MUSIC + facial expressions, body movements, and hand gestures = MAS MASIGLA! :D

By: Michelle de los Santos

Hi friends, classmates, prof., readers, viewers, likers, etc… WELCOME! HAHA Anyway, sa tingin ko, karamihan sa inyo ay sasang-ayon sa akin that seeing a singer or a band live is a much more engaging experience than just listening to a radio at home. Kasi naniniwala ako na iba talaga ang atmosphere ng isang live event, lalo na pag nakikita mo yung facial expressions nung singer, yung mga body movements and hand gestures nila while singing. Iba yung nape-perceive natin eh, mas nakaka-enhance ng emotional experience, mas maa-appreciate at mas nakakadala sa music. :) Agree? Ako kasi ganun eh. Kaya nga hindi tayo nagsasawang pumila ng pagkahabahaba para lang manuod ng concert live at kahit mahal pa ito! TAMA!:D

Singer whose face remains “pokerfaced” as they sing is rare. Come on! Pano naman gaganahan mga viewers if yes, the song is nice nga but the singer has an impassive face naman and it’s not in purpose pa ah like lady gaga HAHA kidding. :D Let’s have Michael Jackson as an example. As he sings, he makes different facial expressions and energetic dance moves. His face and body expresses the emotion in the music, and sometimes it seems struggling with the emotions. Indeed, seeing singers' faces and movements as they interact with the music, the other musicians and the audience is an element of beauty of a live performance. His facial expressions and dance moves often seem part of the music itself. Like what Thompson, Graham and Russo (2005) mentioned in their study that making music involves not only the communication of musical sounds but is also characterized by a continuously changing and meaningful use of facial expressions, body movements, and hand gestures.

Facial expressions and body gestures affect perception of music

Now the question is, in what way do facial expressions and other body gestures while singing affect the perception of the music? There is a famous phenomenon in psychology called the McGurk effect. This demonstrates that what listeners hear is profoundly affected by what they see. Thus suggests that singers' facial and body movements may have large effects on how we perceive music. In Thompson, Graham and Russo (2005) series of simple experiments, importance of the McGurk effect, when we are looking at singers, compared to when we only have the sound to go on, is showed.

Experiments

First Experiment:
The study introduced a framework for understanding how different media, genres, and modes of transmission combine to shape aural and visual experiences of music. Thompson, Graham and Russo (2005) discussion here is impressive. :) Must read! haha

Second Experiment:
Case studies of two performances were presented, and describe the relation between visual and aural aspects of performance. Some participants in the study listened to blues legend B. B. King audio only, while others listened and watched him. Those who had both video and audio channels rated the level of 'dissonance' (when the music was negative or discordant) higher at points in which B. B. King winced his eyes, rolled his head back and shook his upper body.

Third Experiment:
The study reported empirical evidence that visual aspects of performance reliably influence perceptions of musical structure (pitch related features) and affective interpretations of music. In conclusion, facial expressions and body movements can change the pitch we hear, how much emotion we experience and can interact with the music in surprising ways.

Fourth Experiment:
The study traced new and old media trajectories of aural and visual dimensions of music, and highlight how conceptions, perceptions and appreciation of music are intertwined with technological innovation and media deployment strategies.

In some experimental conditions, participants heard a “happy” series of notes but saw a seemingly unhappy singer. In other conditions, notes/lyrics were consistent with facial expressions. Participants rated the emotional component of notes higher if audio and video were congruent. When participants heard real musical performances, some while watching the accompanying video, some without. Results found that sometimes the visual channel added to the performance, and sometimes it reduced it. Hence, it depends on situation.

“We conclude by arguing that visual aspects of music — hidden as they once were within the mediations permitted by radio and gramophone — have more recently become privileged media forms, resulting in the valorization of artists, music, and performance types in a predominantly visual media environment.” - Thompson, Graham and Russo (2005)

The study was really interesting and fun to read because we can really relate about it. We love music okay! When I’m reading the article, i'm really learning a lot, it's really informative and the article seems like persuading his readers. I mostly agree with his arguments. Nowadays, technologies improve a lot. There are iPOD video na, hence, aural experience has the potential to be reunited with the singer’s visual performance. The question is, will madlang people return to listening to music while watching it? It depends you know HAHA because some body language that performers use may reduce our enjoyment of the music.

Thompson, Graham and Russo (2005) mentioned in the article that emotions are communicated not only in sounded events but also in facial expressions and other bodily gestures. It is so right! Like for example, if we’re listening to a rock song, it’s better if we can see the singer as he bang his/her head, strong eyes, etc… our perception will be more emphasized, like we can really feel the excitement. Or if we’re listening to a sad love song, kung pakikinggan natin maaaring malaman natin mula sa lyrics na ahhh love song yan and malungkot yung story, the end, pero pag sinamahan natin ng visual presentation like melting teary eyes, slow hand movements, etc… mas lalalim yung perception natin, mas madadala tayo sa kanta. Like what the experiments' results showed that there are variety of ways in which facial expressions and gestures of a performer can have a great influence over our perception of music. Therefore, music is more than just sound, it is an interaction between singer and listener/audience. Performer’s facial expressions and hand gestures allows to get close to the audience. The interaction on which we are beginning to place a higher value. My own experiences is a confirmation, live performance indeed gives me more excitement and offers greater expression and impression than just listening to music. :) Oh yeah!

P.S.

Connecting it in my Psych 135:Perception topics that I learned...hmm..well, it's about perception and...yeah, actually i can relate it to our topic "absolute threshold". Like the stimuli are the facial expressions, hand gestures, and body movements + music. Then what the participants will do is to detect or rate the level of intensity of the stimulus kung saan mapapansin na nila na may nararamdaman na sila sa given stimuli like if they're feeling it already, the excitement a.k.a. yung level or amount of stimulus na magpapaSIGLA sa kanila. HAHA gets? can be, can be? :D Comments would be great!

Thanks! Salamat! :D

Reference

Thompson, W.F., Graham, P., & Russo, F.A. (2005). Seeing music performance: Visual influences on perception and experience. Semiotica, 156, 203-227.