1999). This suggests that development involves
both tuning of the perceptual mechanisms as well as some loss of sensitivity,
as in the case for the perception of speech sounds (Eimas, 1985). If the effects
of culture and experience accumulate on music perception during childhood,
it is even more important to recognize that the emotional quality of music
may not be the same for an infant as an adult.
AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S
This research was supported by a Faculty Improvement Grant from Minnesota State
University Moorhead. I would like to thank Bob Schieffer, Amanda Lindseth and Dr
Luke Howard for help with stimulus generation, Dr Douglas Gentile for information on
his research and Dr Mark Nawrot. I would also like to thank the student research
team including Christopher Geisler, Kerri Stenseth, Shelley Cervantes, Tasha
McGregor, Meredith Haugen and Sonia Balliet for help with data collection. The comments of two anonymous reviewers are gratefully appreciated. Portions of this
research were presented at the American Psychological Society meetings in
Washington DC, May 1998 and Denver, CO, May 1999 and appeared in the Brown
University Child and Adolescent Behavior Letter, November 1999.
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Kestenbaum, R. and Nelson, C.A. (1990) ‘The Recognition and Categorization of
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E L I Z A B E T H S . N AW RO T is currently an Associate Professor of Psychology at
Minnesota State University in Moorhead; she received her undergraduate degree from
Carnegie Mellon University in 1988, followed by a PhD in Psychology from the
University of California, Berkeley in 1992. She then completed two years of postdoctoral work in neuropsychology at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Her
research background is the study of developmental psychology and visual psychophysics. She has published several papers in the area of visual perception, including studies of infant color vision and adaptation, and the effects of brain damage on
visual function.
Address: Department of Psychology, Minnesota State University, 1104 7th Street
South, Moorhead, MN 56563, USA. [email: [email protected]]
93
A RT I C L E
The effect of music on perceived
atmosphere and purchase
intentions in a restaurant
Psychology of Music
Psychology of Music
Copyright © 
Society for Education,
Music and Psychology
Research
vol (): ‒
[- ()
:; ‒; ]
STEPHANIE WILSON
U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W S O U T H WA L E S
Extending research by North and Hargreaves (1998), this study
investigated the effect of music on perceived atmosphere and purchase intentions
in a restaurant. Four musical styles (jazz, popular, easy listening and classical)
and no music were played in a restaurant over two consecutive weeks. Results
indicated that different types of music had different effects on perceived atmosphere and the amount patrons were prepared to spend. Classical, jazz and popular music were associated with patrons being prepared to spend the most on their
main meal. This value was found to be significantly lower in the absence of music
and when easy listening was played. There was some evidence that the type of
music also had an effect on the amount of money patrons actually spent in the
restaurant. Overall, the study contributes to the development of a model that
seeks to account for the relationship between music and consumer behaviour.
A B S T R AC T
KEYWORDS:
consumer behaviour, listening, music psychology, perceived
atmosphere, restaurant
Introduction
Despite the amount of money spent on music-related resources in the commercial sector, research which investigates relationships between music and
consumer behaviour is relatively sparse. Studies in social psychology have
demonstrated a range of interactions between music and the social context in
which it is heard (Fried and Berkowitz, 1979; Stratton and Zalanowski,
1984; Zillmann and Bhatia, 1989; Bleich et al., 1991; Zullow, 1991; Stack
and Gunlach, 1992; Standley, 1995). Few studies, however, have considered
the influence of music in everyday commercial environments such as restaurants and other retail outlets. Research in this area has the potential to provide commercial practitioners with guidelines regarding how to enhance
sempre :
94
Psychology of Music 31(1)
business and increase sales through the use of music, in addition to making a
contribution to an important area of social psychology.
THE EFFECT OF MUSIC ON PERCEIVED ATMOSPHERE
In 1996, North and Hargreaves studied the effect of music on atmosphere in
a university cafeteria (North and Hargreaves, 1996). Results suggested that
customers’ ‘liking’ of the cafeteria increased with their ‘liking’ for the music
played within it. In a follow-up study, North and Hargreaves (1998) investigated whether affective responses to music of different styles could influence
the perceived characteristics of a commercial environment. Results suggested
that different musical conditions influenced subjects’ perceptions about the
cafeteria. Furthermore, the nature of subjects’ perceptions of the cafeteria
showed a relationship to their perception of the music.
North and Hargreaves (1998) stated that the implications of their study
needed to be validated by future research. In response, the present study
explores the effect of music on perceived atmosphere and purchase intentions
in a restaurant. While the methodology employed in the North and
Hargreaves study is maintained to a large extent, the present research design
has been expanded to incorporate a broader range of musical conditions.
Further, as suggested by North and Hargreaves, the present study utilizes a
non-student subject sample.
THE EFFECT OF MUSIC ON PRODUCT CHOICE AND PURCHASE INTENTIONS
A number of studies suggest that music has the potential to influence product choice (Alpert and Alpert, 1990; Areni and Kim, 1993). The idea that
music conveys and triggers relevant information that may prime consumers’
beliefs about a product has been described as musical ‘fit’. Areni and Kim
(1993) applied the idea of musical ‘fit’ to shopping behaviour by playing classical music and Top-40 music in a wine store. The results showed that classical
music led to consumers purchasing more expensive wine. These results support MacInnis and Park’s (1991) notion that persuasion is enhanced when
the music is appropriate for the context in which it is played, and Yalch and
Spangenberg’s (1990) suggestion that classical music is associated with the
perception of higher-priced store items.
The effect of musical tempo on the speed of consumer behaviour and the
amount of money spent has also been investigated. For example, Milliman
(1982) found that slower music was associated with a slower shopping pace,
and increased gross sales. In a further study, Milliman (1986) tested the effect
of fast and slow music in an ‘upscale’ restaurant. The results showed that
diners ate more quickly when fast music was playing (see also Robally et al.,
1985). On the nights when slow music was playing, customers spent significantly more time in the restaurant and more money on alcoholic beverages.
Bruner (1990) suggests that the style of music played is likely to have
a more significant effect on customers’ perceptions and choices. This is
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
supported by Yalch and Spangenberg (1990), who investigated the influence
of different styles of music on customers’ estimates of the amount of time
they spent shopping. The study suggested that consumers who are exposed to
‘non-typical’ stimuli in the environment (for example, younger customers
encountering easy listening music) tend to overestimate time durations.
Several studies of in-store music have drawn on an environmental psychology model proposed by Mehrabian and Russel (1974). This model states
that people respond to environments according to two primary factors: pleasure and arousal. In a more pleasurable environment consumers are more
likely to demonstrate ‘approach behaviours’ towards it. In turn, an environment with arousal-evoking qualities is likely to enhance the effects of pleasure. Dube et al. (1995) demonstrated the effect of pleasure and arousal
induced by music on consumers’ desire to engage in buyer–seller interactions
in a bank. Similarly, North and Hargreaves (1996) found that ‘liked’ music
was positively related to patrons’ willingness to return to a dining area, and
their willingness to interact with others.
The literature reviewed above provides evidence that music can influence
factors such as the speed of consumer activity, product choice, customers’
desire to affiliate, and their estimation of time. One area that has been given
comparatively little attention in the literature is the extent to which music
might actually influence the amount of money patrons are prepared to
spend. Introductory evidence has been provided by North and Hargreaves
(1998), who found that the type of music played in a cafeteria influenced the
amount of money patrons were prepared to spend. In addition, they found
that sales figures for the cafeteria were significantly higher when classical
and popular music were played.
AWARENESS AND APPROPRIATENESS
It has been suggested that people are likely to spend more time and money in
a restaurant or retail environment if the music being played is considered
appropriate (Radocy and Boyle, 1997). Therefore, patrons in the present
study were asked to indicate whether they thought the music being played in
the restaurant was appropriate. Responses are considered in terms of
patrons’ perception of atmosphere and the amount of money they are willing
to spend. Patrons were also asked to rate their level of awareness of the
music being played. Based on the characteristics of stimulative and sedative
music described by Radocy and Boyle (1997), it was predicted that subjects’
awareness of the music would be greater in the popular, jazz and control
conditions.
Aim
To extend the literature on perceived atmosphere and purchase intentions in
the commercial environment, the present study has four aims:
95
96
Psychology of Music 31(1)
1. To investigate the extent to which the type of music being played influences patrons’ perception of a restaurant environment;
2. To examine the influence of different musical styles on the amount of
money patrons are prepared to spend, and the amount of money they
actually spend;
3. To investigate interactive effects between music, perceived atmosphere
and a range of other variables such as the number of people dining, the
number of times patrons have been to the restaurant before, the amount
of alcohol consumed and patrons’ perception of the quality of food and
service; and
4. To examine whether the appropriateness of the music influences patrons’
perception of the restaurant and the amount of money they spend.
Method
PARTICIPANTS
All patrons present in the restaurant during the testing period were eligible
for the study. The sample comprised 300 subjects, that is, a total of 50 subjects for each condition over the 12-day testing period. Testing was carried
out between 7.30 pm and 11.30 pm from Monday to Saturday over the two
weeks. Of the 300 subjects, 45.4 percent were male and 54.6 percent were
female. The distribution of participants according to gender and age is presented in Figure 1. As shown, the majority of subjects were aged between 20
and 39 years.
Patrons were approached at their tables at the end of their meal and asked to
%
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
<10 yrs
Male
FIGURE
10–19 yrs
Female
20–29 yrs
30–39 yrs
40–49 yrs
Age
1 Distribution of participants by age and gender.
50–59 yrs
60–69 yrs
70 yrs
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
complete a questionnaire about the restaurant. The first questionnaire of the
evening was not administered until the music had been playing for at least 30
minutes to ensure that participants had sufficient exposure before responding.
DESIGN
The experiment was conducted at Out Of Africa, a popular Sydney restaurant.
The choice of restaurant was governed by the following criteria: (a) seating
capacity >100; (b) high-quality stereo system and speakers; (c) close competitors with other restaurants in the area; and (d) a diverse range of clientele. In week one the presentation of conditions occurred in the following
order: jazz, no music, classical, easy listening, control and popular. This order
was changed in the second week (classical, jazz, popular, control, no music,
easy listening) to reduce the effect associated with day of the week.
The experiment was based on a time series design with the aim of examining the intervention of a series of conditions. As shown, a control group was
incorporated by administering questionnaires under ‘normal conditions’ on
two nights during the testing period (where restaurant owners would play
the music they would normally play). The control condition comprised a mixture of world music (played on CD), and live music (a 3-piece African band).
While the live music component may be seen as reducing the homogeneity of
the control as a single condition, its inclusion was viewed as providing a more
balanced and accurate representation of what was normally played (and
experienced) in the restaurant.
MATERIALS
With the exception of the ‘no-music’ condition and the non-intervention
control, each condition employed several hours of music that was previously
recorded onto a series of CDs (see Appendix). The four musical styles presented included classical, popular, easy listening and jazz. Following North and
Hargreaves (1998), the pieces selected for the study were typical examples of
the style.
On each night during the study, the music was played on a high-quality
CD player through four speakers that were suspended in each corner of the
restaurant. The volume of the music was held constant, and at a level where
it was clearly audible while still allowing patrons to talk over it comfortably.
QUESTIONNAIRES
Two separate questionnaires were designed for the study. The first, completed
by restaurant management prior to testing, was designed to collect information about the type of music typically played, and details of the consistency of
other factors in the restaurant (for example, lighting, decor, service, menu)
which might influence the results of the study. The second questionnaire,
described below, was administered during the testing period to restaurant
patrons.
97
98
Psychology of Music 31(1)
PATRON QUESTIONNAIRE
The first section of the questionnaire asked patrons to indicate the number of
times they had been to the restaurant previously, their reason for dining, the
number of people they were dining with, and whether they thought they
would return to the restaurant. This information was obtained to allow a
more detailed investigation of the interaction between music and consumer
behaviour. For example, we might expect these extraneous factors to enhance
or reduce the impact of music on patrons’ perception of the restaurant environment, and the amount they are prepared to spend. These early questions
also acted as ‘distracters’ – the intention being that subjects would be less
inclined to think that the survey was about the music being played. Following
this, subjects were asked to rate the characteristics of the restaurant according to a list of 20 adjectives. For the purpose of comparison, the adjectives
used in the study were identical to those used by North and Hargreaves
(1998). Patrons made their responses on an 11-point scale (0 = ‘the
restaurant definitely does not possess this characteristic’ to 10 = ‘the restaurant definitely does possess this characteristic’). Subjects were then asked
to rate the quality of food and service in the restaurant, the extent to which
they were aware of the music being played (0 = ‘not at all aware’ to 5 =
‘extremely aware’), and whether they thought the music being played was
appropriate.
The second section of the questionnaire asked patrons to respond to the
music being played. This section was answered by all subjects with the exception of those in the ‘no music’ group. Subjects were asked to rate the music
according to the same set of adjectives used previously so that the relationship between music and perceived atmosphere could be examined directly.
Once again, patrons responded on an 11-point scale (0 = ‘the music definitely
does not possess this characteristic’ to 10 = ‘the music definitely does possess
this characteristic’). As a means of examining purchase intention, the final
section of the questionnaire asked patrons to indicate the maximum amount
of money they were prepared to spend on their main meal.
Results
PERCEIVED CHARACTERISTICS OF THE RESTAURANT
Differences between the four musical styles, no music and the control condition on participants’ ratings of atmosphere were investigated using a MANOVA. The overall difference between musical styles was found to be significant,
F(294, 5) = 12.55, p < .0001.
Table 1 summarizes differences between the conditions for subjects’ ratings of atmosphere. The results of Tukey HSD post-hoc tests are also presented, indicating several significant differences between conditions.
The relationship between responses to the restaurant and responses to the
music for each adjective was investigated by a series of correlations. The
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
99
1 MANOVA and Tukey tests concerning the effects of music on the perceived characteristics of
the restaurant
TA B L E
M
Characteristic
No
music
Upmarket
Sophisticated
Happy
Restful
Fresh
Exciting
Rebellious
Cerebral
Feminine
Fun
Downmarket
Youthful
Peaceful
Spiritual
Tacky
Masculine
Invigorating
Aggressive
Fashionable
Sensual
4.77abcde
4.33abcde
6.93abcd
5.77
6.63
6.37a
4.27
4.13
2.97b
6.43a
2.37
5.73
4.77
3.13ad
2.43 a
4.07
4.80a
2.37
6.20
4.57b
Easy
listening Classical
6.44c
6.17c
8.12b
5.25
7.47
7.49
3.90
4.66
3.78d
7.58
2.29
6.69
3.47ac
3.03beg
2.24
3.58a
4.81b
3.15a
6.47
4.66ac
6.36b
6.13b
7.78e
6.56a
7.71
6.78
4.87
4.69
4.49abc
6.60b
1.80
6.40
6.18cde
5.49def
1.40
4.87c
5.31
2.04
6.67
5.24cd
Jazz
7.02a
6.71a
8.22a
6.32
7.56
7.20
4.68
3.80
3.02a
7.24
1.93
5.76
5.44ab
5.17abc
1.17 a
5.34ab
5.63
2.44
6.90
6.00a
Popular Control
6.34e
6.29e
8.20d
4.66a
7.00
7.17
3.97
3.54 a
2.14cde
7.40
1.94
6.66
3.37be
3.29cf
1.51
3.14bcd
4.80c
2.29
7.03
6.62abd
F
6.68d
6.98
6.61d
7.35
8.87ce
5.74
5.92
3.11
7.68
1.82
7.71a
3.09
4.71
1.50
4.77 a
2.26
3.55e
5.39
8.01ab 4.34
2.07
0.45
6.63
1.68
4.00d
8.89
4.54g
8.33
1.28
2.34
4.61d
5.23
6.28abc 3.82
1.86a
1.89
6.68
0.65
6.62bce 16.64
Note. Means marked by similar subscripts differ at p = .05 for each characteristic.
result for each adjective was found to be significant at p = .001, with r values
ranging between .23 and .52.
A factor analysis was conducted to further examine subjects’ responses to
the restaurant according to the 20 adjectives. Varimax rotation of the principal components solution generated five factors with eigenvalues greater than
1. In total, these factors accounted for 61.3 percent of the variance in
patrons’ responses. Table 2 presents the details of factor loadings greater
than ± .30.
These loadings led to Factor 1 being interpreted as upbeat; Factor 2 as
peaceful/passive; Factor 3 as tacky; Factor 4 as invigorating/stimulating; and
Factor 5 as upmarket/sophisticated. Differences between the musical conditions on each factor were explored using factor scores. The results of one-way
ANOVAs and Tukey HSD post-hoc tests are reported in Table 3.
These results suggest that different musical styles produced differences
in the general perceived characteristics of the restaurant. For example,
no music was associated with the restaurant being perceived as the least
upbeat, classical music with the restaurant being perceived as the most
p
< .0001
< .0001
< .0001
< .05
.11
< .05
.19
< .05
< .0001
< .05
.81
.14
< .0001
< .0001
< .05
< .0001
< .05
.09
.66
< .0001
100
Psychology of Music 31(1)
upmarket/sophisticated, and popular music with the restaurant being perceived as the most upbeat. Jazz music was associated with the restaurant being
perceived as the least peaceful/passive and the most invigorating/stimulating,
and easy listening with the restaurant being perceived as the most tacky.
TA B L E
2 Factor analysis of responses to the restaurant environment
Characteristic
Upmarket
Sophisticated
Happy
Restful
Fresh
Exciting
Rebellious
Cerebral
Feminine
Fun
Downmarket
Youthful
Peaceful
Spiritual
Tacky
Masculine
Invigorating
Aggressive
Fashionable
Sensual
Eigenvalue
% of variance
Factor 1
loading
Factor 2
loading
Factor 3
loading
Factor 4
loading
Factor 5
loading
0.77
0.71
0.83
0.71
0.62
0.79
0.65
0.47
0.38
0.68
0.90
–0.60
0.72
0.79
0.42
0.45
0.74
0.37
0.55
0.79
0.83
0.34
5.61
28.1
0.35
2.46
12.3
1.81
9.0
0.62
1.29
6.5
1.07
5.4
3 One-way ANOVAs and Tukey HSD tests to investigate differences between factor scores and
conditions
TA B L E
M
Factor
No
music
Easy
listening Classical
1. Upbeat
–0.50abc 0.16ad
2. Peaceful/passive –0.14
0.06
3. Tacky
0.26
0.36a
4. Invigorating/
stimulating
–0.14a –0.42bd
5. Upmarket/
sophisticated
0.17
–0.22c
Jazz
–0.43def –0.26g
0.21
–0.37
–0.98
–0.17
Popular Control
F
p
0.31beg 0.18cf 5.94 < .0001
–0.26
0.22 2.49 .03
–0.16 –0.24a 3.01 < .05
0.06
0.59abc –0.44ce
0.63cde
0.36ab –0.23be –0.28ad 7.82 < .0001
Note. Means marked by similar subscripts differ at p = .05.
0.25de 6.95 < .0001
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
PURCHASE INTENTIONS
Based on an ANOVA, the effect of music on the maximum amount of money
patrons were prepared to spend on their main meal was also significant (p =
.001). The no music condition produced the least maximum price subjects
were willing to pay (Aus$17.12). Tukey HSD tests showed that this amount
was significantly lower (p = .05) than every other condition: easy listening
Aus$19.67, classical Aus$20.20, control Aus$20.63, popular Aus$21.01,
and jazz Aus$21.82. Easy listening produced the next lowest amount
subjects were willing to pay, and this was significantly different from the jazz
condition.
It could be expected that patrons who had been to the restaurant more
than once might be familiar with restaurant prices, and that this may have
influenced the maximum price they were prepared to spend. However, no
correlation was found (p = .05). Similarly, while it might be expected that
subjects with a higher income would be prepared to spend more money on
their main meal, this relationship was not found to be significant (p = .05).
SALES FIGURES
Restaurant sales figures were obtained during the testing period, and for the
same days two weeks before and after testing. The variation in sales figures in
the weeks before and after the testing period made it difficult to determine the
influence of the intervening musical conditions on the amount of money
spent. For example, a chi-square goodness-of-fit test revealed significant differences in sales over the six weeks. However, on four of these days, the highest and lowest figures occurred outside the testing period. This suggests that
the number of people dining in the restaurant was largely responsible for
differences in sales figures. On the remaining days, sales were lower when
classical music was played, and higher when popular music was played than
on the same days before and after testing. As information regarding the frequency of patrons was not available to the researcher, it is impossible to draw
conclusions regarding the relationship between the type of music played and
the amount of money patrons actually spent. However, there are a number of
other factors which suggest a relationship between sales figures and the type
of music played.
Due to the fact that all subjects completed the questionnaire while waiting
for their bill, we can assume that no more purchases were made after this
time. The final item on the questionnaire asked subjects to indicate what time
it was. This information provided some indication of the amount of time (and
perhaps money) subjects spent in the restaurant, or at least which conditions
may have contributed to patrons remaining in the restaurant later in the
evening.
Table 4 shows that classical music was associated with relatively few
people remaining in the restaurant after 11 pm, and a greater number of
subjects leaving the restaurant earlier in the evening, between 8 pm and
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
4 Frequency distribution of subjects (%) according to the time the questionnaire was
completed
TA B L E
Condition
Jazz
No music
Classical
Easy listening
Control
Popular
8–9 pm
9–10 pm
10–11 pm
After 11 pm
2.44
3.33
6.67
0.00
5.63
0.00
21.95
35.00
37.78
15.25
16.90
2.86
70.73
50.00
53.33
74.58
64.65
87.14
4.88
11.67
2.22
10.17
12.82
10.00
10 pm. An ANOVA showed that the time subjects filled out the questionnaire
when classical music was played differed significantly from all other conditions (p = .05). This implies that the type of music being played had an effect
on how long patrons remained in the restaurant.
SITUATIONAL INFLUENCES ON THE PERCEPTION OF ATMOSPHERE
In addition to responding to the characteristics of the restaurant and the
music being played, subjects were asked to provide details such as (a) the
number of people they were dining with; (b) the reason they were dining
out; (c) the amount of alcohol they had consumed; (d) the number of times
they had previously dined at the restaurant; and (e) the quality of food and
service.
Patrons were asked to indicate the number of people they were dining with
(including themselves) on a 5-point scale (1 = one to 5 = five or more people).
Based on an ANOVA, the relationship between the number of people dining
and patrons’ responses to the characteristics of the restaurant overall was not
significant. However, the number of people dining did yield a significant
result for the adjectives ‘cerebral’ and ‘aggressive’ (p = .05). In both the jazz
and control conditions, mean responses for these adjectives increased incrementally with the number of people dining.
It was considered that patrons dining with friends or family might respond
differently to the environment than patrons attending a business meeting
or function. However, based on an ANOVA, subjects’ reason for dining out
did not produce significant differences in their responses to the restaurant
(p = .05).
The figures reported in Table 5 suggest that the more upbeat styles of
music were associated with a greater number of people consuming three or
more drinks. Only a relatively small proportion of subjects (11.1%) consumed
three or more drinks on the nights when classical music was played. An
ANOVA showed that the number of drinks consumed differed significantly
between classical music and every other condition except no music (p = .05).
A MANOVA was used to investigate the interaction between the number of
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
TA B L E
5 Number of alcoholic beverages consumed (%)
No. of drinks
Jazz
No music
Classical
Easy
listening
Control
Popular
None
1–2
3 or more
14.6
41.5
43.9
10.0
63.3
26.7
24.4
64.4
11.1
16.9
40.7
42.4
15.5
42.3
42.3
17.1
45.7
37.1
drinks consumed, subjects’ perception of the atmosphere, and musical condition. The amount of alcohol consumed did not significantly affect patrons’
responses to atmosphere overall. However, an interactive effect was found
between the number of drinks consumed, the type of music played, and subjects’ responses to ‘invigorating’ and ‘masculine’ (p = .001). Specifically, the
jazz condition produced significant correlations (p = .001) between the number of drinks consumed and the following adjectives: invigorating, masculine,
sophisticated, rebellious and cerebral. In each case, mean ratings increased
with the amount of alcohol consumed.
Patrons’ responses to the characteristics of the restaurant were also considered in terms of the number of times they had been to the restaurant
before. While there was no significant correlation overall, the number of
times subjects had been to the restaurant was found to correlate with their
perception of the restaurant as ‘fun’. This relationship was found to be significant in the jazz and control conditions only (p = .05).
Patrons’ responses to the quality of service indicated that 92.2 percent of
subjects rated the service in the restaurant as ‘slightly above average’ or higher. A MANOVA was used to investigate the interaction between musical condition, patrons’ responses to service, and their responses to atmosphere.
Overall, a significant effect (p = .001) was found between patrons’ responses
to service and their responses to the restaurant. More specifically, significant
results were found for the following adjectives: upmarket, sophisticated,
happy, fresh, exciting, fun and fashionable. The jazz condition yielded a significant correlation between patrons’ responses to service and their responses to
‘happy’, ‘fun’ and ‘fresh’, while popular music generated a significant correlation between patrons’ responses to service and their responses to ‘exciting’.
That is, the higher the rating for service, the higher the rating responses for
these adjectives. Classical, easy listening, no music and the control condition
did not yield significant correlations between patrons’ responses to service
and the characteristics of the restaurant.
It was considered that the time of night subjects filled out the questionnaire may have influenced their ratings of the restaurant. Based on an
ANOVA, a significant effect was found between the time subjects filled out the
questionnaire and their responses to ‘invigorating’ (p = .001). Inferential
statistics showed that rating responses for ‘invigorating’ were lower when
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
%
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Not at all aware
Slightly aware
Moderately
aware
Very aware
Totally aware
Level of awareness
Jazz
FIGURE
Classical
Easy listening
Control
Popular
2 Distribution of participants according to awareness of the music.
responses were made later in the evening for the easy listening and no music
conditions only.
Two additional factors were explored in relation to patrons’ responses
to the restaurant: patrons’ awareness of the music, and the degree to
which they thought the music being played was appropriate. Figure 2 reports
the distribution of responses according to patrons’ awareness of the music
being played. Patrons were less aware of the music in the classical condition,
and more aware of the music in the jazz, popular and control conditions.
Based on an ANOVA, the relationship between patrons’ awareness of the
music and their responses to atmosphere was not found to be significant
(p = .05).
In terms of appropriateness, the control condition generated the most positive response (94.4% considered the music appropriate), followed by jazz
(87.8%) and popular music (77.1%). Generally, the more upbeat styles of
music were considered to be more appropriate than classical (46.7%) and
easy listening (62.7%). Classical music was considered the least appropriate
style for the restaurant and, based on an ANOVA, was significantly different
from every other condition (p = .01). Easy listening was found to be significantly different from jazz and the control condition, and the number of
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
people who thought the music was appropriate was significantly higher in
the control condition than the popular condition (p = .01).
Subjects’ responses to the appropriateness of the music were found to correlate significantly (p = .05) with their responses to the restaurant for the
adjectives ‘downmarket’ and ‘tacky’. That is, patrons perceived the restaurant
to be more downmarket and more tacky when they did not consider the
music to be appropriate. Inferential statistics also suggested that subjects who
had been to the restaurant before considered classical and easy listening
music to be less appropriate than those who were dining at the restaurant for
the first time; however, an ANOVA did not yield a significant difference
(p = .05). While 53.3 percent of patrons in the classical group considered the
music inappropriate, a t-test showed that the amount of money they were
prepared to spend did not differ significantly from the 46.7 percent who considered classical music appropriate.
Based on an ANOVA, the age of subjects was not found to significantly
influence their responses to the appropriateness of the music, the amount of
money they were prepared to spend, or their responses to atmosphere or
music (p = .05). Similarly, a t-test did not reveal significant differences
between males and females according to these factors. An ANOVA was also
used to investigate whether there was a relationship between subjects’
income and their responses to the appropriateness of the musical style being
played. No differences were found between income groups (p = .05).
Discussion
PERCEPTION OF THE RESTAURANT
The results reported in Table 1 indicate that different styles of music, and the
absence of music, influenced patrons’ perceptions of the restaurant environment. A positive relationship was also found between patrons’ perceptions of
the restaurant and their perception of the music. These findings are consistent with North and Hargreaves (1998). A factor analysis of responses to the
restaurant provided evidence that different styles of music (and no music) led
to differences in the general perceived characteristics of the restaurant, a
finding also consistent with the North and Hargreaves (1998) study.
PURCHASING ( INTENTIONS AND ACTUAL SALES )
Patrons’ responses to the maximum amount of money they were prepared to
spend on their main meal yielded several differences between conditions. The
most extreme differences occurred between no music and each of the five
musical conditions. In accord with North and Hargreaves (1998), these
results provide evidence that different musical styles, and no music, have the
potential to influence patrons’ purchase intentions.
Due to the fact that the number of people dining in the restaurant fluctuated considerably on the same day before, during and after the testing period,
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
it is difficult to assess the influence of music on actual sales. However,
classical music was associated with relatively few people remaining in the
restaurant after 11 pm, and a greater number of people leaving the restaurant earlier in the evening. This may be related to the fact that 53.3 percent of
subjects considered classical music to be inappropriate. While this did not
appear to affect the amount of money patrons in this group indicated they
were prepared to spend, the perceived inappropriateness of the music may
have influenced the amount of time and perhaps money they actually spent
(supporting Radocy and Boyle, 1997). Classical music was also associated
with fewer drinks being consumed, and consequently less money spent on
alcoholic drinks.
INTERACTIONS
The results of this study suggest that several other factors were influencing
the relationship between music and consumer perceptions. For example,
results showed that the more people dining at a table, the more the restaurant
was perceived as ‘cerebral’ and ‘aggressive’. This relationship was found to be
significant in both the jazz and control conditions. Results also suggested that
an interactive effect occurred between the style of music, subjects’ perception
of the atmosphere, and the amount of alcohol consumed. For example, ratings for several adjectives increased with the amount of alcohol consumed
when jazz was playing.
A significant interactive effect was also found between the style of music
played, patrons’ responses to the quality of service, and responses to atmosphere. Lending support to Dube et al. (1995) and North and Hargreaves
(1996), these results suggest that music may be positively related to patrons’
willingness to interact. Findings also suggested an interaction between
music, perceived atmosphere and time of night. That is, the restaurant
atmosphere was perceived as less invigorating later in the evening for the
easy listening and no music conditions.
AWARENESS AND APPROPRIATENESS OF THE MUSIC
Results showed that subjects’ awareness of the music differed across conditions. Overall, subjects were more aware of the music when upbeat styles
were played. In contrast, classical and easy listening conditions were associated with more people indicating that they were ‘not at all aware’ of the
music being played.
Findings suggest that subjects considered the more upbeat (or stimulative)
styles of music to be more appropriate for the restaurant. This may be attributed to the concentration of subjects aged between 20 and 39. For example,
the number of patrons indicating that classical and easy listening music were
appropriate increased according to age. Conversely, the number of people
who considered popular, jazz and the control condition appropriate decreased
with age (although not significantly). Subjects who did not consider the
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
music to be appropriate perceived the restaurant as more downmarket and
more tacky.
The music that was considered more appropriate for the restaurant can be
described as having a high level of ‘fit’. In this environment, the degree of fit
between the music and the restaurant appears to have influenced several factors which are directly related to enhancing business and increasing sales.
For example, the musical styles with a higher degree of ‘fit’ were associated
with more alcohol being consumed, higher purchase estimates, more positive
responses to atmosphere, and more patrons remaining in the restaurant later
in the evening. While there was no significant difference between classical
music and the more upbeat styles in terms of the amount patrons were prepared to spend, the lack of fit between classical music and the restaurant may
have caused patrons to spend less time in the restaurant, and consequently
less money on food and drinks.
IMPLICATIONS
The fact that patrons were prepared to spend more when popular, jazz and
classical music were played suggests that spending might be increased by
music that creates the perception of an upbeat or upmarket environment.
This finding corresponds with North and Hargreaves (1998) who found that
classical and popular music had a more positive effect on purchase intentions
than easy listening and no music. Similarly, Areni and Kim (1993) found that
people were prepared to spend more in a wine store when classical music was
playing. In the present context, classical music was not considered to be
appropriate by a large number of patrons. This suggests that there may be
some discrepancy between the amount of money patrons indicated they
would be prepared to spend, and the amount of money actually spent.
Overall, however, the findings reported here are consistent with a model of
the effects of music on purchasing which states that ‘the nature of people’s
responses to music activate contextually relevant knowledge or behavior in
other domains’ (North and Hargreaves, 1998: 2267).
The present findings support Radocy and Boyle’s (1997) suggestion that
people might be inclined to spend more time and money in a restaurant or
store when the music being played is considered appropriate. Similarly, findings support MacInnis and Parks’ (1991) notion that persuasion is enhanced
when the music is appropriate for the context in which it is played.
Findings suggest that responses to the characteristics of the restaurant
were positively influenced by factors such as the number of people dining at a
table, the amount of alcohol consumed, the quality of service, and the
number of times patrons had been to the restaurant before. These positive
relationships were only found to exist when the more upbeat styles of music
were played. Again, these findings support the notion that people’s responses
to music may activate contextually relevant behavior in other domains.
There are several practical applications of the results reported in this
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
study. Firstly, results suggest that music can be used by restaurant and
store owners to create a specific atmosphere which will distinguish the environment from competitors. Findings also suggest that stores which play
upbeat or upmarket music may be able to charge higher prices. Overall, the
absence of music had the most negative effect on atmosphere and the
amount of money patrons were prepared to spend.
This research has demonstrated that music can influence the perceived
characteristics of the environment in which it is played. In addition, it
has provided evidence that different types of music can produce specific
atmospheres such as upmarket and upbeat. Importantly, the study demonstrated that music can influence the amount of money patrons are prepared
to spend, and perhaps the amount of money they actually spend. Overall,
it is clearly evident that music has the potential to influence commercial
processes.
AC K N OW L E D G E M E N T S
I am grateful to APRA (Australasian Performing Right Association) for providing
financial support for this study and especially to Dean Ormston for his contribution to
this project. Thanks are extended to Andrew Becker from SMA (Satellite Music
Australia) for assisting with the musical stimuli used in the study. I would also like to
thank the owners of Out Of Africa, Omar Madji and Hassan M’Souli, for their participation in this study, and Meredith Wilson, Associate Professor Gary McPherson and
Dr Emery Schubert for their valuable comments on this paper.
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Bleich, S., Zillmann, D. and Weaver, J. (1991) ‘Enjoyment and Consumption of
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Helpfulness’, Journal of Applied Psychology 9: 199–208.
MacInnis, D.J. and Park, C. (1991) ‘The Differential Role of Characteristics of Music
on High- and Low-Involvement Consumers’ Processing of Ads’, Journal of
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Mehrabian, A. and Russel, J. (1974) An Approach to Environmental Psychology.
Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
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Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
Milliman, R.E. (1986) ‘The Influence of Background Music on the Behavior of
Restaurant Patrons’, Journal of Consumer Research 13: 286–9.
North, A.C. and Hargreaves, D.J. (1996) ‘The Effects of Music on Responses to a
Dining Area’, Journal of Environmental Psychology 16: 55–64.
North, A.C. and Hargreaves, D.J. (1998) ‘The Effect of Music on Atmosphere and
Purchase Intentions in a Cafeteria’, Journal of Applied Psychology 28(4): 2254–73.
Radocy, R.E. and Boyle, J.D. (1997) Psychological Foundations of Musical Behavior, 3rd
edn. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas.
Robally, T.C., McGreevy, C., Rongo, R.R., Schwantes, M.L., Steger, P.J., Wininger, M.A.
and Gardner, E.B. (1985) ‘The Effect of Music on Eating Behavior’, Bulletin of the
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Standley, J. (1995) ‘Music as a Therapeutic Intervention in Medical and Dental
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Stratton, V.N. and Zalanowski, A. (1984) ‘The Effect of Background Music on Verbal
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Appendix: musical stimuli
JAZZ
A Night in Tunisia: Clifford Brown
A Stanley Steamer: Earl Hines
A Taste of Honey: Charlie Bird
Be Yourself: Kenny Burrell
Better Get It in Your Soul: Charles Mingus
Black Coffee: Earl Hines
Blues for ZW: Leroy Jones
Deodato: Bangles and Beads
For All We Know: Dave Brubeck
Gone with the Wind: Dave Brubeck
Indiana (Back Home Again in Indiana): Milt Hinton
Love for Sale: Miles Davis
Midnight at the Oasis: Hubert Laws
Miles: Miles Davis
My Funny Valentine: Chet Baker and Gerry Mulligan
Rumble in the Jungle: Max Roach
Something Else: Miles Davis
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
Take Five: Dave Brubeck
That Beautiful Sadness: Mark Isham
The New Message: Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers
This Can’t Be Love: Ellis Marsalis
What Now My Love: Lou Donaldson
Yesterday’s Dreams: Freddie Hubbard
POPULAR
All in Your Hands: Lamb
Alone: Ben Harper
Appletree: Erika Badu
At the River: Groove Armada
Blow Up the Pokies: The Whitlams
Buses and Trains: Bachelor Girl
Crash and Burn: Savage Garden
Don’t Call Me Baby: Madison Avenue
Even When I’m Sleeping: Leonardo’s Bride
Everybody Here Wants You: Jeff Buckley
Freshmint: Regurgitator
Friendly Pressure: Jhelisa
Glockenpop: Spiderbait
Half the Man: Jamiroquai
I Think I’m in Love with You: Jessica Simpson
I Try: Macy Gray
It Ain’t Over ‘Til It’s Over: Lenny Kravitz
Karmacoma: Massive Attack
Keep Me Lifted: Spearhead
Lucky Star: Alex Lloyd
Nothing Much Happens: Ben Lee
One More Time: Groove Terminator
Revenge on the Number: Portishead
Shine: Vanessa Amorosi
Spinning Around: Kylie Minogue
Still a Friend of Mine: Incognito
Sunshine on a Rainy Day: Christine Anu
Thank You (For Loving Me at My Worst): The Whitlams
Tropicalia: Beck
Try Whistling This: Neil Finn
Weir: Killing Heidi
Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?: Moby
CLASSICAL
Bach: Air on a G String
Bach: Brandenberg Concerto No. 1 in E, RV 269 (II: Largo)
Wilson: The effect of music in a restaurant
Beethoven: Moonlight Sonata
Beethoven: Symphony No. 4 in B flat major, Op. 60 (II: Adagio)
Debussy: Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun
Elgar: Serenade for Strings, Op. 20 (II. Largetto)
Grieg: Morning (from Peer Gynt)
Handel: Water Music: Suite (II)
Hummel: Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 85 (II: Larghetto)
Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor (IV: Adagietto)
Mendelssohn: Violin Concerto No. 2 in E minor, Op. 64 (Andante)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 19 KV 459 (Allegretto)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 20 KV 466 (Romance)
Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K467 (II: Andante)
Rachmaninov: Concerto for Piano and Orchestra No. 2 in C minor, Op. 18 (II:
Adagio Sostenuto)
Schubert: Symphony No. 5 in B flat Major, D485 (II: Andante con moto)
Sibelius: Andante Festivo
Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons (Spring)
EASY LISTENING
Adeline: Richard Clayderman
All At Once: Fairfield
All I Have to Do is Dream: John Fox
All My Life: Nick Ingman
Always On My Mind: Pan Pipes
Annie’s Song: Johnny Pearson
Are You Free: Images
Around Every Corner: Grant Geissman
Catalina: Fernando Jonas
Cinema Paradiso: Roger Woodward
Drivetime: Tommy Emmanuel
Endless Love: Richard Tucker
Everything I Do I Do It For You: Guitar Moods
Forever Love: Gary Barlow
Greensleeves: London Symphony Orchestra
Lara’s Theme: Richard Clayderman
Memory: James Galway
Never on Sunday: The 101 Strings Orchestra
Once Again: Earl Klugh
Sadness: Roger Woodward
Saving All My Love For You: Paul Mauriat
Stay Another Day: Pierre Belmonde
Stranger on the Shore: Kenny G
The Greatest Love of All: Starsound Orchestra
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The Summer Knows: Glenn Long and His Orchestra
Thinking of You: Oscar Lopez
Tonight I Celebrate My Love For You: Hill/Wiltstchinski Guitar
Your Song: Samantha Blue
S T E P H A N I E W I L S O N obtained her PhD at the School of Music and Music Education at
the University of New South Wales in 1999. Her doctoral thesis investigated pattern
perception and temporality in the music of Steve Reich. Since this time, she has conducted research in the area of music psychology for the Australasian Performing
Right Association and has been involved in both music teaching and performance.
Currently, she is working as Project Development Co-ordinator for the Office of the
Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Education) at the University of New South Wales. This role
involves supporting a range of learning and teaching initiatives and projects across
the University.
Address: Learning and Teaching@UNSW, Office of the Pro-Vice-Chancellor
(Education), University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia 2052. [email:
[email protected]]
113
Book reviews
Psychology of Music
Psychology of Music
Copyright © 
Society for Education,
Music and Psychology
Research
vol (): ‒
[- ()
:; ‒; ]
ROBERT ROWE, Machine Musicianship. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2001.
416 pp. + CD-ROM. ISBN 0-262-182206-8 £32.95
The straightforward clarity of Rowe’s writing belies the enormity of the project represented by Machine Musicianship. He provides a very readable survey
of the wide, heterogeneous and often technical space in which research in
music cognition and computational music creation intersect. The book effectively falls into two parts: theories and models addressing various aspects of
music cognition are discussed in terms of their utility in the machine implementation of musical competence; and applications in different modes of
computer music are trawled for functionality which replicates or engages
with human musical skills. His aim is to improve the functionality of
machine music processing in its various modes by better embodying human
musicianship. Throughout, Rowe offers a full account of his own implementation of the most relevant models in the context of his Machine Musicianship
Library, a common environment for evaluation and experimentation.
Explanatory code in C++ is incorporated in the text; full code, applications
and sound examples are on a CD ROM. These provide well-rounded support,
but the narrative also succeeds in making its points for the reader who prefers
to leave to one side the technical detail; indeed, in order to consider the wider
implications of the book, this might be the best first approach.
That Rowe’s selection of models for consideration reads like a summary of
work in music cognition over the last two decades is indicative of the extent to
which the computational paradigm has suffused the field. One wonders
whether a model (a metaphor – let’s be honest) which cannot be expressed in
computational terms is thinkable or allowable. Given the conservative way in
which the role of computers tends to be imagined, however, this may also
prove to be a vision-limiting factor. Models of chord identification, key induction, metric analysis, segmentation and pattern identification are surveyed
comprehensively, although Narmour’s implication/realization model is perhaps under-represented, given its naturally computational formulation. The
explanations of the various computational paradigms involved – from ‘good
old-fashioned AI’ to neural networks and intelligent agents – are concise and
sempre :
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Psychology of Music 31(1)
unusually lucid. The treatment of pattern processing is judicious in terms of
the musical literature, but this is itself conditioned by issues of representation, usually of events. There are large bodies of work in the areas of datamining and nonlinear time-series analysis which might have much to offer in
this respect, but which are perhaps less intuitive in terms of conventional
musical terminology.
New issues emerge from Rowe’s exploration of the practical implementations of the most likely candidates, particularly the speed with which quite
plausible theories become divorced from biological reality (I don’t think I
maintain values for 24 candidate keys when listening to classical music), and
the difficulty of locating ‘fundamental’ behaviours for different parameters.
Pitch recognition may be hard-wired, categorization probably less so, but it
seems unlikely on a physiological level that, as Rowe suggests, ‘as key induction is to chord identification, metrical analysis is to beat tracking’. Rowe is
concerned with certain properties of the models he considers: their cognitive
verisimilitude, the degree to which they afford algorithmic implementation,
musical utility and real time performance. This last property is a function of
several factors: computational cost, representational transparency, the
degree of background knowledge necessary and the capacity to deal with the
sequential ordering of real time data. The formal distinction between models
which can work sequentially, and in real time, and those which rely on the
out-of-time analysis of complete sets of data is an area which is still open for
investigation. As computing power becomes less of an issue, this becomes a
matter of very practical concern. What emerges from Rowe’s work is that, in
practice, background or a priori knowledge and cognitive performance in
time are inextricably convolved.
The field of the use of models of musical skills in creative applications is
naturally less orderly. There are chapters on compositional techniques, algorithmic expression and music cognition, interactive improvisation, interactive
multimedia and installations, of which the last, by virtue of the vast range of
possible modes of activity, is the least comprehensive. They constitute an
accurate survey of current modes of practice, although in its pragmatism
such an approach risks impeding the evolution of new practice. Many strategies are illustrated with examples in the Max graphical programming environment – the lingua franca of interactive music. It is particularly interesting
to see instances from the works of Manoury, Campion and Teitelbaum, and the
style-learning techniques of Dannenberg. Much of this work is published elsewhere but is less than easily accessible, and in digest form the common issues
emerge from piece-specific detail. George Lewis – one of the most significant
figures in terms of both music and thought – is given rather short shrift in the
section on improvisation, perhaps because his techniques are less open to
external scrutiny. Rowe touches on the combinatorial complexity of working
with multiple strands of interaction; in fact his own Cypher program – layers
of listener, player and critic agents – affords intuitive expansion in this way.
Book reviews
Behind the vast body of work presented lie two issues which the individual
projects often manage to avoid: the precise explanatory level on which a particular model holds true (culturally situated cognitive metaphor, biological
description, machine-implementable algorithm); and the nature of the relationship between a tool for creativity and its human user. In the latter case,
whilst interactive music systems must certainly engage with human cognitive mechanisms, it is likely that the design of a system which functions as a
prosthesis to human creativity must be fundamentally different to that of a
cybernetic musician. The musical outcome is likewise likely to be different
(and here we return to the issue of tonality as a cognitive primitive). Many of
the theories and models discussed are responses to computational or cognitive paradigms – often simultaneously both super-biologically metaphorical
and sub-biologically technical – rather than thoughts about how music
works in a space bounded by human biology, culture and technology. Most of
the techniques considered are predicated on some sort of pre-embodied
knowledge, which for reasons of encapsulation, learning or falsification represent the abstraction of a musical skill rather then its embodiment. Time
and context swiftly exert their authority as the prime conditioning agents of
any real-time implementation (or musical activity, for that matter), but in the
real-world dynamics of human theory construction are too soon relegated to
nuisance value. What would be left without random numbers, caricatures of
mainstream jazz and disembodied exam-passing Western music theory? To
over-generalize: while the functional modality of much of the work proves to
be too vague in the face of real-world application, the knowledge it requires is
too specific.
The areas of music cognition and interactive production inevitably overlap
– inevitably, that is, from the point of view of creation. The post-hoc cultural
generalization of theories of music cognition that have any cultural, contextual or historical specificity may be unavoidable – useful, even, in an experimental context – but serves to underplay the real-world, real-time aspects of
both the creation and impact of music. Unsurprisingly, then, there are discontinuities of discourse and of function in redirecting such theories to the
production of music. The relationship between the two areas may appear
asymmetrical: whilst research in psychology can exist in modes other than
the computational, computer-based interactive music must crucially engage
with the terms of its own engagement – the fundamental premise of Rowe’s
book. One implicit lesson might be, however, that ‘abstract’ cognitive
research might usefully situate itself more fully in the particulars of a specific
musical activity.
The case for the relationship between the two halves of the book could be
made, if anything, more strongly. In both cases, recent work in other areas of
AI (from Herbert Simon on artificiality to Rodney Brooks’ radical rethinking
of robotics) has suggested that turbo-charging algorithms, tinkering with
them to make them cleverer, or adding a level of randomness or ‘humanizing’
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is not a step along the path between the two. Rather it is the situating of such
behaviour – the environment in which they find themselves; the complexity
and even incommensurability resulting from their number; their unique
timeline by which their current state reflects their history – which generates
richness of detail. Rowe’s presentation and examination of this body of work
obliges the reader to address two questions which both general theoretical
and specific technical studies easily sidestep:
–
–
can we extrapolate from individual cognitive mechanisms to the adaptive
complexity of musicianship of any interest?
are the principles derived from investigating and imitating individual
aspects of generic musics transferable to the activity of generating interesting music?
There are other books which survey recent work in music cognition, well
known to readers of this journal. Rowe’s earlier Interactive Music Systems
presents his personal approach to the issues, and Tod Winkler’s Interactive
Music Composition provides recipes for common techniques in the Max language. Machine Musicianship is the first publication to deal coherently with
the mutual implications of these areas of activity and, as such, should be a
vital part of the grounding of anyone setting out in either direction. There is
a crucial paradox at its heart: the musicianship discussed remains that of key
identification, metre recognition and score following; the set of skills required
to fully appreciate Rowe’s book is broader, more contemporary, technological,
adaptive and dynamic, and embodies a wider cultural perspective. The latter
is perhaps the set of skills which creative systems will have to address.
Jonathan Impett
University of East Anglia
TIM MILES and JOHN WESTCOMBE (eds), Music and Dyslexia: Opening New
Doors. London: Whurr, 2001. 200 pp. ISBN 186-156205-5 £16.50
There is a growing awareness that dyslexic children can experience particular difficulties when learning to play a musical instrument. In 1985, the
Music Committee of the British Dyslexia Association produced a leaflet outlining some common problem areas, and in recent years a number of teachers and researchers have sought to analyse and define the difficulties more
clearly.
The present collection of essays, edited by Tim Miles and John Westcombe,
offers an interesting and valuable addition to the small amount of literature
on this topic. The book includes summary chapters by some of the key figures
in the area (including Tim Miles, John Westcombe, Sheila Oglethorpe and
Margaret Hubicki), along with a collection of personal accounts by dyslexic
Book reviews
musicians of all ages and degrees of professionalism. The broad range of
experience held by these contributors leads to a variety of insights into the
many ways in which dyslexia can affect music-learning; insights which will
be welcomed by music teachers, parents, dyslexic musicians and researchers
alike.
A key message of the book is that dyslexic children and adults can and do
enjoy great musical success, despite the potential difficulties. Importantly,
that elusive quality ‘musicality’ does not seem to be negatively affected by
dyslexia (on the contrary, some teachers have noted a particular musical sensitivity amongst their dyslexic pupils). The problem is rather with the tools of
music – the physical co-ordination, the written notation, the complex timing
skills and the learning and memory work involved. All of these skills can
become very well developed if the teaching is supportive and carefully structured, and the student’s motivation is high. The current volume contains a
great deal of practical advice for teachers, along with tips for students and
professionals, making it a perfect shelf-partner for Sheila Oglethorpe’s
Instrumental Music for Dyslexics (2002). The real value of the collection, however, lies in the detailed personal descriptions of the actual experience of
learning music as a dyslexic, such as Jacob Wiltshire’s description of the confusion and frustration encountered in his music lessons (ch. 11), Siw Wood’s
explanation of her difficulties with music notation (ch. 12), or Caroline
Oldfield’s account of her problems when faced with a new piece of flute
music (ch. 5). On the more positive side, Nigel Clarke provides inspiration
with the story of his success as a composer (ch. 7), and Sheila Oglethorpe
outlines the remarkable achievements of hard-working young dyslexic choristers (ch. 17).
A particular strength of the volume is the care with which the editors
guide the reader through the book. From the brief biography of each contributing author and the introductory chapter on dyslexia to the final summary chapter, the suggestions for further reading, and the checklists for recognizing dyslexia, it is clear that the editors have carefully considered the
needs of their audience. The presentation and organization of the book are
also extremely clear and user-friendly; ideal for dipping into.
One unfortunate consequence of gathering together a number of essays
on the same topic is the inevitable repetition of information and ideas. In this
case, the editors have chosen to include all the repetition, suggesting that it
serves to emphasize the similarities of experiences between different musicians and teachers. An advantage of this approach is the resulting richness of
the personal and contextual information, which a more concise editing style
might have lost. Such detailed material provides an invaluable resource for
those interested in the specific nature of dyslexics’ musical difficulties, and
leads the way for more qualitative research to be conducted in this area.
In this regard, it would be useful to analyse which particular difficulties
occur most frequently amongst dyslexics, which occur less often, and which
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occur similarly amongst non-dyslexics. There is also a possibility that dyslexics’
interpretation of their difficulties with music may be influenced by what they
have read about dyslexia and music, resulting in a slight ‘contamination’ of
their reports. Addressing such challenging issues will be important for future
research – the current volume provides an extremely useful starting point.
REFERENCE
Oglethorpe, Sheila (2002) Instrumental Music for Dyslexics. London: Whurr.
Katie Overy
University of Sheffield
EUROPEAN SOCIETY FOR THE
COGNITIVE SCIENCES OF MUSIC (ESCOM)
5TH TRIENNIAL ESCOM CONFERENCE
8–13 September 2003
University of Music and Drama, Hanover, Germany
Extension of deadline for submissions
We are delighted about the great interest shown in the forthcoming 5th
ESCOM Conference.The title of ESCOM5 is ‘Experience Music in Science
– Science in Music’ and the focus of the Conference is on interdisciplinary
presentations, discussion and dissemination of new research relating to
music perception and cognition.
A large number of interesting submissions have already been received for
papers and symposia. However, many applicants have asked for an
extension of the deadline for their submissions.We are pleased to be able
to comply with these wishes and have now extended the deadline for
submissions to:
1 February 2003
As we are running to a tight schedule, no submissions will be accepted
beyond this new deadline. Please take advantage of this opportunity to
actively participate in the 5th ESCOM Conference.
Details regarding the submissions are available on the internet at
http://www.escom5.de
Reinhard Kopiez (Conference Chair)
Andreas Lehmann (Conference Co-Chair)
Irving Wolther (Conference manager)
sempre:
Society for Education, Music
and Psychology Research
Conference announcement and call for papers
Teaching and learning in music
In honour of Arnold Bentley
Centre for International Research in Music Education,
Faculty of Education, University of Surrey Roehampton
Saturday 12 April 2003
Keynote speaker: Professor Gary McPherson, University of New South Wales, Australia
‘Motivational and self-regulatory learning components of musical development’
Gary McPherson will present results from a large Australian Research Council project on
over 700 young musicians between the ages of 10 and 20. The study examines the role of
self-regulation and motivation in musical practice and achievement, as measured by
standard performance examinations, and considers the implications for teaching and
learning in music.
Gary is Course Coordinator for Music Education at the University of New South Wales.
He is former
former National
National President
Treasurer
Presidentof
ofthe
theAustralian
AustralianSociety
SocietyforforMusic
MusicEducation,
Education,
Treasurer
of the
Editor
ofofResearch
the International
InternationalSociety
SocietyofofMusic
MusicEducation,
Education,and
and
Editor
ResearchStudies
StudiesininMusic
Music
Education. His work is widely known internationally: his recent publications include The
Science and Psychology of Music Performance: Creative Strategies for Teaching and
Learning (with Richard Parncutt, Oxford University Press, 2002).
Please send abstracts (200 words) to Caroline Freeland at the address below. Submissions
on any aspect of learning and teaching in music are welcomed. Also, submissions from
postgraduate students and researchers early in their career are particularly welcome.
For further information please contact:
Caroline Freeland, Centre for International Research in Music Education, Faculty of
Education, University of Surrey Roehampton, Southlands College, Roehampton Lane,
London SW15 5SL [email: [email protected]]
or
Raymond MacDonald, SEMPRE Conference Secretary, Department of Psychology,
Glasgow Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow G4 0BA [email:
[email protected]]
5
EDITORIAL
Psychology of Music
Psychology of Music
Copyright © 
Society for Education,
Music and Psychology
Research
vol (): 
[- ()
:; ; ]
It is a great pleasure to be writing in the first issue of Psychology of Music to be
published by SAGE Publications. We hope that it will be a long and fruitful
partnership which will enable the journal to meet the needs of readers in the
21st century. The journal will be published quarterly in January, April, July
and October and, in addition to being available in hard copy, each issue
can now be accessed online in institutional libraries subscribing to the journal. Readers are also invited to subscribe to the journal’s free Contents
Alerting Service. More information can be found on SAGE’s website:
www.sagepub.co.uk
This issue reflects the remit of the journal in providing a forum for articles
which address issues at the intersection of psychology, music and music
education. The articles, all empirical, draw on a wide range of methodological
approaches to consider issues as diverse as the development of intuitive musical understanding to the effects of music on behaviour in real-life settings.
The book reviews similarly reflect the unique focus on psychology, music and
music education. Articles which consider theoretical perspectives or provide
reviews of the literature in particular fields will be especially welcome for
future issues.
Forthcoming issues will include papers drawn from the conference
‘Investigating Music Performance’ held at the Royal College of Music, London,
from 12–13 April 2002, and a mapping exercise of UK music education
and related psychological research accompanied by commentaries from
colleagues around the world, giving brief accounts of similar research in their
own geographical area. A themed issue is also planned focusing on the topic
of composition. If you have any suggestions for other themed issues, I would
be pleased to hear from you.
Susan Hallam
Institute of Education, University of London
[email: [email protected]]
sempre :