UC Irvine

Professional musicians require a specific degree of command over their body to produce the specific sounds they desire. However, what musicians have in mind is not always what is perceived, and likewise what desired sound the musician strives for is not always attained. In this case, musicians benefit from not only structured critique, but also a deeper understanding of how to attain an expected sound. Vague comments such as, “the flow from the exposition to the development was a little too choppy and would have benefitted with a better flow,” or “I perceived this passage to be filled with passionate anger, but your performance lacked just that,” may confuse a musician even more because of the various interpretations of words like “flow” and “passionate anger.” The ability to articulate and express emotion through musical performance is a powerful tool for musicians to communicate with an audience, therefore understanding the technique needed to execute those emotions is paramount. I seek a better understanding of how performing musicians comprehend direct relationships between movement and sound, and how to concretize emotional expression through tangible motions. This study will investigate movement and sound through two different lenses: sound receivers and sound producers. The term sound receiver I reserve for trained music professionals, but it is not limited to professional musicians, who typically have had some sort of aural training. These could include choreographers, sound designers, composers, and other musical professionals. In this study, the term sound producers will apply primarily to cellists and other professional musicians of classical training. Information collected from interviewing these individuals will hopefully provide those same individuals with more tools towards developing or evolving teaching methods for future professional cellists and other performing musicians in training, as well as tools to attain their sound ideal.