Impact of singing togetherness and task complexity on choristers' body motion

• We examined the impact of the perception of singing togetherness,as indexed by the spectral envelope of the sound, and task complexity on choristers’ body motion, as they performed in duo with a pre-recorded tune presented over a loudspeaker. Fifteen experienced choral singers first manipulated the spectral filter settings of the tune in order to identify the recordings they felt most and not at all together with. Then, they sang the tune in unison and canon along with the recordings featuring the chosen filter settings. Audio and motion capture data of the musicians' upper bodies during repeated performances of the same tune were collected. Results demonstrate that wrist motion was more periodic, singer posture more open, and the overall quantity of body motion higher when singing in unison than in canon; singing togetherness did not impact body motion. The current findings suggest that some body movements may support choral performance, depending on the complexity of the task condition.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Scenkonst (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Performing Arts (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Speech and Music Communication

Tal- och musikkommunikation

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kon (subject category)