B. Literature Review
Considering the vastness of this field and in an effort to compare my research question to what has been done,
I reviewed these specific articles about focus and the use of gestures in singing:
Finding Focus
By Susan Williams
Susan William’s research project Finding Focus is based on “findings that suggest that [...] an external focus of attention – focusing on the intended result of the body’s movements – is more effective than an internal focus of attention – focusing on how to move the body”1. In her research, audiation “is defined and proposed as an example of external focus for music-making”.
I believe that the approach investigated by Williams is quite analogous to my research, as I am essentially exploring the role of focusing on a specific type of movement whilst singing as a type of external focus. In fact, Williams explains that when musicians concentrate on the outcome they want to achieve instead of getting caught up in technical details, they are facilitating a learning process that involves doing rather than just being told what to do. This type of learning, known as procedural learning, involves acquiring skills through repeated practice and performance rather than through instructions. In other words, virtuosity is achieved through active engagement and practice, rather than simply being instructed on what to do2. Williams exemplifies this process in the following diagram3:
(Williams S, https://www.researchcatalogue.net/view/497578/498169/1190/2250)
Additionally, the concept of focusing movement on specific musical categories could be an example of audiation, defined as “the use of musical imagery, singing, use of gesture and practicing variations as a way to practice exploring and clarifying the musical intention of the player”4. Hence, through the set of exercises I propose, “a musician could explore a segment of music using variation, improvisation and involving sensory awareness – e.g. focussing on touch and sound” which in turn would “allow a holistic self-regulating process to occur” (Williams S) 5. Expanding on Williams' idea of external focus, Brand's research emphasizes its effectiveness in optimizing vocal performance.
Attentional Focus Effects and Singing: Enhancing Vocal Performance through Body Movements and Gestures as External Foci of Attention
By Sebastian Brand
Through his article, Brand explores the impact of attentional focus on singing performance. Similarly to what is discussed in Williams’ research, Brand supports that “an external focus of attention, for example, on the sound produced, was found to have an optimizing influence on vocal performance” (3). This has further confirmed my initial expectation that focusing on body movement related to musical elements can have positive effects on vocal performance, as it is an example of external focus of attention.
Brand delves into the theoretical framework of attentional focus and its application in the context of singing, suggesting that external foci may improve vocal control, accuracy, and expression. He specifies “body movements and gestures promote an external focus of attention because vocalists coordinate, watch, and kinesthetically perceive their movements”, resulting in the “recruitment of automated control processes of voice production, less self-evaluation, and more effective performance in general” (Brand 3). Through empirical evidence and practical recommendations, Brand highlights the potential benefits of integrating body movements and gestures into singing pedagogy to optimize vocal performance.
Aside from enhancing the performative aspect, Brand’s article supports my assumption that movements related to musical elements movements can have a functional use of deepening a singer’s musical understanding of a song. Brand quotes Ramon Wis’ article on gesture and body movements related to choral rehearsal, where Wis states “the singers’ understanding of movement in music is greater when they move; their understanding of rhythm, phrasing, momentum, direction, and many other musical concepts becomes real when they map their own experiences with actual, physical movement onto the music” (1).
In his articles, Brand also echoes an observation I had made when I first applied these exercises on my practice: “When singers combine body movements, gestures, and singing, there is almost no time (or attention) left for distracting thoughts, worries (“I can’t sing this!”), or excessive self-evaluation that might hamper performance (self-invoking trigger hypothesis).” Having experienced this very effect on myself, I was eagerly awaiting to share this set of exercises with others.
Related to Brand's insights, Koch's research explores the intricate relationship between body movements and vocal expression, providing a neuroscientific perspective on the bidirectional nature of this interaction.
Basic body rhythms: from individual to interpersonal movement feedback
By Sabine Koch
Sabine Koch's article, “Basic Body Rhythms: From Individual to Interpersonal Movement Feedback," explores the concept of basic body rhythms and their role in interpersonal communication. She discusses how individuals synchronize their movements with others during social interactions, forming a type of movement feedback loop. By analyzing research findings on movement coordination and interpersonal synchronization, Koch highlights the importance of basic body rhythms in facilitating effective communication and social bonding. The article underscores how understanding these rhythms can inform various fields, including psychology, neuroscience, and human-computer interaction, with potential applications in improving interpersonal communication and collaboration.
Koch provides a neuroscience informed perspective on the interaction between body awareness and voice, as she explains:
One important premise of embodiment research is the bidirectionality assumption (Izard, 1977; Laird, 1984; Neumann & Strack, 2000; see Figure 1). This assumption puts forth that not only do we express our thoughts and feelings in motor behavior (expression function; cf. Darwin 1872), but motor behavior is also causally influencing affect and cognition via body feedback (Adelman & Zajonc, 1987; Zajonc & Markus, 1984).
In other words, our movements are not only a real time response to the stimulus of the sound, rhythm, pitch or lyrics uttered by our voice, but the movements themselves simultaneously become a stimulus that affects the voice itself. This vice versa is manifested in my individual testing, as a few volunteers reported a switch in flow of direction of influence as I instructed them to allow their bodies to move influenced by their voice. In hindsight, I would have liked to verbally state the bidirectional nature of their relationship before testing began, so as to allow volunteers to pay closer attention to this, allow it to occur and report back on their experiences of it.
Koch's emphasis on basic body rhythms illuminates their role in interpersonal communication, echoing Seitz's exploration on Dalcroze’s view on bodily processes in musical expression.
Dalcroze, the body, movement and musicality
By Jay A. Seitz
Seitz investigates Emile Jaques-Dalcroze's belief that bodily processes, rhythm, and physical motion are fundamental to musical expressivity and pedagogy. Dalcroze had already created “musical exercises [that] combine rhythmics with solfège or what Dalcroze called ‘rhythmic solfège.’ Such corporal maneuvers integrate multiple limb movements with melody and rhythm, integrate physical movement of the body and voice with accent and rhythm” (Seitz 424). This fully confirms my approach and echoes my findings, which are explored later in this research.
Dalcroze emphasized the harmony between bodily and musical processes, suggesting that musical expressivity is embodied and involves physical and social interactions. Recent theory and research support Dalcroze's views, highlighting the central role of movement and the body in musical expression. Setiz also mentions “In jazz improvisation, too, musicians bootstrap expressive characteristics by analogy to bodily and physical motion” (Seitz 429), which is indeed what I have been observing in my testing. Additionally, Dalcroze criticized traditional conservatory training for neglecting the importance of rhythm and the body in musical expression.
Seitz concludes that “thought and expression, as we have argued in regard to dance and other artistic and non-artistic domains, is fundamentally an embodied activity” (431), and that understanding music involves bodily processes and movements, echoing Dalcroze's pioneering insights, which remain significant for musicians, educators, and psychologists today. I believe his approach fully supports the aims of my investigation. The following article by Dr. Julia Nafisi's also echoes Dalcroze's teachings of the significance of bodily processes in musical expression, as she researches gesture and movement in vocal training
Course Review: Gesture and Movement in the Voice Lesson and Beyond with Dr Julia Nafisi and
Gesture and body-movement as teaching and learning tools in the classical voice lesson: a survey into current practicex
by Dr. Julia Nafisi
In the first article by Nafisi, she discusses her course called "Gesture and Movement in the Voice Lesson and Beyond". The course is based on her research on the use of gestures and body movements among singing teachers in Germany: Gesture and body-movement as teaching and learning tools in the classical voice lesson: a survey into current practice. Nafisi categorized movements based on their pedagogical intent into the following categories: Physiological Gestures, Sensation-related Gestures, Musical Gestures, and Body-Movements. These categories were confirmed by a survey, where they were “unquestioningly accepted as valid and coherent by a large audience of highly trained 31 voice teachers in a country with a long tradition of music education of the highest standard” (Gesture 30). Julia went on to note that some gestures can fall into more than one category above. She discussed body movements (e.g. bending knees, swinging arms) and their roles in optimizing posture, releasing tension, energizing and keeping time, but stressed that, unlike gestures, these have no intentional expressive component and cannot be employed in communication (Nafisi). Indeed, Nafisi noted that “the use of gesture as a means of enhancing expressiveness in singing students was, whilst still significant, considerably less prevalent as the use of Gesture as tool to improve tonal quality and musical phrasing” (Gesture 27). Hence, these findings were an important confirmation that my approach for my research was on the right path.
The results of Nafisi’s research indicates that a notable portion of voice teachers employ gestures to enhance explanation or demonstration, while also encouraging their students to utilize similar gestures during singing to enrich their learning experience. Hence, these results confirm my approach of focusing on music-related movements as a tool to help singers increase their expressiveness and vocal freedom. Indeed, her course also emphasizes the importance of incorporating physicality into vocal training for improved expressiveness and communication, covering topics such as using gesture to convey emotions, integrating movement into vocal exercises, and applying principles from the Alexander Technique and Laban Movement Analysis.
Further, Dr. Julia Nafisi's research on the pedagogical use of gestures and body movements in vocal training aligns with Melissa C. Brunkan's investigation into the effects of singer gestures on vocal sound production and perception.
The Effects of Three Singer Gestures on Acoustic and Perceptual Measures of Solo Singingx
by Melissa C. Brunkan
Through her quantitative research, Brunkan investigated how gestures can affect the sound produced by solo singers and singers in choirs. After discussing prior research, including testing carried out by Atkins and Duke where they instructed singers to focus on five distinct focuses of attention, Brunkan chose to investigate the effects of particular gestures recommended by Eichenberger. Notably, she states that no studies have addressed the matter that “if singer gesture is employed as a teaching tool, vocal music educators would likely benefit from data that indicate [...] at what point, if any, in an iterative gestural learning process, employment of a specific gesture begins to influence vocal sound” (Brukan 36).
Through rigorous testing, Brukan concludes that the specific gestures she investigated had an effect on intonation, amplitude and timbre in both choral and solo singing contexts (44), as “solo singers were more in tune when singing with gestures. Both the low, circular and arched hand gestures changed singer timbre indicated by lowered formant frequencies for the majority of participants” (35). Hence, although it would not have been possible for me to carry out quantitative research, her scientific, thorough process and testing served as an inspiration for the testing I devised for my own research.
When summarizing the literature explored, it becomes apparent that both external focus and the use of gestures play pivotal roles in vocal training and performance enhancement. Susan Williams and Sebastian Brand's research highlight the efficacy of external focus on intended outcomes, emphasizing the importance of focusing on the result rather than the process, aligning closely with the aims of my research. Furthermore, Brand's insights into the functional role of movements related to musical elements support my expectation regarding their potential to deepen singers' understanding of songs. Sabine Koch's neuroscientific perspective on the bidirectional relationship between body movements and vocal expression complements Seitz's exploration of Dalcroze’s philosophy of the use of bodily processes in musical expression. Dr. Julia Nafisi's research on the pedagogical use of gestures and body movements aligns with Melissa C. Brunkan's investigation into the effects of gestures on vocal sound production and perception, providing further validation for the relevance of my research direction.
Thus, these collective findings underscore the potential for integrating physicality and external focus into vocal training to enhance expressiveness, and vocal freedom, validating the concept and methodology of my research. Thus, this literature review affirms the significance of exploring the nexus between movement, focus, and vocal performance.
go to Overview of Methodology ⇒