Dynamics of musical expression
Edward C. Carterette, Roger A. Kendall · The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America · 1989
Various aspects of the dynamics of musical expression in terms of both acoustic and perceptual parameters were studied. In one study, duets of soprano orchestral winds performed brief musical passages in unison and in simple diatonic harmony. Perceptual spaces, obtained by scaling, were compared with acoustical analyses. Orderings of instrument pairs in three-dimensional space were influenced by context (unison versus harmonized single notes and melodic fragments) and by such acoustic factors as combinations of excitation mechanisms and tone-hole lattice cutoff frequencies. In a study of musical expression, single instruments, which differed in performer degrees of freedom (piano, violin, trumpet, clarinet, and oboe), were played at three levels of expressiveness. The aim was to explicate the variables used by the performer in successfully communicating expressive intent. Acoustical analyses were compared by means of a theoretical model based on the interactions of pitch, time, and dynamic contour strata.