ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank all tutors, friends, and family who have supported me whilst

undertaking this dissertation. Special thanks go to Dr. John Cranmer and Dr. Jonelle

Daniels.

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CONTENTS

Introduction ……………………………………………………………..3

The Empirical Study: A General Outline and Hypothesis…………...….4

Chapter 1: Theories and Contexts……………………………………….6

Chapter 2: Empirical Study: Methodology………………………...……39

Chapter 3: Empirical Study: Results……………………………..……...54

Chapter 4: Empirical and Theoretical Evaluation……………………….78

Conclusion……………………………………………………………….81

Appendices……………………………………………………………...82

Bibliography…………………………………………………………….85

Discography………………………………………………………….….89

Webography…………………………………….……………….………90

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INTRODUCTION

This dissertation will investigate the relationship between mental imagery, emotion, and

rubato. Secondary to this will be the acknowledgement of a means of interpreting

emotions from music so that correlating mental images can be selected to induce

emotions. The means chosen is harmonic structure, which, historically, is known to

represent different emotions.

The motivation to research this topic stems mainly from influences whilst at music

college. At one time, a teacher had encouraged me frequently to think of programmes

whilst playing; the main purpose of this was to induce emotions within me which the

music reflected –to enhance the relationship between emotions already experienced in the

past and the harmonic structures on the page. This always resulted in more rubato being

used. In addition to this, I became concerned whilst observing students in masterclasses

who found it difficult, when asked by the teacher, to express through the application of

rubato. Conversely, I observed rubato being encouraged successfully; students were

asked to imagine programmes from their memories which were emotionally-based on the

harmonic structures of the piece. Finally, many authors and performers advocate this,

even more-so in recent times since they agree that an emotional communication has

become lost in today’s performances. There are also philosophers who agree that

Westerners are guided increasingly less by emotions, and are more prone to limited,

rational thinking. By reviewing literature and conducting an empirical study, this

dissertation will assist those who lack the ability to express by acknowledging a harmless

method, if used wisely, which may encourage natural expression.

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THE EMPIRICAL STUDY: A GENERAL OUTLINE AND HYPOTHESIS

To give relevance to the literature review, here is a general outline of the study which

will set the grounds for theoretical support:1

Three subjects were asked to play a short extract of music composed of two,

segregated sets of harmonic structures. In accordance with authors, each set represents

one of the following contrasting emotions: love and sadness. Subjects were asked to play

under five different conditions. Condition 1 consists merely of a straight performance of

the extract whereas Conditions 2-5 attempt to induce one of 2 emotions in the subject by

use of mental, visual imagery from the subject’s emotion-memory. Again, these emotions

are love and sadness. In Condition 2, an instruction is given to the subject to induce

sadness based on my experience of it: the subject is asked to recall a particular type of

event from his/her memory, which, for me, induces sadness; Condition 3 is the same as

the previous, only the emotion it aims to induce is love; Condition 4 aims to induce

sadness, only under a different format of visualisation: the subject is asked to draw from

his/her own experience to recall an event which can induce the emotion; Condition 5 is

the same as the previous, only the emotion it aims to induce is love. After the

performances, the amount of rubato was measured under each condition using a tapping

software. A short questionnaire was conducted: subjects were asked if they realised that

the two sets of harmonic structures represented different emotions, what their

1 The methodology and results of this will be discussed in detail in Chapters 2 and 3

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programmes were in Condition 4 and 5, and if they used any techniques to help them

visualise their programmes.

Hypothesis

Under Condition 1, I hypothesised that subjects would realise, subconsciously or

consciously, the emotional representation of the segregated harmonic structures by using

rubato in response to them. Under Conditions 2 and 3, I hypothesised that more rubato

would be used than in Condition 1, especially at points where the harmonic structures

correlate to the emotion being induced from the emotion-memory. Under Conditions 4

and 5, I hypothesised that more rubato would be used than in Conditions 2 and 3, once

again, at these correlating points.

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1 THEORIES AND CONTEXTS

Introduction

Even though an overwhelming amount of literature has been written about music and the

emotions, I have not come across any material which is based specifically on the

relationship I have decided to explore. However, isolated aspects of the relationship –the

effects of mental imagery of the memory on the emotions, the effects of harmonic

structures on the emotions, and the effects of the emotions on rubato– can all be

supported in their own rites by secondary sources. Eventually, it is the aim of the

empirical study –the primary source– to prove that a relationship can exist between these

aspects.

Since the study aims to select and induce contrasting emotions (sadness and love), let

us examine how emotions have been defined and regarded in music.

Emotions

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Emotions are difficult to define; their term commonly and loosely denotes individual,

subjective feelings which occur in response to stimuli. Silvan Tomkins2 and Paul Ekman3

were among the first of many psychologists to distinguish two sets of emotions:4 basic

emotions, which include sadness, joy, distress, fear, surprise, anger, and disgust; and

higher-cognitive (more complex) emotions, which include love, pride, embarrassment,

shame, guilt, jealousy, and envy.

Leonard Meyer has analysed emotions in a different way which enables one to select

the most contrasting emotions for an empirical study. He proposed that there are two

main dimensions of emotion: valence (positive to negative), and intensity (high to low).5

This can be exemplified in the following:

Love and Serenity = Positively Valenced

Sadness and Agitation = Negatively Valenced

Love and Agitation = Intense

Serenity and Sadness = Not Intense

According to the above sources, one can describe sadness a being a basic emotion that

is negatively valenced and not intense, and love as being a higher-cognitive (complex)

emotion that is positively valenced and intense.

2 Tomkins, S. S., Affect, Imagery, and Consciousness (Springer, 1963) 3 Ekman, P., Basic Emotions, in T. Dalgleish and M. Power, eds., Handbook of Cognition and Emotion (John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., 1999), Chapter 34 Ekman’s studies showed that people in all cultures can express a particular group of emotions when given the same stimulus, quantified because they employ the same facial muscles when expressing one of those emotions. These are basic emotions. In the same study, Ekman proved that another, more complex, group of emotions exist and are triggered and expressed differently in different cultures. These are higher-cognitive emotions.5 Meyer believed that emotional induction is based on tension –whether it is resolved or not, or whether expectations are confirmed or not.Meyer, L., B., Emotion and Meaning in Music, (University of Chicago Press, 1956)

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To explain why some artists and teachers might dispute the expression of subjective

emotions and imagination in music, and others support it, let us examine how the role of

the emotions in music can be perceived.

The Role of Emotion in Music: Formalism and Expressionism

This is an ancient and ongoing debate, which, according to Meyer, is manifested into

two, loosely opposing fields of thought: formalism and expressionism. Musicologists

tend to lean towards one or the other in their arguments.

Formalism represents an autonomous view encouraging one to think of musical

relationships at a more intellectual level with regards to how musical ingredients are

structured; based on this, music expresses itself –its own intrinsic beauty, and subjective

emotions play no part in its appreciation. Malcolm Budd claims that formalists believe in

musical emotions –emotions which are ‘sui generis’, or ‘can be experienced only if the

music is.’6 This is upheld by authors such as Edmund Gurney,7 and most famously by

Eduard Hanslick, who, at the heart of the Romantic era in 1854, wrote his polemic The

Beautiful in Music to oppose the idea that the essence of music –music’s sole aesthetic

property- was a language of emotions: 'In music there is both language and logical

6 Budd, M., Music and the Emotions: The Philosophical Theories, (Routledge, 1994), p.317 In The Power of Sound, Gurney claimed that music has a ‘unique “musical emotion” that is raised in listeners by all pieces of “impressive” (i.e., beautiful) music, and only by such.’ Musical compositions ‘imply no external fact at all. Their function is to present not to represent, and their message has no direct reference to the world outside them’Gurney, E., The Power of Sound (New York, Basic Books, 1966), pp.52-60

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sequence, but in a musical sense; it is a language we speak and understand, but which we

are unable to translate.’8

The translation of music into emotions is a principle of expressionism.

Expressionism is a heteronymous view encouraging one to think of music as a

language referring to real emotions which we all experience in life. Since this dissertation

aims to explore how real, experienced emotions can be induced from the memory and

affect rubato, let us now examine this area in detail.

Budd claims that expressionists believe in definite extra-musical emotions –emotions

which can be induced by non-musical stimuli as well as musical structures. Susan Hallam

supports this, stating that ‘Cognitions play a mediating role in psychological responses to

music, i.e. the piece being connected with emotional events in the past.’9 In 1896, Leo

Tolstoy summarised the ethos of expressionism when defining art: ‘To evoke in oneself a

feeling one has experienced and having evoked it in oneself then by means of

movements, lives, colours, sounds, or forms expressed in words, so to transmit that

feeling that others experience the same feeling –this is the activity of art.’10 Proponents of

this believe that emotions are the subject matter, and that musical structures have a

purpose of exciting emotions in the listener and performer which have already been

experienced in life. This view is upheld by Susanne Langer11 and Aristotle even, who, in

8 Hanslick, E., The Beautiful in Music, trans. Gustav Cohen (London and New York, 1891), p.249 Hallam, S., Instrumental Teaching: A Practical Guide to Better Teaching and Learning (Heinemann Educational Secondary Division, 1998), p.16210 Tolstoy, L., What is Art?, trans. Aylmer Mande (London, 1959), p.12311 Langer claims that art in general, and music in particular, consists in its ‘presenting feeling in such a manner that we can reflect on it and understand it –the aim of art is to provide insight into the essential nature of felt life.’Langer, S. K., Philosophy in a New Key: A Study in the Symbolism of Reason, Rite, and Art (HUP, 1957), p.36

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his Politics, notes that the ‘pains and pleasures we feel at musical representations of

affections are not far removed from the feelings we have about real emotions.’12

Expressionistic principles of musical structures being able to induce real emotions

have been validated by Deryck Cooke, and recently by the psychologist John Sloboda,

both specifically in terms of harmonic intervals and pitch-direction. Since we aim to

prove a correlation between harmonic structures declared by Cooke and Sloboda, and real

emotions they represent, let us now examine this area.

Harmonic Structures and Emotions

In 1959, Deryck Cooke wrote The Language of Music.13 Considering music as a

language with its own unambiguous vocabulary, Cooke attempted to catalogue harmonic

structures and their referents into a lexicon. By analysing compositions from AD 1400,

he revealed correlations between emotions and particular sound patterns, such as

harmonic intervals and pitch-directions which have been used to represent real emotions.

Since Meyer has described love as positive, below are examples of harmonic intervals

which Cooke believes represent positive emotions:

Positive Emotions. Cooke described the harmonic interval of a major-third as ‘nature's

own basic harmony…by using it we feel ourselves to be at one with nature.’14 He

continues, ‘our major third has established itself as an expression of pleasure or

12 Politics (1340) in R. McKeon, ed., The Basic Words of Aristotle (New York, 1941), p.5413 Cooke, D., The Language of Music (OUP, 1959)14 Cooke, D., Op. Cit., p.51

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happiness.’15 Figure 1 is an extract from Monteverdi’s opera L’Incoronazione di Poppea

which Cooke uses to demonstrate the above; the character Drusilla, believing that Ottone

loves her, sings ‘Joyful is my heart.’16 Furthermore, Cooke claimed that the ‘Alleluia’ in

Figure 2, taken from the refrain of the early English part-song Now Wel May We Mirthes

Make, ‘needs no comment.’17

Figure 1 A major-third within Monteverdi’s L’Incoronazione di Poppea18

Figure 2 A major-third within Now Wel May We Mirthes Make, Anon.19

Since Meyer has described sadness as negative, below are examples of harmonic

intervals which Cooke believes represent negative emotions:

Negative Emotions. Describing the minor-third, Cooke claimed that it has been used

traditionally to represent sadness and grief: ‘Being lower than the major third, it has a

depressed sound.’20 Figure 3 is a traditional Dies Irae –a melody commonly sung in

15 Ibid.16 Ibid. p.5717 Ibid.18 Ibid.19 Ibid., p. 5620 Ibid.

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Requiem masses, and Figure 4 is an extract of W. C. Handy’s St. Louis Blues where the

minor ‘blue’ note is heard.

Figure 3 A minor-third within a Dies Irae melody, 13th Cent.21

Figure 4 A minor-third within W. C. Handy’s St. Louis Blues22

A summary of these isolated harmonic intervals and their basic expressive functions

can be seen in Appendix 1. These findings can be consolidated in a similar summary

produced by M. Costa, P. E. R. Bitti, and L. Bonfiglioli at the University of Bologna,

Italy (see Appendix 2), where properties of the same representative functions are

generally confirmed by the following authors: Castiglioni (1959),23 Galilei (1638),24

Gervasoni (1800),25 Gianelli (1801),26 Rousseau (1782),27 Steiner (1975),28 and Tartini

(1754).29

21 Ibid. p. 5922 Ibid.23 Castiglioni, N., Il Linguaggio Musicale dal Rinascimento ad oggi, (Ricordi, 1959)24 Galilei, G., ‘Dialoghi Intorno a Due Nuove Scienze’, in G. Galilei, Opera Omnia (Biblioteca Nazionale,1966), vol. VIII25 Gervasoni, C., La Scuola della Musica in Tre Parti Divisa (Niccolo Orcesi, 1800)26 Gianelli, P., Grammatica Ragionata della Musica, Ossia Nuovo Metodo Facile di Apprendere a Ben Suonare e Cantare (A. Santini, 1801)27 Rousseau, J. J., Dictionnaire de Musique (Chez Sanson et Compagnie, 1782)28 Steiner, R., Wesen des Musikalischen und das Tonerlebnis im Menschen (Rudolf Steiner Verlag, 1975)29 Tartini, G., Trattato di Musica Secondo la Vera Scienza dell'armonia (Giovanni Manfre Editore, 1954)

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As well as highlighting intervallic tensions, Cooke has also analysed the representative

functions of pitch-direction. As a general rule, he claimed that ascending notes represent

outgoing emotions and descending notes represent inward emotions. Here are examples:

Positive Emotions. In the major key, Cooke claimed that the ascending 1-2-3-4-5 pitch-

progression expressed an ‘outgoing emotion of joy.’30

Figure 5 Major key; ascending 1-2-3-4-5 pitch-progression

Cooke demonstrates that this progression has been used by Mozart to express love and joy in his operas, as observed in Figure 6:

Figure 6 Extracts from arias of Mozart: The first two from The Seraglio, and the last from The Magic Flute31

Negative Emotions. In the minor key, Cooke claimed that the descending 5-4-3-2-1 pitch-progression represents an ‘incoming emotion of pain in a context of finality.’32

Figure 7 Minor key, descending 5-4-3-2-1 pitch-progression

30 Cooke, D., op. cit., p.11531 Ibid., p.11632 Ibid., p.133

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Cooke demonstrates that this progression has been used by Gershwin to represent sadness in his opera Porgy and Bess, as observed in Figure 8:

Figure 8 An extract from the aria My Man’s Gone Now from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

A summary of all the representative functions of pitch-direction according to Cooke can be seen in Appendix 3.

John Sloboda has also spent much time investigating the link between harmonic

structures and emotional response. Sloboda remarks: ‘Although it is well established that

people respond emotionally to music, little is known about precisely what it is in the

music that they are responding to.’33 In one of Sloboda’s studies, ‘subjects were asked to

specify particular pieces of music to which they could recall having experienced any of a

list of 12 physical manifestations commonly associated with emotion. Having identified

such pieces, they were then asked to specify the location within the music that provoked

these reactions.’34 Figure 9 shows a table of results from the analysis:

Figure 9 Table of Sloboda’s results showing harmonic structures associated with physical-emotional responses35

33 Sloboda, J. A., Exploring the Musical Mind: Cognition, Emotion, Ability, Function (OUP, 2005), p.20934 Ibid.35 Ibid., p.210

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The results show that twenty musical passages provoked the responses labelled tears,

‘i.e. crying, lump in the throat.’36 Most of these passages contained melodic

appoggiaturas and melodic or harmonic sequences. Twenty-one passages caused

responses labelled shivers, ‘i.e. goose pimples, shivers down the spine.’37 Most of these

passages contained a new or unprepared harmony. Only five passages caused heart

reactions, ‘i.e. racing heart an pit-of-stomach sensations.’38 These passages contained

repeated syncopations and prominent events occurring earlier than prepared for. Subjects

linked tears with the emotion of sadness, shivers with love and awe, and heart reactions

with love and excitement.

In a similar format to Cooke, Sloboda exemplifies compositions that contain the

structures:

36 Ibid.37 Ibid.38 Ibid.

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Figure 10 Extract of Albinoni’s Adagio for Strings causing tears (sadness) 39

Figure 11 Extract causing shivers (love and awe) 40

Figure 12 Extract of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Last Movement, causing heart reactions (love and excitement) 41

39 Albinoni’s Adagio for Strings is an example which provoked tears; it contains three consecutive appoggiaturas in the first seven-note melodic phrase and then repeated phrases in sequential fashion. Ibid., p.21140 This passage provoked shivers; this is characterised by a sudden shift from E to C# in the context of a rising sequential pattern based on E, then F#, then G#.Ibid., p.21241 Provoking heart reactions, Sloboda describes the structure: ‘Here the phrase structure of the whole movement is built on multiples of even numbers of bars (2, 4, 8, etc.). The piano solo starting at bar 184 reinforces this. A new phrase starts at 188, and there is an implication that the next phrase will commence at bar 192. Instead it arrives at 191…Here, then, is a case of an expected accent arriving earlier than it “should”.’Ibid. Susan Hallam validates this, claiming that emotions can be aroused in harmonic progressions ‘when expectations are unconfirmed or delayed –e.g. resolutions of tension.’Hallam, S., op. cit., p.163

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The above authors have demonstrated that harmonic structures are accurate as a

guide to understanding emotional expression. However, the empirical study of emotional

responses to harmonic structures is still in its infancy, despite several recent attempts to

construct a theoretical framework for considering this (e.g. Sloboda42, and Dowling and

Harwood43). The subject poses serious methodological and theoretical problems, as

Sloboda acknowledges:

Since there is no generally accepted theory of the emotions and how they

interact with cognition, I believe that open-minded empirical investigations

with a strong element of natural history continue to be the most profitable

way of exploring this area at this time. Music psychology is already a

successful interdisciplinary study, with major advances at the junctions of

music theory and cognitive science. A satisfactory incorporation of the study

of emotion into this work will require methods and theoretical approaches

drawn from a wider range of subdisciplines.44

Adopting this advice, a strong element of natural history has been included into my

research by testing the revelations of Cooke and past composers (see Chapter 2).

Furthermore, as discussed, the approach I have used is unique.45

Considering this unique approach –the link between harmonic structures and mental

imagery –Leos Janáček and John Booth Davies have proved that there other ways of

42 Sloboda, J. A., ‘Music Psychology and the Composer’, in S. Nielzen and O. Olsson, eds., Structure and Perception of Electromagnetic Sound and Music (Elsevier, 1989)43 Dowling, W. J., and Harwood, D. L., Music Cognition (Academic Press, 1986)44 Sloboda, J. A., Exploring the Musical Mind: Cognition, Emotion, Ability, Function (OUP, 2005), p.21345 The approach includes mental imagery being used to induce emotions from the memory, indicated by rubato occurring at correlating points of the harmony.

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provoking images, such as melodic representations and physiognomic perception.46

Nevertheless, it is generally agreed that harmonic structures give an excellent indication

of emotion, and emotion in turn gives an excellent indication of mental imagery. Indeed,

Carl Seashore claims that, without understanding harmonic structures, expression

‘consists in aesthetic deviation from the regular –i.e. a deliberate departure from the

score.’47 Furthermore, Seashore validates the use of mental imagery and upholds his

expressionistic stance:

In vivid musical memory we relive the music. The person who does not have

the capacity to do so may recall in abstract terms; such as the musical notation

or even the most refined logical concepts of elements in musical performance

and musical criticism. But these are only the cold facts. He does not relive the

music… The non-emotional person can recall the cold facts, but these facts

are not the essence of music, the welling up of emotion.48

In the same vein, Stephen Davies claims that ‘Sometimes if one listens to a work as

illustrating a story, one can be led deeper into the music itself, noticing details and

structures one might otherwise overlook.’49

Having now established this link, let us explore how mental imagery interacts with

emotions.

46 Melodies, for example, reminded the composer Leos Janáček of human speech patterns, so he would imagine people singing or speaking when he composed and performed. Furthermore, the musicologist John Booth Davies has discussed physiognomic perception, where composers perceive high notes as ‘small and thin’ –exemplified with the celeste being employed in Tchaikovsky’s Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy- and low notes as ‘big and fat’ –exemplified with the double-bass being employed in Saint-Saëns’s Carnival of the Animals, personifying the elephants.Davies, J., B., The Psychology of Music (Hutchinson, 1978), p.10547 Seashore, C. E., in J. Rink, ed., Musical Performance, (CUP, 2002), p.6348 Seashore, C. E., op. cit., p.16849 Davies, S., Musical Meaning and Expression (Cornell University Press, 1994), p.81

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Mental Imagery as a Tool for Emotional Induction

Artists are fond of encouraging methods for natural expression.50 Eric Clarke, for

example, claims that a performer must have ‘an expressive “strategy” with which to bring

the music to life’51 and that performers are ‘expected to animate the music- to go beyond

what is explicitly provided by the notation or aurally transmitted standard – to be

“expressive”.’52 Anthony Kemp agrees, believing that ‘finding sources of motivation for

musical engagement is also very important.’53

When we visualise memories, we gain stronger access to emotions associated with

them. This interaction has been proved scientifically using a process called positron

emission tomography (P. E. T.), where one can observe brain activity in response to

negative and positive visual stimuli. One particular experiment was carried out by Sergio

Paradiso in 1999.54 Figure 13 is a P. E. T. scan indicating the results of the experiment.

Pleasant visual stimuli produced activations in cortical limbic areas, depicted as

red/yellow tones, whereas negative visual stimuli produced activations in the medial

frontal cortex, depicted as blue/purple tones.

50 Natural expression being the employment of rubato which correlates with representative harmonic structures51Clarke, E., in J. Rink, ed., Musical Performance: A Guide to Musical Understanding (CUP, 2002), p.5952 Ibid.53 Kemp, A., The Musical Temperament (OUP, 1996), p.23454 According to Paradiso, ‘Seventeen healthy individuals were shown two sets of emotionally laden pictures carrying pleasant and unpleasant content. While subjects evaluated the picture set for emotional valence, regional cerebral blood flow was measured with the use of [15O] water positron emission tomography.

Subjective ratings of the emotional valence of the picture sets were recorded.’Paradiso, S., ‘Cerebral Blood Flow Changes Associated With Attribution of Emotional Valence to Pleasant and Unpleasant Visual Stimuli in a PET Study of Normal Subjects’, The American Journal of Psychiatry (1999), 156:1618-1629

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Figure 13 P. E. T. scan showing activations in the brain in response to pleasant and negative visual stimuli55

Similar empirical experiments which support Paradiso’s findings have been conducted

by E. M. Reiman56 and Jean-Pierre Royet. 57

The same brain activity occurs as one visualises external images on a card as one

visualises internal images from the memory. Indeed, the psychologist Hugh Willbourn

states that ‘the human nervous system cannot tell the difference between a real and

vividly imagined experience.’58 Furthermore, Willbourn states that emotions can be

induced at different strengths depending on how we experience the memory: ‘Seeing a

memory from the inside is called “associative memory”. Seeing it from the outside is

55 Ibid.56 Reiman, E. M., ‘Neuroanatomical Correlates of Externally and Internally Generated Human Emotion’, The American Journal of Psychiatry (1997), 154: 918-92557 Royet, J. P., ‘Emotional Responses to Pleasant and Unpleasant Olfactory, Visual, and Auditory Stimuli: a Positron Emission Tomography Study’, The Journal of Neuroscience (2000), 20:7752-775958 Willbourn, H., The Human Emotions, (Bantam Press, 2003), pp.49-50

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called “dissociated memory”.’59 In the first instance, real emotions can be felt as they

were first of all; in the second instance, the memory is not so vivid, so the strength of

emotions is weaker. The author Kendall Walton supports this.60 The variable in this case

is the senses, and most effectively: imagery. This area preoccupied psychologists such as

Sigmund Freud for most of their lives. Peter Gay observes that ‘Freud was particularly

sensitive to visual impressions. That is why he looked at his patients as intently as he

listened to them.’61

In my empirical study, subjects will comment on techniques they use to help them

visualise. I will also instruct subjects briefly how to visualise based on advice from

authors. To explore a possible correlation between techniques of both, let us examine

advice given by Willbourn:

Everybody has the ability to visualise… Some people are more adept than

others at visualisation and seem to make richer pictures, but their just a

matter of degree, not difference. They are more aware of their capacity to

visualise but they are not physiologically different from the rest of us.

Artists, photographers and designers all have a highly developed capacity

for visualisation precisely because they have to use it so much.62

When you picture something in your imagination, it may not be as vivid as

in real life; there might be less colour, or the image is transparent.

59 Ibid., p.4860 Walton claims that one can imagine oneself to be afraid, whereby ‘the emotion is imagined but not experienced,’ and one can experience fear imaginatively, whereby ‘the hedonic tone of the emotion is experienced when the thought-content of the emotion is imagined as being true.’Walton, K., ‘Fearing Fictions’, Journal of Philosophy, LXXV, No. 1 (January, 1978)61 Gay, P., Freud -A Life for Our Time (W. W. Norton & Co., 1998), p.16962 Willbourn, H, op. cit., p.44

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Interestingly, the imaginary space in which we see things seems to have

direction relative to each individual. We see things to the left or right,

slightly above or slightly below our sightline, in front of us or off to the

side, or towards the edge of the visual field. The space of imaginary

visualisation coexists with our ordinary perception; it doesn’t replace

ordinary perception but happens alongside it.63

Considering imaginary space, the psychologists Richard Brandler and John Grinder

proved that, when people look up and to the left, they are accessing images from their

memories.64 Interestingly, pianists on the documentary The Art of Piano - Great Pianists

of 20th Century, who advocate the use of mental imagery, can be seen looking up when

they play.65

Willbourn continues to offer the following practice-technique in which he asks

one to think of a relative:

As soon as you remember what someone looks like, you are using

visualisation. Recall what they looked like. What are they wearing? What is

the expression on their face? What are they doing? Where is the picture of

them located relative to you? Is it in front of you, or to the left or the right?

Is it life size or is it transparent? Do you still hear their voice? Now, as you

63 Ibid., p.4564 Bandler, R., & John G., Frogs into Princes: Neuro Linguistic Programming, Moab, (Real People Press, 1979)65 See below for Sergie Rachmaninoff and Alfred Cortot

22

keep seeing them in your mind’s eye, notice the feelings that arise in you.

Make a note of those feelings.66

Casually, Willbourn describes that ‘In your mind you can be the greatest ever film

director. You can reshoot the scenes from you memory and imagination in any way you

want. You can change the action, soundtrack, lighting, camera angles, framing, focus,

speed –all the variables are accessible.’67

Our feelings are very closely linked to the precise way in which we

remember or imagine things. Changing the variables in a visualisation

changes the feeling it evokes. You will notice that some changes have a

bigger effect than others. Generally speaking, images that are closer, bigger,

brighter and more colourful have greater emotional intensity than those that

are duller, smaller and further away.68

Now let us observe how similar techniques have been employed in the arts. One artist

who exploited the technique manifested it into one of the most famous methods of acting.

Konstantin Stanislavski, a co-founder of the Moscow Arts Theatre, developed ‘method

acting’ –a system which focussed on developing realistic characters. Actors were

instructed to utilise their emotion-memory in order to naturally portray a character's

emotions. In order to do this, actors were required to think of a moment in their own lives

when they had felt the desired emotion and then replay the emotion in role to achieve a

more genuine performance: ‘The actor must have at his command all kinds of moods and

66 Willbourn, H, op. cit., p.4767 Ibid.68 Ibid., p.48

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feelings. One way of achieving a specific emotion is by using “affective recollections,”

that is, by awakening in the memory a definite feeling actually experienced in one’s past,

in order to recreate the feeling.’69

Stanislavski taught his students that, when recalling memories, images induced the

strongest emotions: ‘Of our five senses sight is the most receptive of impressions.’70

Similar to Willbourn, Stanislavski advises the method of creating an internal film when

visualising,71 and for further improvement, he advocates questioning:72

If his imagination is inactive, I ask him certain questions. He will have to

answer, since he has been addressed. If he responds thoughtlessly, I do not

accept his answer. Then, in order to give a more satisfactory answer, he

must either rouse his imagination or else approach the subject through his

mind, by means of logical reasoning. Work on the imagination is often

prepared and directed in this conscious, intellectual manner. The student

sees something, either in his memory or in his imagination: certain definite

visual images are before him. For a brief moment, he lives a dream. After

69Stanislavski, K., ‘Stanislavski’s Method of Acting’, in T. Cole, ed., Acting: A Handbook of the Stanislavski Method (Crown Publishers, 1955), p.10670 Stanislavski, K., trans. by E. R. Hapgood, An Actor Prepares (Eyre Methuen, 1980), p.16971 Stanislavski claims that ‘We must have, first of all, an unbroken series of supposed circumstances… Secondly we must have a solid line of inner visions bound up with those circumstances, so that they will be illustrated for us…Out of these moments will be formed an unbroken series of images, something like a moving picture. As long as we are acting creatively, this film will unroll and be thrown on the acting screen of our inner vision, making vivid the circumstances among which we are moving. Moreover, these inner images create a corresponding mood, and arouse emotions…’Ibid., pp-63-6472 If a student’s imagination is more sluggish and can not respond to even the simplest questions, Stanislavski claims that one can suggest answers: ‘If the student can use that answer he goes on from there. If not, he changes it, and puts something else in its place. In either case he has been obliged to use his own inner vision. In the end of something of an illusory existence is created, even if the material is only partially contributed by the student. The result may not be entirely satisfactory, but is does accomplish something.’Stanislavski, K., op. cit., p.67

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that, another question, and the process is repeated. So with a third and

fourth, until I have sustained and lengthened that brief moment into

something approaching a whole picture. Perhaps, at first, this is not

interesting. The valuable part about it is that the illusion has been woven

together out of the student’s own inner images. Once this is accomplished,

he can repeat it once or twice or many times. The more often he recalls it,

the more deeply he will live into it.73

This idea of repetition being able to strengthen visualisation is supported by

Willbourn in scientific terms:

The brain is a mass of millions of neural pathways with each idea or

memory moving along its own route. Whenever we have an intense

experience, our brain encodes into our nervous system a memory of the

sequence of behaviour that led to it. Whenever we do something new we

create a neural pathway so we can access that experience again easily. Each

time we repeat that behaviour we strengthen the neural pathway; indeed, the

neural pathway actually gets physically bigger through repetition.74

Other psychologists such as Annie Plessinger agree that different types of advice

should be considered because ‘There is no correct way to practise mental imagery. It is

all left up to the individual preferences and the present circumstances…Some individuals

are better at forming pictures in their heads than others.’ 75

73 Stanislavski, K., op. cit., p.6674 Willbourn, H, op. cit., p.4875 Plessinger, A., The Effects of Mental Imagery on Athletic Performance (Accessed 5 October 2005) <http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/mentalimagery.html>

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In musical performance, the adoption of this technique has been encouraged by many

authorities. J. W. N. Sullivan has described all great music as having a programme of

human spirituality,76 and Jacques Barzun claimed that ‘To cover all cases, it seems

necessary to define as programmatic any scheme or idea, general or particular, that helps

to determine the course of the composition,’77 affirming that performers can employ their

own ‘hidden’, mental programme of a musical work. Paul Hindemith claims that ‘The

reactions music evokes are… images, memories of feelings… Dreams, memories,

musical-reactions –all three are made of the same stuff.’78 Donald Callen agrees: ‘All

music may be, even should be, heard programmatically’79 –a view also upheld by

Michael McMullin.80

The psychologist Roland Persson also advocates this method. Persson conducted a

study in 1993 whereby 15 pianists had to play an unknown work in which all

interpretational clues, including the title, were erased. The performers had to provide a

descriptive title to the piece from their understanding of harmonic structures. All

performers said that they made use of imagery to construe understanding and meaning.81

This can be supported by a conversation which took place between the pianist-composer-

conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff and the pianist Benno Moiseiwitsch. Both believed

76 Sullivan, J. W. N., Beethoven (Jonathan Cape, 1927)77 Barzun, J., ‘The Meaning of Meaning in Music: Berlioz Once More’ in Music Quarterly (1980), 66: 1-20,78 Hindemith, P., in A. Storr, Music and the Mind (Ballantine Books, 1993), p.7679 Callen, D., ‘The Sentiment in Musical Sensibility’ in Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism (1982), 40: 38780 McMullin, M., ‘The Symbolic Analysis of Music’ in Music Review (1947), 8: 25-3581 Self induction of emotion was used to alter states of awareness, some musicians consciously manipulated the recall of certain memories to ‘get in the mood,’ 8/10 acknowledged a self-discovered technique to arrive at a particular frame of mind for the sake of learning and/or performing, 3 employed ‘mood induction’ (remembering emotions without conjuring up images), 5 used visualisation, however, to evoke a particular emotion, some combined mood induction with visualisation.Persson, R. S., The Subjectivity of Musical Performance: An Exploratory Music-Psychological Real World Enquiry into the Determinants and Education of Musical Reality, Doctoral Dissertation, (Huddersfield University, 1993)

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deeply in the method. In The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century,82

Moiseiwitsch recollects after playing to Rachmaninoff in a recital:

Rachmaninoff was very gracious, complimentary, and said particularly “I

thank you for playing my B minor prelude”. I said “It happens to be my

favourite one”, and he said “Well, it’s also my favourite one” and that created

the link of friendship. I said “Did you have a programme when you composed

the B minor prelude?” He said “Yes” …his spaced voice. I said “Good” –I

won the first round. He said “I know your idea is not mine, but I know that

mine is correct”. I said “Alright, you tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine” and

we haggled for a while, till eventually I said “Well mine is a long story”. He

said “If yours is a long story, it can not be anything like mine because mine

can be answered with one word”. I said “To me it suggests the return…”

where upon the long arm shot out… “STOP!”…so I said “Why? What have I

done?” He said “That’s what it is. It’s the return”. It was an exile, and that’s

what Rachmaninoff was.’83

This conversation indicates more than the influence of programmatic music –music

typical of the Romantic era, composed specifically to invoke imagery. As with Persson’s

study, the real significance of this conversation lies within the validation of a relationship

between musical structures, emotions which these structures induce, and the mental

imagery that’s associated with, and provoked by, those emotions –the underpinning

relationship under examination. Both Rachmaninoff and Moiseiwitsch were exiled from

82 The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century (NVC Arts, 2002), DVD B00004UF0183 Moiseiwitsch, B., ibid., [my transcription]

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their native Russia, so one could suggest that when the musical structures induced the

experienced emotions of longing and sadness, they thought naturally of their homeland.

Conversely, images can induce different emotions in an individual. The pianist and

teacher Alfred Cortot has been criticised for giving his own specific imagery to students

to think about when playing rather than allowing them freedom of imagination. David

Barnett affirms that ‘we must be prepared to admit that someone else might find a

somewhat different poetic content in the music he [Cortot] describes.’84 Others who

support this include psychologists Akhter Ahsen85 and Shane Murphy,86 as well as

authors Arthur Schopenhauer87 and Bannister and Fransella.88

Contrary to Cortot, there were contemporaries such as Hans Richter who encouraged

students to choose their own imagery.89 Considering current teachers, Helen Turbervill –a

music teacher who frequently enters her pupils into classes at the Abertawe Festival for

Young Musicians (AFYM) in Swansea, South Wales –told me that, in the last festival

(January 2006) all the guest tutors –Nigel Clayton, Wissam Boustany, Diana Cummings,

84 Barnett, D., The Performance of Music (Universe Books, 1972), p.4085 Ahsen claims that ‘Every image has a significant meaning and that specific meaning can imply something different to each individual’Ahsen, A., ‘ISM: The Triple Code Model for Imagery and Psychophysiology’, Journal of Mental Imagery (1984), 8(4), pp.15-4286 Murphy states that ‘since every person has a unique background and upbringing, the actual internal image can be quite different for each individual.’Murphy, S. M., ‘Models of Imagery in Sport Psychology: A Review’, Journal of Mental Imagery (1990), (3&4) pp.153-17287 Schopenhauer claims that ‘An object is presented to a subject [person] by a representation: a mental “picture” or image of which he is aware and which has been constructed by his brain in response to the input from his senses. This object of perception only exists in the consciousness of the subject.’Schopenhauer, A., The World as Will and Representation, Volume 1, (Dover, 1966), p.7788 Bannister and Fransella affirm that ‘A basic fallacy in stimulus-response psychology is the notion that a man responds to a stimulus. A man responds to what he interprets the stimulus to be.’Bannister, D., and Fransella, F., Inquiring Man: The Theory of Personal Constructs (Penguin Books, 1971), p.13289 In the second movement of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4, op. 50, which he called the ‘Greek Concerto,’ Richter created his own imagination: a dialogue in which Orpheus pleads with the gods in Hell to set Eurydice free. Orpheus meets with fierce resistance before his entreaties are rewarded, where upon the doors if the underworld open and they dance out into a beautiful Greek Spring landscape.

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Peter Esswood, and Paul Harris– encouraged students to conjure up imagery of their own.

Susanna Garcia and Alison Kirkpatrick90 are other teachers who prefer this approach.

Garcia claims that:

Interpretive markings or dynamics could lead to a discussion about the

mood of the piece using highly visual imagery. The student may be asked to

draw a picture that represents the mood of the piece. Visual students also

enjoy diagramming the musical shape of phrases. I have seen these activities

transform the performance of visual students who may need help connecting

with the emotional qualities of the music.91

I have adopted these approaches in my empirical study by choosing to invoke

imagery from the subject’s memory in two ways. The first time I demand my own

programme of imagery which I predict will cause the required expression. The

second time, however, which Willbourn, Stanislavski and the above teachers

advocate, I ask the subject to choose his/her own programme, encouraging a means

that works best for him/her which I predict will lead to greater expression.

Having considered those who favour this method, there is, of course, a formalist view

which disagrees. The pianist-author Katherine Goodson states her opinion:

90 Kirkpatrick claims that ‘Expressiveness and colour can be enhanced through imagery. Imagery also acts as a catalyst for refining touch and adding the stamp of individuality to a performance. Imagery produces special effects and imagery provides inspiration.’Kirkpatrick, A., (Accessed 10 December 2005)< musicteachermag.com/motivationalrepertoire.htm> 91 Garcia, S., (Accessed 10 December 2005)<music.sc.edu/ea/keyboard/PPF/5.1/5.1.PPFpp.sec4.html>

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Despite the popular impression that music is imitative in the sense of being

able to reproduce different pictures and different emotions, it is really far

from it. The subject of programme music and illustrative music is one of the

wildest in the art, and at the same time one of the least definite. Except in

cases like the Beethoven Pastoral Symphony, where the composer has made

obvious attempts to suggest rural scenes, composers do not as a rule try to

make either aquarelles or cycloramas with their music. They write music for

what it is worth as music, not as scenery….Of course there are some notable

exceptions, and many teachers may be right in trying to stimulate the

sluggish imaginations of some pupils with fanciful stories. However, when

there is a certain design in a piece which lends itself to the suggestion of a

certain idea, as does, for instance, the List-Wagner Spinning Song from The

Flying Dutchman, it is interesting to work with a specific picture in view -

but never forgetting the real beauty of the piece purely as a beautiful piece

of music. 92

This is almost completely opposite to the words of the expressionistic Rachmaninoff:

Some teachers lay a great deal of stress upon the necessity for the pupil

learning the source of the composer’s inspiration. This is interesting, of

course, and may help to stimulate a dull imagination. However, I am

convinced that it would be far better for the student to depend more upon his

own musical understanding.93

92 Goodson, K., in J. F. Cooke, ed.,Great Pianists on Piano Playing (Dover Publications, 1999) p.14793 Rachmaninoff, S., in J. F. Cooke, ibid., p.216

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The student should seek to break the veil of conventions provided by

notation and seek a clearer insight into the composer’s individuality as

expressed in his compositions... Since all things of permanent value in

music have proceeded from a fervid artistic imagination, they should be

interpreted with the continual employment of the performer’s imagination.94

Many great pianists of the Twentieth Century concur with Rachmaninoff’s ideas,95 yet

there are many others who agree with Goodson’s formalistic approach. Peter Kivy, for

example, disputes that the imagination has such significance in musical performance:

‘This approach goes beyond what good musical analysis and sound musical practice will

allow.’96 Charles Rosen agrees, claiming that the composer knows best, and performers

should always spend time researching documents –letters and other manuscripts- to

prevent intentions from being betrayed.97

Intermediary concessions on the subject arise from Stephen Davies, who claims that

mental imagery and subjectivity in expression are of great importance, yet one must not

over-indulge and one must observe harmonic structures due to the following reason:

A person who substitutes fantasy for attention to the work reacts (at best) to

an idiosyncratic amalgamation for the music and an imaginatively generated

94 Ibid., p.28095 Glen Gould and Hans Richter famously advocated this. Gould was a composer-pianist who sought the same inspiration as the composer in performing. Paul Myers claims that ‘Gould didn’t believe in tradition…He played it as he felt, and therefore he was a composer paying his respect to other composers.’ Richter, as Zoltán Kocsis observes, ‘experimented during the concerts as he did during practising, and that’s why his concerts were so interesting, and so unpredictable.’The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century, op. cit.96 Kivy, P., Sound Sentiment (Temple University Press, 1989), pp.221-22297 Rosen, C., ‘A Performer’s Responsibility’, in W. Thomas, ed., Composition, Performance, Perception: Studies in the Creative Process of Music (Ashgate, 1998), p.54

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program not connected to the work; the response is not to the work itself but

to some private, personal object of fantasy. To the extent that her response is

shaped by the detail of the imaginatively inventive program, that response is

not to something depicted in the work.98

Conceding further, Davies claims that, since music is not a primarily depictive art,

visualisation can be used as a tool to heighten expression which can be discarded

afterwards:

Many people might best be prompted to understand music by approaching

all works programmatically (as if they were programmatic), and where can

the harm be in that? The “program” is a prosthetic device and could always

be put aside when its purpose is served.99

Barzun agrees to this concession, believing that ‘programmes are useful analogies but

should not be taken literally; they are to be put aside when understanding has been

achieved by means of them.’100

Having examined imagery, let us now explore the parameter which the empirical study

will use as its key indicator of expressive variation: rubato.

Measuring Expression with Tempo Rubato

98 Davies, S., op. cit., p.8199 Ibid., pp.81-82100 Barzun, J., ‘The Meaning of Meaning in Music: Berlioz Once More’, Music Quarterly (1980), 66: 16-17, 21

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The term tempo rubato is Italian, meaning robbed or stolen time. In music, rubato

advances or delays the beat, speeds up or slows down, usually for expressive effects

before restoring the regular tempo. Richard Hudson, the author of Stolen Time: The

History of Tempo Rubato, notes the two types of rubato. The first appeared in the first

half of the eighteenth-century to describe a practice in Baroque vocal music: some note

values within a melody are altered while the accompaniment maintains strict rhythm.

Hudson claims that ‘This type of rubato continues in vocal and violin music well into the

nineteenth century.’101 The second type appeared in the early nineteenth-century when the

term began to refer to rhythmic alterations not only in the melody, but in the tempo of the

entire musical substance. ‘For at least the first half of the nineteenth century both types of

rubato exist concurrently, but later in the century the earlier type disappears. It is the later

type of rubato, finally, that continues to live in Western art music and is the type most

familiar to us today.’102

The Romantic pianist Ignacy Jan Paderewski, of expressionistic ideals, famously

employed free use of rubato in response to harmonically-guided expression.103 Many

agree, however, that Paderewski over-indulged in his use of the device. Rosen makes

101 Hudson, R., Stolen Time: The History of Tempo Rubato (Clarendon Press, 1994), p.1102 Ibid.103 Paderewski claimed that ‘Rhythm is the pulse in music. Rhythm marks the beating of its heart, proves its vitality, attests its very existence. Rhythm is order. But this order in music cannot progress with the cosmic regularity of a planet, nor with the automatic uniformity of a clock. It reflects life, organic human life, with all its attributes, therefore it is subject to moods and emotions, to rapture and depression… Our human metronome, the heart, under the influence of emotion, ceases to beat regularly –physiology calls it arrhythmia. Chopin played from his heart. His playing was not national; it was emotional. To be emotional in musical interpretation, yet obedient to the initial tempo and true to the emotions, means about as much as being sentimental in engineering. Mechanical execution and emotion are incompatible…The tempo as a general indication of character in a composition is undoubtedly of great importance… but a composer’s imagination and an interpreter’s emotion are not found to be humble slaves of either metronome or tempo...’Paderewski, I., J., in H. T. Finck, ed., Success in Music and How it is Won (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1927), pp. 454-461

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such a criticism: ‘There were indeed a few pianists who abused the device [rubato], in

particular Paderewski, in whose hands it was almost monotonously omnipresent.’104105 In

contrast to Paderewski, Rebecca Penneys is a modern pianist who is known too be less

indulgent. In a recent review from Clavier Magazine, Jeffrey Wagner affirms that

Penneys ‘plays with a balanced sense of rubato.’106 To prove this contrast, the amount of

rubato employed by both pianists in the same piece is measured in Chapter 2.

Many believe that rubato should be employed with care, and that being overly

subjective can break conventions and the wishes of the composer. Indeed, we have

acknowledged that harmonic structures exist as a guide for expression, and that unnatural

applications of rubato can be prevented if these structures are realised and followed.

However, one must also realise and follow stylistic conventions.107 Hudson agrees:

‘Rubato is a high-powered effect and must therefore be exercised with care, restraint and

artistic integrity…It is for those most sensitive to the style and to the eloquent flow of

musical thought,’108 yet on the opposite end of extremity, the pianist Daniel Barenboim

warns against being overly formal: ‘You should not calculate rubato, that if you need the

time, then every day it is different, and every day it comes out in a different way.’ 109

104 Rosen, C., Piano Notes: The Hidden World of the Pianist (Penguin Books, 2004), p.191105 Given this, one might find difficulty in taking Paderewski’s next comment seriously: ‘… with it [rubato], unfortunately, appears also the danger of exaggeration. Real knowledge of different styles, a cultural musical taste, and a well-balanced sense of vivid rhythm should guard the interpreter against any abuse.’Paderewski, I., J., op. cit., p.461106 Wagner, J., Clavier Magazine (February 2006)107 Exemplifying this, one might consider how too much rubato can hinder the perception of form in a large-scale work. Romantic music in general, in contrast to that of the Classic period, tends to draw the listener’s attention more to the beauty of the moment than to the formal structure. Singing melodies, elaborate arpeggiation, slow moving chords, and conspicuous dissonances, all attract attention to themselves. When the performer indulges in rubato –adds breaking, arpeggiation, and much tempo modification on a detailed level –the listener’s attention is even more fastened on the moment, and he/she has even greater difficulty in cumulating a perception of the musical architecture. 108 Ibid., pp.447-448109Barenboim, D., The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century, op. cit.

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Of course there are other parameters that one might investigate to measure expression.

Patrik Juslin and John Sloboda claim that ‘meter is only one small part of what an

expressive performance might communicate.’110 These authors have proved that

parameters such as volume and body movements also indicate levels of expression.

Nevertheless, our sources have proven that tempo rubato can correspond to emotional

expression very closely, which undeniably validates its use in the empirical study.

Summary

Convenient to this area of study, the Romantic era, which comprised an increase in

heteronymous, expressionistic attitudes towards the essence of musical performance,

ended only one-hundred years ago. As a result we have observed some of many

secondary sources from a generation of pianists, teachers, and authors that can support

and validate the relationship under examination. Descendants of this era, however,

believe that this essence –the communication of real, experienced emotions –has

diminished since that era. Evgeny Kissin reflects this belief, claiming that pianists such as

Vladimir Horowitz and Emil Gilels acquired a ‘golden sound’ which is not often heard

these days: ‘They cared for the sake of the sound, and that’s probably what made their

sound so special and so personal.’111

Having attended many professional recitals and student masterclasses, and spoken to

many teachers on the subject, I agree with the above observations. There are many

performances that lack expression which, indicated by rubato, is careful and natural.

110 Juslin, P. N., & Sloboda, J. A., eds., Music and Emotion: Theory and Research (OUP, 2001)111 Kissin, E., in The Art of Piano: Great Pianists of the Twentieth Century, op. cit.

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Maybe formalists would concede appreciation to a subjectively expressive performance

if, at the same time, the employment of rubato adhered to stylistic conventions and

knowledge of harmony.

Reflecting outwardly, one might suggest that this problem corresponds to an increasing

devaluation of emotional expression in society. Indeed, philosophers have claimed that

people in the Western world are increasingly becoming less guided by their emotions.

Carl Jung, one of the founding fathers of psychotherapy, reflects this in his

autobiography: Memories, Dreams, Reflections. An encounter with a Native American

chief reminded Jung of the limitations in Western rational thinking,112 and he came to

conclude that lives are not valuable because they are rational, and decisions are not good

because they are logical. Jung believed that our actions are wise and our lives are rich

when we are guided by a sense of value that is rooted in our hearts, in the wisdom of our

emotions, and not merely in the rationality of our heads. Indeed, he came to believe that

in modern life we often behave in a back-to-front way. We make rationality the judge of

what we should do and feel, rather than letting our feelings guide how we use our

112 Jung travelled from Europe to Africa, India and America seeking people and experiences to deepen his understanding of the human condition. In New Mexico, 1939, he met a Native American chief called Ochwiay Biano and had a conversation with him that struck him so powerfully that he recalled it years later in his autobiography, Memories, Dreams, Reflections:

After establishing a simple friendship, Chief Ochwiay Biano uttered:

See how cruel the whites look, their lips are thin, their noses sharp, their faces furrowed and distorted by folds. Their eyes have a staring expression; they are always seeking something. What are they seeking? The whites always want something. They are always uneasy and restless. We do not know what they want. We do not understand them. We think that they are all mad.

When Jung asked why he thought they were all mad, the chief replied:

‘They say they think with their heads.’

‘Why of course,’ said Jung, ‘What do you think with?’

‘We think here,’ said the chief, indicating his heart. Jung, C., trans. by C. Winston, Memories, Dreams, Reflections (Vintage, 1989), p.247

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capacity for logic. Willbourn agrees, claiming that ‘If we work with our emotions we can

reach a wisdom that is more personal and more accurate than the intelligence of our

intellect alone.’113

Given the above, I think that the time has come to acknowledge and test a method

which can encourage natural expression in musicians. Mental imagery, provoked from

harmonic representations of emotion, can induce experienced emotions which in turn

affects rubato. It has been validated by a wide range of sources, and if used carefully

according to knowledge of harmony, style and conventions, it can be a mediating tool to

cultivate communicative performances for students and professionals alike.

113 Wilbourn, H., op. cit., p.59

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2 EMPIRICAL STUDY: METHODOLOGY

This chapter outlines the methodology behind the empirical study. Much of it is

influenced by the literature examined in Chapter 1.

The Study Extract, the Emotions, and the Representative Harmonic

Structures

I composed a short extract of music for piano which is referred to as Study Extract.

Beginning on an anacrusis, this lasts nine bars and is in 3/4 time. This was processed

using the music-notation software programme Sibelius 1.3.

At the first stage of composition, I selected two emotions contrasting in valence,

intensity, and complexity in accordance with Meyer and Ekman. Table 1 contrasts love

and sadness in these terms.

Table 1 Emotions of love and sadness described in terms of valence, intensity, and complexity

EmotionLove Sadness

Valence Positive NegativeIntensity Intense Moderate

Complexity Complex Basic

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In the second stage, I exploited representative, harmonic structures associated with

Cooke and Sloboda. Tables 2.1 and 2.2 show the placement and description of harmonic

structures which are illustrated by Cooke, and tables 3.1 and 3.2 show those which are

illustrated by Sloboda.

Table 2.1 The placement and description of harmonic structures in the Study Extract, representing the emotion of love as illustrated by Deryck Cooke

Emotion Harmonic Structure

Description of Harmonic Structure Bar Numbers

Love Major 2nd

As a whole-tone tension down to the tonic, in a

major context.

Pleasurable longing, suspense. From 3rd

beat of bar 2, on an F, leading to the 1st

beat of bar 3, on an E flat

2,3

Major 3rd Concord; pleasant. From the 1st beat of bar 2, on a G falling to the 1st beat of bar

3, on an E flat; the 1st beat of bar 3 containing 2 quavers on G and B

natural; and on the last 3 quaver beats of bar 3, again on the notes G, B, and G.

2, 3

Minor 6th Pleasant; consonant; strained; passionate. From in the link of the 3rd

beat of bar 4, on a C, to the 1st beat of bar 5, on an A flat.

4, 5

Major 6th Pleasurable longing. From the B flat of the last quaver beat of the anacrusis leading to the 1st beat of bar 2, G.

1, 2

Major, chromatic

scale

Passionate love. From the last 2 quaver beats of the anacrusis, an A natural

leading to a B flat; and the last 2 quaver beats of bar 2, F and E natural, leading

to the 1st beat of bar 3, on E flat.

1, 2, 3

Major, 8-7-6-5

progression

Incoming emotion of joy; an acceptance or welcoming of comfort. From the 1st

beat of bar 3, on an E flat, leading to the 1st and second beats of bar 4,

on a D and a C.

3, 4

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Table 2.2 The placement and description of harmonic structures in the Study Extract, representing the emotion of sadness as illustrated by Deryck Cooke

Emotion Harmonic Structure

Description of Harmonic Structure Bar Numbers

Sadness Minor 3rd Melancholy; depressed. From the 3rd beat of bar 4, on an A flat in the bass clef, leading to the 1st

beat of bar 5 on an F; from the 1st and 2nd beats of bar 5 on an A flat and F; and from the 2nd and

3rd beats of bar 6 on an E flat and C.

4, 5, 6

Minor 6th

(in a chord)Sorrow; distressing; unstable. On the 2nd chord

of bar 9 with an E flat and a C above.9

Minor,1-6-5

progression

Sorrow; strained. From the 3rd beat of bar 4, on a C, leading to the 1st beat of bar 5, on an A flat, and then followed by a G on the 1st beat of bar

6.

4, 5, 6

Minor 6th

(minor context;

semitonal tension down to the

dominant)

Sadness; distressing; strained. From the 2 quaver beats, A flat and G, on the 3rd crotchet beat of bar 4; and the 3rd beat of bar 7 on an A

flat going to the 1st beat of bar 8 on a G

4, 7, 8

Minor 7th

(whole-tone tension down to

minor sixth)

Unsatisfactory; lost; sad; melancholy. From bar 7 where the 2nd quaver beat of the 2nd crotchet

beat leads to the 3rd crochet beat.

7

Minor, 5-4-3-2-1

progression

Discouragement and depression; incoming emotion of pain in a context of finality. From

the 2nd quaver beat of the 3rd crotchet beat of bar 4 on a G, which leads to an F on the 1st beat of bar 5, an E flat on the 1st beat of bar 6, a D on the 1st beat of bar 7, and eventually a C (tonic)

on the 1st beat of bar 9.

4, 5, 6, 7, 9

Minor, 5-3-2-1

progression

Restless sorrow –neither complete protest nor acceptance. 5-3-1 can be seen on the 1st, 2nd, and

3rd beats of bar 6 on G, E flat and C.

6

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Table 3.1 The placement and description of harmonic structures in the Study Extract, representing the emotion of love as illustrated by John Sloboda

Emotion Structure Description of Structure Bar Numbers

Love New or unprepared harmony

Love; produces shivers in listeners. From bar 3 where the mediant harmony of G

occurs in the major to lead to the subdominant harmony of

A flat in bar 4.

3, 4

Prominent events

occurring earlier than prepared for

Love; produces changes in heart rate. The 1st phrase implies that it should have an

extra bar’s duration. The 2nd phrase, however, starts earlier than one anticipates

on the last beat of bar 4, on a C, which leads to the 1st beat of bar 5 on an A flat.

4, 5

Table 3.2 The placement and description of harmonic structures in the Study Extract, representing the emotion of sadness as illustrated by John Sloboda

Emotion Structure Description of Structure Bar Numbers

Sadness Descending cycle of fifths

Sorrow; produces tears in listeners. Progression implied from the 3rd beat of bar 4, on a C, leading to F (subdominant) minor

harmonies in bar 5, and, excluding the pivoting B flat (flattened leading note,

subtonic) harmonies, we hear 2 beats of E flat (mediant) major harmonies, followed by

2 beats of the diminished 7th harmonies in bar 7 (F, D and A flat), and completed with a perfect cadence on G major (dominant) in

bar 8 and C minor (tonic) in bar 9.

4-9

Melodic appoggiaturas

Sorrow; produces tears in listeners. From bar 5 in the right-hand quaver pattern where

the E natural resolves to the F and the B natural resolves to the C; in a similar

fashion, bar 6 comprises a D resolving to an E flat and another B natural resolving to a C; in bar 7, the E flat falls to the D; the 1st

beat of bar 8, on an E flat, falls to the D on the 2nd beat of the same bar; the 1st and 2nd

beats of bar 9 comprises a B natural rising to a C.

5, 6, 7, 8, 9

Melodic or harmonic sequence

Sorrow; produces tears in listeners. The falling motive in bar 5 is sequenced in bar 6,

differentiated between subdominant and mediant and tonic harmonies.

5, 6

41

Figure 1 shows the Study Extract formed from these structures. Bars 1-4 include

harmonic structures which are reflective of love, and bars 5-9 include those which are

reflective of sadness. Each section is phrased melodically in the treble-clef with a moving

bass-clef accompaniment.

Figure 1 Study Extract formed from harmonic structures representing love, bars 1-4, and sadness, bars 5-9.

The Subjects

The music was written to be played and recorded by three undergraduate piano

students from the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD), randomly

chosen in terms of age, gender, and personality; these are referred to as Subjects X, Y and

Z.

42

The Recording Equipment

A digital sound recorder on a 3.1 Mega Pixels Hardware Resolution camera was used

to record each performance; the recordings were made in a practice room at the

RWCMD. When all subjects had played, the recordings were downloaded onto a

computer and saved as Wave Sound files on a Sony compact disc. From this disc, the

files could be accessed to play alongside the software used for measuring rubato.

The Conditions: Employing Mental Imagery from the Memory

Excluding a ten-minute practice beforehand to guarantee technical fluency, each

subject would play the Study Extract five times under different conditions. An indication

of speed was given beforehand; a metronome was played for ten seconds at crotchet=88.

This would enable fair comparisons to be made between each subject when measuring

half-bar durations (rubato) later in the study. Apart from the first condition where no

instructions would be given, each condition tests the effects of one of two emotions:

sadness and love. The aim was to induce each emotion by using mental, visual images

from the subject’s memory which were specifically related to that emotion. In the Study

Extract the representative harmonic structures were segregated in two to confirm/refute

that, when played under a specific condition, e.g. invoking love in condition 3, the

43

representative structures of that emotion would be treated clearly with more rubato than

in those structures representing sadness.

Below are the conditions under which the subject would:

Condition 1

The subject would play the Study Extract without being given any prior instruction

apart from speed. The main purpose of this condition is to emphasise the possible

contrast in rubato under more influential conditions.

Condition 2

Before playing, the subject would be read the following instruction which I composed:

“Before you play, try to recall an incident from your past when you said goodbye to

someone whom you would never see again. Recall, like a film, a clear, animated memory

in which you can visualise the events in its negative context. From your response, try

maintaining any invoked feelings throughout the performance.”

The aim of this was to confirm/refute that the emotion of sadness can be induced from

imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can increase the amount of

rubato in his/her performance. I would give that specific instruction because it induced

the intended emotion in me during an earlier trial.

44

Condition 3

Before playing, the subject would be read a contrasting instruction which I also

composed:

“Before you play, try to imagine someone you feel strongly about with affection.

Recall, like a film, a clear, animated memory in which you can visualise spending time

with that person in a positive context. From your response, try maintaining any invoked

feelings throughout the performance.”

This time, the aim is to confirm/refute that the emotion of love can be induced from

imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can increase the amount of

rubato in his/her performance. Again, I would give that specific instruction because it

induced the intended emotion in me during an earlier trial.

Condition 4

Before playing, the subject would be given the emotion of sadness and asked to create

his/her own programme around this. The subject would be asked to visualise in a similar

format to the above: “Recall, like a film, a clear, animated memory in which you can

visualise. From your response, try maintaining any invoked feelings throughout the

performance.”

45

The aim of this is to confirm/refute that the emotion of sadness can be induced even

more from imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can further

increase the amount of rubato in his/her performance.

Condition 5

Before playing, the subject would be given the emotion of love –the more affectionate

kind, and, once again, asked to create his/her own programme around this. The subject

would be asked to visualise in a similar format to the above: “Recall, like a film, a clear,

animated memory in which you can visualise. From your response, try maintaining any

invoked feelings throughout the performance.”

The aim of this is to confirm/refute that the emotion of love can be induced even more

from imagery in the subject’s emotion-memory, and, in sequence, can further increase the

amount of rubato in his/her performance. This condition can be more suitable for

inducing a more complex and subjective emotion such as love.

Questionnaire

After each subject play under all five conditions, I would them three questions

corresponding to the conditions. Their answers are recorded.

46

Q. 1: Before Condition 2, did you experience the emotions of love and sadness

resulting from their representative harmonic structures?

Q. 2: What was your programme in condition 4?

Q. 3: What was your programme in condition 5?

Q. 4: Did you utilise any techniques to assist your mental visualisation? If so, what

were they?

Question 1 is asked to provoke confirmation/refutation that the harmonic structures

present in the Study Extract naturally reflect their representative emotions. This would

confirm/refute that using mental imagery derivative from the memory enhances emotions

which are already induced, thus causing more rubato. Questions 2 and 3 are asked to

provoke confirmation/refutation that the subjects created their own programme out of

their emotion-memory. Question 4 are asked to provoke confirmation/refutation of

authors in Chapter 1, that certain visualisation techniques can be used to assist emotional

induction.

Measuring Rubato

In order to measure the amount of rubato used by each subject, I downloaded and used

a tapping software called Timing from www.soton.ac.uk/~musicbox/timing.exe which

was recommended by Professor Nicholas Cook from the Royal Holloway University. At

the start of the programme one is prompted to press the <return> button of the keyboard

in order to begin. At this point the music is played, pressing <return> at the first

measurable beat. From then on, one presses <return> again for every subsequent beat or

47

downbeat. When the music ends, one presses the letter ‘E’ on the keyboard followed by

<return> which terminated the programme. A data file is then saved onto the computer

which consists of a series of numbers with two decimal places. The first press of the

<return> key was at 0.00 (not recorded), and the following figures show how long after

that each subsequent <return> took place in seconds. The numbers do not represent the

durations between each tap; in order to work these out one must calculate the difference

between each successive pair of figures using a calculator. Eventually, one can copy and

pasted these figures into Microsoft Excel to create tables of results and bar graphs.

Trial Test

To become used to the methodology of tapping and producing the results in the form

of tables and graphs, I carried out a trial test comparing the amount of rubato that was

used by two famous pianists: Ignacy Jan Paderewski 114 (1860-1941), and Rebecca

Penneys115 (1946+). The piece was Etude in E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin. I chose these

particular recordings because Paderewski famously used much rubato in his playing, and

Penneys is known for being less indulgent (see Chapter 1).

Tables 4.1 and 4.2 show the results. Every half-bar is tapped to reveal a clearer

portrayal of rubato, starting on the up-beat to bar 2 and ending half-way through bar 9.

The table also shows every half-bar being tapped three times to achieve a mean number

(in seconds); this allows the results to become more reliable since the manual tapping

114 Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Etude In E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Great Pianists of the 20th Century (Philips, 1999) CD 456919115 Rebecca Penneys, Etude In E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Chopin Etudes: Complete (Centaur Records, 1994) CD 2210

48

procedure can lead to inconsistencies in timings. Finally, durations between each tap are

also present which give a coherent estimation of the amount, and placement, of rubato.

Table 4.1 relates to Paderewski’s performance, and Table 4.2 relates to Penneys’s.

Table 4.1 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Ignacy Jan Paderewski.

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.87

2 1.87 1.87 1.87 1.87 1.773.68 3.62 3.63 3.64 2.15

3 5.77 5.87 5.72 5.79 1.687.53 7.47 7.42 7.47 2.8

4 10.29 10.23 10.29 10.27 1.912.21 12.15 12.15 12.17 2.03

5 14.24 14.18 14.19 14.2 1.9216.16 16.1 16.11 16.12 2.53

6 18.69 18.63 18.63 18.65 1.8520.56 20.55 20.39 20.5 2.83

7 23.31 23.36 23.31 23.33 1.6725.96 25.07 25.96 25 2.69

8 27.83 27.88 27.83 27.69 1.6628.31 28.42 28.31 28.35 2.56

9 31.84 31.83 32.06 31.91 3.735.63 35.62 35.57 35.61

Table 4.2 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Rebecca Penneys

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.88

2 1.76 2.03 1.87 1.88 1.873.63 3.84 3.79 3.75 2.1

3 5.49 5.66 5.6 5.58 27.42 7.69 7.64 7.58 2.01

4 9.5 9.72 9.56 9.59 1.8911.37 11.59 11.48 11.48 1.9

5 13.24 13.51 13.4 13.38 1.9415.16 15.43 15.38 15.32 1.11

6 16.3 16.52 16.47 16.43 1.5418.77 19.16 18.99 18.97 1.85

7 20.75 20.92 20.81 20.82 1.4922.18 22.4 22.34 22.31 1.66

8 23.83 23.1 22.99 23.97 1.4825.36 25.58 25.42 25.45 1.08

9 27.4 27.56 27.62 26.53 2.0228.53 28.58 28.54 28.55

49

I found that comparisons in beat duration could be realised clearly when plotted in bar

graphs. Figures 2.1 and 2.2 show bar graphs plotting the half-bar durations against the bar

numbers. Figure 2.1 reveals the results of Paderewski and figure 2.2 reveals those of

Penneys.

Figure 2.1 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Ignacy Jan Paderewski, indicating half-bar durations.

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Figure 2.2 Tapping of a performance of Chopin’s Etude in E, op. 10, no. 3, bars 1-10, played by Rebecca Penneys, indicating half-bar durations.

50

Visually it is clear that more rubato is used by Paderewski, with durations fluctuating

from 1.86-2.8 seconds from bar 3-3 ½. Penney’s half-bar durations are more stable,

generally lasting around 1.7 seconds. There are peaks and troughs at similar times in both

performances, such as at bars 6-6 ½ (at a perfect cadence) lasting 1.85 seconds with

Paderewski and 1.54 seconds with Penneys, and also at bars 8½-9 (another perfect

cadence) lasting 3.7 seconds with Paderewski and 2.02 seconds with Penneys. Both

pianists start at the same tempo yet, due to greater implementations of rubato,

Paderewksi’s performance lasts 7.06 seconds longer than Penney’s.

Despite there being major differences in the conditions of the above performances and

those in my empirical study, I intended to present and analyse the results of my empirical

study in a similar way, observing peaks and troughs in duration related to bar numbers

and harmonic structure.

Summary

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

51

Although this methodology suffices for an initial study, one could identify many ways

of strengthening it. One could test physical reactions to structures as Sloboda has done, as

well as compose a longer extract and test other harmonic structures. One could also

measure other expressive parameters apart from rubato such as body movement and

volume. One could ask more subjects to take part, and give them more senses to invoke

from their memories such as smell and sound. The data could be plotted onto other forms

of charts and the questionnaire could be more extensive. Having said that, this research is

at undergraduate level: it is primitive and lacks resources which are typically exploited at

postgraduate level. This is a new way of analysing the effects on rubato and, although

flaws may exist, I have no doubts that the results will create interest in the subject matter.

52

3 EMPIRICAL STUDY: RESULTS

Results of Subject X

Table 1.1 The results under Condition 1

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.11

2 1.1 1.13 1.12 1.11 0.791.98 1.82 1.9 1.9 0.93

3 2.92 2.57 3.01 2.83 1.173.9 4.23 3.86 4 1.11

4 5.06 5.02 5.24 5.11 1.316.16 6.45 6.64 6.42 0.86

5 7.31 7.23 7.3 7.28 0.918.24 8.13 8.2 8.19 0.96

6 9.18 9.12 9.16 9.15 0.9610.11 10.14 10.09 10.11 1.16

7 11.05 10.97 11.8 11.27 0.6511.92 11.86 11.99 11.92 0.84

8 12.75 12.79 12.74 12.76 1.113.85 13.9 13.83 13.86 1.08

9 14.94 14.9 14.98 14.94 0.3215.93 15.9 15.91 15.91

53

Figure 1.1 The results under Condition 1

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 1.2 The results of under Condition 2

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 0.7

2 0.71 0.68 0.72 0.7 0.951.65 1.65 1.64 1.65 0.96

3 2.64 2.6 2.61 2.61 0.943.57 3.53 3.56 3.55 1.06

4 4.61 4.62 4.62 4.61 1.095.71 5.7 5.68 5.7 1.03

5 6.76 6.7 6.74 6.73 1.598.29 8.34 8.32 8.32 0.86

6 9.17 9.25 9.15 9.19 1.0310.22 10.23 10.2 10.22 0.82

7 11.04 11 11.08 11.04 0.8711.92 11.89 11.93 11.91 0.83

8 12.74 12.75 12.72 12.74 1.1613.9 13.92 13.88 13.9 1.42

9 15.32 15.3 15.35 15.32 1.316.64 16.63 16.61 16.62

Figure 1.2 The results under Condition 2

54

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 1.3 The results under Condition 3

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.7

2 1.7 1.68 1.71 1.7 1.553.24 3.26 3.25 3.25 1.03

3 4.28 4.27 4.29 4.28 0.995.27 5.25 5.29 5.27 0.99

4 6.26 6.28 6.24 6.26 1.928.18 8.19 8.18 8.18 0.96

5 9.12 9.14 9.17 9.14 0.9910.11 10.13 10.14 10.13 0.69

6 10.82 10.8 10.83 10.82 0.8911.7 11.71 11.71 11.71 0.92

7 12.63 12.66 12.61 12.63 0.9313.57 13.53 13.59 13.56 0.72

8 14.28 14.29 14.28 14.28 0.9915.27 15.25 15.29 15.27 0.98

9 16.26 16.27 16.23 16.25 0.9417.19 17.17 17.23 17.19

Figure 1.3 The results under Condition 3

55

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 1.4 The results under Condition 4

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 0.83

2 0.83 0.81 0.84 0.83 0.881.81 1.78 1.83 1.81 1.1

3 2.91 2.92 2.9 2.91 0.983.9 3.86 3.92 3.89 1.11

4 5 5.03 4.98 5 1.326.32 6.31 6.34 6.32 1.24

5 7.58 7.51 7.6 7.56 1.589.17 9.16 9.1 9.14 1.02

6 10.16 10.12 10.21 10.16 1.111.26 11.24 11.28 11.26 0.88

7 12.14 12.15 12.12 12.14 0.8112.96 12.97 12.92 12.95 1.1

8 14.06 14.03 14.07 14.05 0.9515 15.02 14.97 15 1.64

9 16.64 16.66 16.62 16.64 1.117.74 17.76 17.73 17.74

Figure 1.4 The results under Condition 4

56

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 1.5 The results under Condition 5

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.58

2 1.59 1.53 1.61 1.58 1.563.13 3.14 3.14 3.14 1.19

3 4.34 4.3 4.36 4.33 1.045.38 5.36 5.37 5.37 1

4 6.37 6.35 6.39 6.37 1.487.85 7.83 7.88 7.85 1.17

5 9.01 9.03 9.02 9.02 0.819.83 9.87 9.8 9.83 0.82

6 10.65 10.64 10.67 10.65 0.7211.37 11.38 11.35 11.37 0.88

7 12.25 12.27 12.23 12.25 0.8213.07 13.04 13.09 13.07 0.65

8 13.73 13.72 13.72 13.72 114.72 14.74 14.71 14.72 0.88

9 15.6 15.61 15.58 15.6 1.0416.48 16.44 17 16.64

Figure 1.5 The results under Condition 5

57

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Results of Subject Y

Table 2.1 The results under Condition 1

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 0.99

2 0.99 0.97 1.01 0.99 0.931.92 1.92 1.9 1.92 0.93

3 2.85 2.83 2.88 2.85 1.13.95 3.99 3.91 3.95 0.86

4 4.83 4.8 4.81 4.81 1.246.04 6.07 6.05 6.05 1.09

5 7.14 7.15 7.12 7.14 0.898.02 8.01 8.07 8.03 0.97

6 9 9.04 8.97 9 0.779.77 9.74 9.79 9.77 0.97

7 10.71 10.73 10.78 10.74 1.1511.59 12.06 12.02 11.89 0.53

8 12.41 12.45 12.39 12.42 0.9113.34 13.35 13.31 13.33 0.89

9 14.22 14.21 14.24 14.22 0.7714.99 15.01 14.96 14.99

58

Figure 2.1 The results under Condition 1

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 2.2 The results under Condition 2

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 0.98

2 0.99 0.97 0.98 0.98 0.891.87 1.86 1.89 1.87 1.04

3 2.91 2.93 2.91 2.91 0.883.79 3.76 3.81 3.79 1.29

4 4.89 4.9 4.9 4.9 1.536.43 6.44 6.42 6.43 0.82

5 7.25 7.26 7.23 7.25 1.258.4 8.39 8.41 8.4 0.88

6 9.28 9.27 9.29 9.28 0.9610.22 10.24 10.25 10.24 0.9

7 11.15 11.11 11.17 11.14 1.1812.3 12.32 12.33 12.32 0.8

8 13.13 13.11 13.12 13.12 1.3214.39 14.44 14.36 14.4 2.11

9 16.53 16.5 16.56 16.51 1.7118.22 18.24 18.21 18.22

Figure 2.2 The results under Condition 2

59

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 2.3 The results under Condition 3

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 0.88

2 0.88 0.86 0.89 0.88 0.981.87 1.86 1.84 1.86 1.05

3 2.91 2.93 2.9 2.91 1.013.9 3.91 3.88 3.9 1.11

4 5 5.03 5.01 5.01 2.557.58 7.52 7.56 7.56 0.98

5 8.52 8.57 8.54 8.54 0.889.4 9.42 9.43 9.42 0.91

6 10.33 10.31 10.34 10.33 111.32 11.35 11.33 11.33 0.92

7 12.25 12.27 12.23 12.25 1.0413.29 13.27 13.3 13.29 0.76

8 14.06 14.03 14.07 14.05 1.1715.22 15.24 15.2 15.22 1.34

9 16.59 16.51 16.57 16.56 1.3617.91 17.92 17.94 17.92

Figure 2.3 The results under Condition 3

60

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 2.4 The results under Condition 4

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.98

2 1.98 1.96 2 1.98 0.992.97 2.95 2.99 2.97 1.2

3 4.18 4.17 4.16 4.17 0.875.06 5.03 5.02 5.04 1.18

4 6.21 6.26 6.18 6.22 1.697.91 7.93 7.88 7.91 0.84

5 8.74 8.79 7.71 8.75 0.799.51 9.58 9.52 9.54 0.82

6 10.38 10.35 10.34 10.36 111.32 11.36 11.39 11.36 0.99

7 12.25 12.26 12.28 12.26 0.8913.13 13.14 13.18 13.15 0.89

8 14.01 14.05 14.06 14.04 0.814.94 14.95 14.92 14.94 1.38

9 16.32 16.34 16 16.32 1.4517.74 17.76 17.79 17.77

Figure 2.4 The results under Condition 4

61

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 2.5 The results under Condition 5

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.74

2 1.76 1.74 1.72 1.74 1.112.86 2.86 2.82 2.85 1.11

3 3.96 3.99 3.94 3.96 0.914.89 4.86 4.9 4.87 1.16

4 6.04 6.02 6.03 6.03 1.657.69 7.68 7.67 7.68 0.88

5 8.57 8.53 8.59 8.56 0.789.34 9.36 9.32 9.34 0.88

6 10.22 10.24 10.21 10.22 1.0211.21 11.24 11.26 11.24 0.9

7 12.14 12.12 12.16 12.14 0.8813.02 13.04 13.01 13.02 0.93

8 13.95 13.98 13.94 13.95 0.8814.83 14.85 14.82 14.83 1.37

9 16.2 16.21 16.24 16.2 1.517.52 17.53 17.51 17.52

Figure 2.5 The results under Condition 5

62

00.20.40.60.8

11.21.41.61.8

2

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Results of Subject Z

Table 3.1 The results under Condition 1

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 0.97

2 0.99 0.97 0.95 0.97 0.991.98 1.95 1.94 1.96 1.17

3 3.13 3.15 3.12 3.13 0.924.07 4.05 4.03 4.05 1.12

4 5.17 5.18 5.15 5.17 1.576.76 6.73 6.74 6.74 1

5 7.75 7.74 7.72 7.74 0.898.63 8.62 8.65 8.63 0.89

6 9.51 9.52 9.54 9.52 1.0910.6 10.62 10.61 10.61 0.76

7 11.37 11.38 11.35 11.37 0.8312.2 12.21 12.24 12.2 0.84

8 13.02 13.06 13.03 13.04 0.813.95 13.96 13.91 13.94 1.01

9 14.94 13.93 15.97 14.95 0.9815.93 15.9 19.96 15.93

63

Figure 3.1 The results under Condition 1

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1.8

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 3.2 The results under Condition 2

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 0.86

2 0.88 0.83 0.86 0.86 1.071.92 1.93 1.95 1.93 1.14

3 3.08 3.07 3.04 3.07 0.964.01 4.02 4.05 4.03 1.1

4 5.11 5.13 5.16 5.13 1.526.65 6.63 6.67 6.65 1.01

5 7.69 7.64 7.65 7.66 1.389.06 9.02 9.04 9.04 1.19

6 10.22 10.24 10.23 10.23 1.2311.48 11.44 11.46 11.46 1

7 12.47 12.42 12.49 12.46 0.8213.29 13.27 13.28 13.28 0.77

8 14.06 14.03 14.06 14.05 0.7814.83 14.8 14.86 14.83 0.82

9 15.66 15.68 15.62 15.65 0.8416.48 16.49 16.51 16.49

Figure 3.2 The results under Condition 2

64

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

1.2

1.4

1.6

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 3.3 The results under Condition 3

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.08

2 1.09 1.04 1.1 1.08 1.392.47 2.49 2.46 2.47 0.99

3 3.46 3.48 3.43 3.46 1.24.66 4.64 4.69 4.66 1.08

4 5.71 5.73 5.79 5.74 1.697.41 7.42 7.47 7.43 0.82

5 8.23 8.25 8.26 8.25 1.019.28 9.24 9.25 9.26 0.97

6 10.21 10.24 10.25 10.23 0.8511.09 11.1 11.04 11.08 0.95

7 12.02 12.05 12.04 12.03 0.8612.9 12.85 12.91 12.89 0.84

8 13.73 13.71 13.76 13.73 0.914.61 14.6 14.6 14.63 1.98

9 15.59 15.63 15.62 15.61 0.8616.47 16.5 16.43 16.47

Figure 3.3 The results under Condition 3

65

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 3.4 The results under Condition 4

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 1.98

2 1.98 1.96 2 1.98 0.992.97 2.95 2.99 2.97 1.2

3 4.18 4.17 4.16 4.17 0.875.06 5.03 5.02 5.04 1.18

4 6.21 6.26 6.18 6.22 1.697.91 7.93 7.88 7.91 0.84

5 8.74 8.79 7.71 8.75 0.799.51 9.58 9.52 9.54 0.82

6 10.38 10.35 10.34 10.36 111.32 11.36 11.39 11.36 0.99

7 12.25 12.26 12.28 12.26 0.8913.13 13.14 13.18 13.15 0.89

8 14.01 14.05 14.06 14.04 0.814.94 14.95 14.92 14.94 1.38

9 16.32 16.34 16 16.32 1.4517.74 17.76 17.79 17.77

Figure 3.4 The results under Condition 4

66

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Table 3.5 The results under Condition 5

Time (seconds) Bar Number Tap 1 Tap 2 Tap 3 Mean Tap Duration

10 0 0 0 2.64

2 2.64 2.66 2.63 2.64 1.143.79 3.75 3.78 3.78 1.25

3 5 5.03 5.06 5.03 0.965.99 5.95 6.02 5.99 1.61

4 6.7 6.73 6.7 6.6 1.858.46 8.42 8.47 8.45 0.9

5 9.34 9.35 9.36 9.35 1.0910.44 10.47 10.42 10.44 0.91

6 11.37 11.35 11.33 11.35 1.0812.41 12.46 12.43 12.43 0.85

7 13.29 13.26 13.3 13.28 1.1114.39 14.41 13.36 14.39 0.77

8 15.16 15.14 15.18 15.16 1.0716.2 16.23 16.25 16.23 1.3

9 17.52 17.55 17.51 17.53 0.9818.51 18.53 18.5 18.51

Figure 3.5 The results under Condition 5

67

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Bar Number

Duration (secs)

Given the above, the following observations can be made about each subject during the

conditions:

Subject X

Condition 1

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.79-1.31 seconds with 4 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.32-1.16

seconds with 3 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 2

68

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.7-0.96 seconds with 0 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.82-1.59

seconds with 5 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 3

Half-bars between 1-4½ have a duration range of 0.96-1.76 seconds with 4 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.69-0.99

seconds with 0 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 4

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.83-1.32 seconds with 4 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.81-1.64

seconds with 6 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 5

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 1.04-1.58 seconds with all 7 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.65-1.04

seconds with 2 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Effects of the Conditions on Rubato within bars 1-4 and 5-9

69

Under Condition 1, it appears that the subject used more rubato in bars 1-4 ½ than in 5-

9. Generally, the subsequent conditions summon more rubato from bars 1-8. Examining

the diversity Condition 2 (invoking sadness) and Condition 3 (invoking love), more

rubato was used in bars 1-4 (structures expressing love) under Condition 3; visa-versa,

more rubato was used in bars 5-9 (structures expressing sadness) under Condition 2.

Examining the extra-diversity in Condition 4 (sadness) and Condition 5 (love), more

rubato was used in bars 1-4 under Condition 5, even more than under Condition 3; visa-

versa, more rubato was used in bars 5-9 under Condition 4, even more than under

Condition 2.

Subject Y

Condition 1

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.86-1.24 seconds with 3 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.53-1.15

seconds with 1 half-bar lasting over 1 second.

Condition 2

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.82-1.53 seconds with 3 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.8-2.11

seconds with 4 half-bars lasting over 1 second and 1 bar lasting over 2 seconds.

70

Condition 3

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.88-2.55 seconds with 3 half-bars

lasting over 1 second and 1 bar lasting over 2 seconds. Half-bars between 5-9 have a

lower duration range of 0.88-1.36 seconds with 5 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 4

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.84-1.98 seconds with 4 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.79-1.45

seconds with 3 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 5

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.88-1.74 seconds with all 5 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.78-1.5

seconds with 3 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Effects of the Conditions on Rubato within bars 1-4 and 5-9

71

Under Condition 1, it appears that the subject used more rubato in bars 1-4 than in 5-9.

Generally, the subsequent conditions summon more rubato from bars 1-9. Examining the

diversity in Condition 2 (invoking sadness) and Condition 3 (invoking love), more rubato

was used in bars 1-4 (structures expressing love) under Condition 3; visa-versa, more

rubato was used in bars 5-9 (structures expressing sadness) under Condition 2.

Examining the extra-diversity in Condition 4 (sadness) and Condition 5 (love), more

rubato was used in bars 1-4 under Condition 4, even more than under Condition 3; more

rubato was used in bars 5-9 under Condition 4, even more than under Condition 2.

Subject Z

Condition 1

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.92-1.57 seconds with 4 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.76-1.06

seconds with 2 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 2

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.86-1.52 seconds with 5 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.77-1.38

seconds with 4 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

72

Condition 3

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.82-1.69 seconds with 5 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a greater duration range of 0.84-1.98

seconds with 2 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 4

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.84-1.98 seconds with 4 half-bars

lasting over 1 second. Half-bars between 5-9 have a lower duration range of 0.79-1.45

seconds with 4 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Condition 5

Half-bars between 1-4 have a duration range of 0.9-2.64 seconds with 4 half-bars

lasting over 1 second and 1 half-bar lasting over 2 seconds. Half-bars between 5-9 have a

lower duration range of 0.77-1.3 seconds with 5 half-bars lasting over 1 second.

Effects of the Conditions on Rubato within bars 1-4 and 5-9

73

Under Condition 1, it appears that the subject used more rubato in bars 1-4 than in 5-9.

Generally, the subsequent conditions summon more rubato in all bars. Examining the

diverse Condition 2 (invoking sadness) and Condition 3 (invoking love), more rubato was

used in bars 1-4 (structures expressing love) under Condition 3; more rubato was used in

bars 5-9 (structures expressing sadness) under Condition 3 also. Examining the extra-

diverse Condition 4 (sadness) and Condition 5 (love), more rubato was used in bars 1-4

under Condition 5, even more than under Condition 3; visa-versa, more rubato was used

in bars 5-9 under Condition 4, even more than under Condition 2.

Answers from Questionnaire

Q.1: Before Condition 2, did you experience the emotions of love and sadness resulting

from their representative harmonic structures?

Subject X: Yes. As soon as I started practising I could tell each phrase had a very

different mood. The more I played it became apparent that that the first phrase was slushy

and romantic, and the second was full of sadness.

Subject Y: Yes. The first time I played the extract I could tell from the chromaticism

and major intervals that the first section was romantic, and the second section was sad

because of the minor intervals and appoggiaturas.

74

Subject Z: Yes. The first phrase reminded me of romantic film music, whereas the

second reminded me of sad music in the Baroque style almost.

Q.2: What was your programme in Condition 4?

Subject X: I brought to mind a memory of leaving my sixth-form college when I

was eighteen to go off to higher-education. I visualised the end of the prom when

everyone started saying their goodbyes.

Subject Y: I visualised a memory of me playing in a competition when I was

younger and not winning.

Subject Z: I imagined my dog who died a few years ago. Whenever I think of him I

get sad.

Q.3: What was your programme in Condition 5?

Subject X: I remembered my boyfriend bringing me flowers on Valentine’s Day

and giving him a big hug!

75

Subject Y: I remembered going to a fireworks display with my partner after he had

proposed to me.

Subject Z: I recalled sitting down at a candle-lit meal with my girlfriend when we

were on holiday last year.

Q.4: Did you utilise any techniques to assist your mental visualisation? If so, what were

they?

Subject X: Yes. Before I played under the last condition, for example, I pieced

together the memory which was helped by remembering the ring of the doorbell, what we

said to each other, and the smell of the flowers.

Subject Y: Yes. I tried to make the images brighter, imagine exactly what clothes

were being worn, to make the sounds be heard clearer.

Subject Z: I found that I could visualise better when I looked up; that seemed to

make images in my memory brighter.

76

4 EMPIRICAL AND THEORETICAL EVALUATION

Given the above, it appears that the results support my hypothesis: that a relationship

can exist between experienced emotions of the memory, images of the memory, harmonic

structures and rubato. Rubato was used under Condition 1 without a visual stimulus,

probably because each subject realised the two segregated sets of structures and the

emotions they represented (as confirmed in the questionnaire). Under this condition,

more rubato was applied at structures representing love: this might relate to the subjects’

personalities or emotional states that day. One could investigate this by asking subjects

questions based on personality and testing them on different days.

77

Under Conditions 2 and 3 where my programmes were given to enhance expression,

rubato increased around harmonic structures of the Study Extract which correlated to the

emotion of the programme. Not only does this support the research of Cooke and

Sloboda, this suggests truth in the expressionistic belief of Seashore et al. that music can

induce the same type of emotions –real emotions as Aristotle calls it– which we

experience in life. It also supports Stephen Davies’s claim that, when we visualise, we

become more aware of musical structures which correlate to the emotion of the

programme. However, formalists such as Rosen, Goodson, and Kivy have a point when

they state the importance of context. One can easily give counter-examples to Cooke and

Sloboda based on this. Take the trio Suscepit Israel –a canticle from Bach’s Magnificat.

Figure 4 An extract of Suscepit Israel from Magnificat, J. S. Bach

The text is ‘Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiae suae’ (He has

helped his servant Israel in remembrance of His mercy) and, on the word Suscepit

(helped), Bach applies a minor 1-2-3-4-5 progression. According to Cooke’s vocabulary,

however, this represents an ‘outgoing feeling of pain, an assertion of sorrow, a complaint,

a protest against misfortune.’116 If this is correct, then why has Bach used the progression

116 See Appendix 3

78

in this context? This confirms that the emotional effects of music are dependent on both

context and harmony, a point made by Hudson in terms of the application of rubato.

Considering freedom of imagination, under Conditions 4 and 5, rubato is increased

furthermore at correlating structures. Indeed, the questionnaire confirms that subjects

could visualise, and did so using techniques to make the memory more associative in a

sensory way –making lights brighter and smelling things stronger. Subject Z even said

that he looked up to visualise –a technique advocated by Brandler and Grinder. This all

consolidates theories of Stanislavski, Willbourn, and Garcia, who claim that imagery is

perceived differently by each individual and everyone should choose their own imagery

to heighten expression.

Formalistic views concur with a break in trend. This occurred in two instances: Subject

Y used more rubato in structures representing love when asked to think of his own

programme invoking sadness; in the second, Subject Z used more rubato in structures

representing sadness when asked to think of my programme invoking love. This suggests

that there are no watertight barriers between these two emotions even though Meyer has

done his best to contrast them in terms of valence and intensity. In the case of Subject Z,

he had to conjure up a memory of experienced “affectionate love.” Perhaps the subject

had not experienced this emotion, or he perceived it differently to how I did. As Ekman

states, love is a higher-cognitive and more complex emotion, and can be perceived

differently in different cultures. In either case, this validates the use of free imagination as

the subject did not break the trend when he was asked to think of his own programme. In

the case of Subject Y, maybe she could not visualise that memory particularly well –it

could have been a bad choice as it appears that she visualised other memories well.

79

Plessinger and Willbourn have noted that this occurs. In the future, subjects could spend

more time invoking the most associated memories which induce the strongest emotions

before playing.

It appears that, rather than advocating formalistic approaches, the above suggests flaws

in methodology of which Sloboda has warned. As discussed in Chapter 2, there are many

ways of making improvements, and, on similar reflection to Sloboda, a primitive and

open-minded study such as this will no doubt add to the many other studies which have

not been accepted completely. However, it appears that the overall objective has been

reached by the means chosen. Cultivating a careful method of self-expression, ideas from

both expressionism and formalism have been integrated and tested by a successful, initial

study.

CONCLUSION

This dissertation has proved that a relationship can exist between mental imagery from

the memory, emotion from the memory, harmonic structure, and rubato. Having

supported isolated aspects of the relationship from a wide range of secondary sources,

and having supported the relationship in its entirety by conducting an empirical study,

one hopes that performers who fail to self-express might consider trying out the method

in which this relationship has been manifested. We have seen that this is a harmless

method which can be used up until one achieves a more natural access to real emotions

indicated by harmony and context.

80

I advocate this method as it appears that, due to the influence of constrained, rational

thinking in Western society, many performers and teachers now underestimate the

importance of natural, expressive communication. However, most of us favour it. Indeed,

new aesthetical research at Cardiff University confirms this substantially, indicating the

many problems of musical autonomy.117 Even though it is a shame that we are compelled

to prove the essence of music in this way, we live in a society that demands such proof

before considering consideration. Let us hope, therefore, that the substance of this

dissertation can further interest in performers and teachers so that they may carry forward

the legacy of this essence to future generations.

APPENDICES

Appendix 1: Harmonic Intervals and their Representative Functions according to Deryck Cooke118

Tonic: Emotionally neutral; context of finality. Minor Second: Semitonal tension down to the tonic, in a minor context: spiritless anguish, context of finality. Major Second: As a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a whole-tone tension down to the tonic, in a major context, pleasurable longing, context of finality. Minor Third: Concord, but a ‘depression’ of natural third: stoic acceptance, tragedy. Major Third: Concord, natural third: joy. Normal Fourth: As a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a semitonal tension down to the minor third, pathos.

117 ‘Hanslick and Problems of Musical Autonomy,’ incomplete doctoral dissertation, (Accessed 1 April 2006) < http://www.cf.ac.uk/music/pg/researchprogrammes.html>118 Cooke, D, op. cit., pp. 89-90

81

Sharp Fourth: As modulating note to the dominant key, active aspiration. As ‘augmented fourth’, pure and simple, devilish and inimical forces Dominant: Emotionally neutral; context of flux, intermediacy. Minor Sixth: Semitonal tension down to the dominant, in a minor context: active anguish in a context of flux. Major Sixth: As a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a whole-tone tension down to the dominant, in major context, pleasurable longing in a context of flux. Minor Seventh: Semitonal tension down to major sixth, or whole-tone tension down to minor sixth, both unsatisfactory, resolving again down to the dominant: ‘lost’ note, mournfulness. Major Seventh: a passing note, emotionally neutral. As a semitonal tension up to the tonic, violent longing, aspiration in a context of finality.

Appendix 2: Harmonic Intervals and their Representative Functions according to Costa, Bitti, and Bonfiglioli et al. 119

Minor Second: Dissonant, painful, uptight, afflicted, discouraged,humiliated. Major Second: Dissonant, in suspense, tormented, sad, uptight, eager,pleasant. Minor Third: Painful, severe, languid, sweet, melancholy, frank, still,submitted. Major Third: Sonorous, joyous, furious, strong, cheerful, pleasant,happy, right, pure, quiet, stable, shining. Normal Fourth: Lugubrious, active, tense. Sharp Fourth: Hostile, averse, destructive, mysterious. Dominant: Consonant, pleasurable, stimulating, gentle,acrimonious, healthy, agreeable. Minor Sixth: Pleasant, consonant, painful, discontented, strained,distressing, active, unstable. Major Sixth: Pleasant, consonant, unstable, sweet, desirous, bright,

119 Costa M., Bitti, P. E. R., Bonfiglioli, L., Psychological Connotations of Harmonic Musical Intervals (University of Bologna, 2000), 28, 4-22

82

Tense. Minor Seventh: Dissonant, sad, painful, empty, melancholy, severe,strained, bewildered, lugubrious, unsatisfied. Major Seventh: Dissonant, tense, bitter, disagreeable, gloomy, optimist.

Appendix 3: Pitch-Directions and their Representative Functions according to Deryck Cooke120

Ascending Major, 1-2-3-4-5: Expresses outgoing emotion of joy. Ascending Major, 5-1-2-3: Expresses outgoing emotion of joy. Ascending Minor, 1-2-3-4-5: Expresses outgoing feeling of pain, sorrow, complaint, a protest against misfortune. Ascending Minor, 5-1-2-3: Expresses pure tragedy (aiming at the minor 3rd), strength of purpose (firmly and decisively). Descending Major, 5-4-3-2-1: Expresses incoming emotion of joy passively, relief, consultation, reassurance, fulfilment, ‘having come home’. Descending Minor, 5-4-3-2-1: Expresses incoming emotion of pain in a context of finality; acceptance of, yielding to, grief; discouragement and depression; passive suffering; and despair connected with death. Minor, 5-3-2-1: Expresses a passionate outburst of painful emotion which does not protest further, but falls back into acceptance –a flow and ebb of grief. Restless sorrow –neither complete protest nor acceptance. Minor, 1-2-3-2-1: “To look on the darker side of things” in a context of immobility, neither rising up to protest, nor falling back to accept. Expresses brooding, an obsession

120 Cooke, D., op. cit., pp. 115-166

83

with gloomy feelings, a trapped fear, or sense of inescapable doom, especially when repeated over and over. Major, 5-6-5: (Major 3rd on the subdominant – I-Vc-I). This is a “simple assertion of joy,” also an element of longing or pleading when played slowly; a joyful serenity also. Minor, 1-2-3-2: Gloomy, both Beethoven and Tchaikovsky used this in works called ‘Pathétique.’ The 6-5 of the dominant is an appoggiatura. In a slow tempo it expresses a sense of brooding self grief swelling out briefly into a burst of anguish and dying away again. When it’s quick, the feeling is of agitated obsession. Major, 1-2-3-4-5-6-5: Expresses the innocence and purity of angels and children, or some natural phenomenon which possesses the same qualities in men. It is an affirmation of maximum joy. Minor, 1-2-3-4-5-6-5: Expresses a powerful assertion of fundamental unhappiness, the “protest” of 1-3-5 being extended into the anguish of 1-6-5. Major, 8-7-6-5: This is a fall from the tonic to the dominant. Expresses incoming emotion of joy, an acceptance or welcoming of comfort, consolation, or fulfilment. Ending on dominant, it has an open, continuing feeling towards the future. No finality. Minor, 8-7-6-5: Expresses a painful emotion, an acceptance of, or yielding to, grief; passive suffering; and despair connected with death. Minor, descending chromatic scale: Expresses a despairing descent; more “weary,” lament, death. If it’s slow, it is like a slow, painful sinking; ebbing away. Major, chromatic scale: Expresses a feeling of passionate love: Godly in Bach, erotic in Tchaikovsky, and a lullaby in Schubert.

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DISCOGRAPHY

Ignacy Jan Paderewski: Etude in E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Ignacy Jan

Paderewski: Great Pianists of the 20th Century (Philips, 1999) CD 456919

Rebecca Penneys: Etude in E, Op. 10 No. 3 by Chopin, from Chopin Etudes: Complete

(Centaur Records, 1994) CD 2210

The Art of Piano - Great Pianists of 20th Century (NVC Arts, 2002), DVD B00004UF01

88

WEBOGRAPHY

Garcia, S., (Accessed 10 December 2005)

<music.sc.edu/ea/keyboard/PPF/5.1/5.1.PPFpp.sec4.html >

Kirkpatrick, A., (Accessed 10 December 2005)

<musicteachermag.com/motivationalrepertoire.htm>

Plessinger, A., The Effects of Mental Imagery on Athletic Performance (Accessed 5

October 2005)

<http://www.vanderbilt.edu/AnS/psychology/health_psychology/mentalimagery.html>

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90