The musician-instrument relationship A perspective from embodied cognition
IPEM Ghent University
dr. Luc Nijs
Something about this presentation
① ② ③
Some context
④
Levels of embodiment
⑤
The Music Paint Machine
Expressiveness The musician-instrument relationship
Why movement?
Tristan moves…
Why movement?
Igudesman moves…
Why movement?
expertise ➛ bodily motility bodily motility ➛ expertise ??
The Musician - Instrument relation • integration •
culture
subjectify
Personal style Gestures
skill
Instrumental Gestures
biology
objectify Expressive Gestures Bodily Communication
Musical Expressiveness
Musical Expressiveness
musical expressiveness ➡ variability
➡ push & pull between planned and ad hoc musical ideas/intentions
Musical Expressiveness
inner model
⃕
cerebral intentionality ↓ practice
⃕
discursive analysis
⃕
⃕
planned intentions
intuitive understanding
ad hoc intentions inspiration
intuitive understanding
corporeal intentionality ↓ practice & performance
coping
conscious decisions
Musical Expressiveness
Musical Expressiveness
inner model
⃕
cerebral intentionality ↓ practice
⃕
discursive analysis
⃕
⃕
planned intentions
intuitive understanding
ad hoc intentions inspiration
intuitive understanding
corporeal intentionality ↓ practice & performance
coping
conscious decisions
Musical Expressiveness
music making
musical space
actual world
virtual world
how
what
control/think the music
live the music
BENSON, B.E. (2003). The Improvisation of Musical Dialogue: A Phenomenology of Music. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ECHARD, W. (2006). Sensible Virtual Selves: Bodies,Instruments and the Becoming- concrete of Music. In: Contemporary Music Review, 25(1/2): 7-16. SZEKELY, M. (2003). Becoming-still: perspectives on musical ontology after Deleuze and Guattari. In: Social Semiotics, 13(2): 113-128.
Musical Expressiveness
live the music or “indwell” in the musical reality ➡
direct involvement
➡
musical instrument as a natural extension of the musician
Musical Expressiveness mn*i
i*mc
musician +instrument
music
Nijs, L., M. Lesaffre & M. Leman (2013). The Musical Instrument as a Natural Extension of the Musician. In: Castellengo, M. & Genevois, H. Music and its instruments. Sampzon, Editions Delatour France.
The Musician-Instrument Relation
The Musician - Instrument relation • Natural Extension •
The musical instrument as a natural extension Incorporate the musical instrument There no longer exist relations between us. Some time ago I lost my sense of the border between us. Painting by Gabriel Glikman
Just so, I play music, involuntarily. The cello is my tool no more. (Mstislaw Rostropovitch)
Nijs, L., M. Lesaffre & M. Leman (2013). The Musical Instrument as a Natural Extension of the Musician. In: Castellengo, M. & Genevois, H. Music and its instruments. Sampzon, Editions Delatour France. Nijs, L. (accepted). The merging of musician and musical instrument: incorporation, presence and the levels of embodiment. In: M. Lesaffre, P.-J. Maes & M. Leman (forthcoming). Routledge Companion on Embodied Music Interaction.
The Musician - Instrument relation • Components •
The musical instrument as a natural extension
direct perception
Incorporate the musical instrument
skill-based acting optimal experience bodily motility Nijs, L., M. Lesaffre & M. Leman (2013). The Musical Instrument as a Natural Extension of the Musician. In: Castellengo, M. & Genevois, H. Music and its instruments. Sampzon, Editions Delatour France. Nijs, L. (accepted). The merging of musician and musical instrument: incorporation, presence and the levels of embodiment. In: M. Lesaffre, P.-J. Maes & M. Leman (forthcoming). Routledge Companion on Embodied Music Interaction.
The Musician - Instrument relation • Motility •
intuitive understanding “live” the music, not think it!
expressive interaction
direct involvement embodied interaction
direct perception & skill-based acting corporeal imitation
corporeal articulation
prediction!! action-perception couplings
musical instrument
bodyschema “I can” bodily motility My body is an original motility without which there would be neither space nor time
The Musician - Instrument relation intuitive understanding direct involvement embodied interaction flow experience
musical instrument
“live” the music, not think it!
expressive interaction
presence direct perception & skill-based acting positive emotional condition corporeal imitation corporeal articulation
extended action-perception couplings prediction!!
bodyschema “I can” core bodily motility
proto
My body is an original motility without which there would be neither space nor time
The Musician - Instrument relation
direct involvement
flow experience presence
positive emotional condition
extended core
bodily motility
proto
The Musician - Instrument relation flow experience presence extended
3rd-order embodiment
core
2nd-order embodiment
proto
1st-order embodiment
Metzinger, T. (2014). First-order embodiment, second-order embodiment, third-order embodiment: From spatiotemporal self-location to minimal phenomenal selfhood. In: L. Shapiro (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of Embodied Cognition, (pp. 272-286). London: Routledge. Haans, A., & IJsselsteijn, W. A. (2012). Embodiment and telepresence: Toward a comprehensive theoretical framework. Interacting with Computers, 24(4): 211-218.
Levels of Embodiment
3rd-order embodiment body image
2nd-order embodiment body schema
1st-order embodiment body morphology degrees of freedom ➙ bodily motility
phenomenological
I am a certain body
meaningfulness
functional
I use my body in a certain way
prediction & reward
physical
I have a certain body
morphological computation
Levels of Embodiment 1st-order embodiment morphological computation
skeleton (e.g. type and number of limbs) muscles (e.g. elasticity) degrees of freedom (e.g. shape of joints) interaction:
passive, based on environment-body connection
instrument:
extend the body’s morphology affect egocentric coordination (posture and movements) → constrain degrees of freedom affect muscle tension
Levels of Embodiment 2nd-order embodiment body schema - prediction
model morphological interactions comparison of different action possibilities (low level procedures) prediction & error minimisation interaction:
control & flexibility
instrument:
modify action repertoire new action-perception couplings need for flexibility and fast adaptation
Levels of Embodiment 3rd-order embodiment body image - subjective experience
conscoius assumptions about the body higher-rode consciousness: long-term conception of the body primary consciousness: “remembered presents” (invariants!) interaction: instrument:
embedded in open up meaningful world allow the inaction of musical intentions
Levels of Embodiment
incorporation of the musical instrument 3rd-order embodiment
incorporation into the body image
2nd-order embodiment
incorporation into the body schema
1st-order embodiment
morphological congruence
The Music Paint Machine applying the theory…
The Music Paint Machine • OVERVIEW of the SYSTEM •
“painting” sound
movement
movement
The Music Paint Machine • FEATURES •
beyond monitoring in function of merely providing information
incorporation of the instrument
active role (controller)
motile body
The Music Paint Machine • OBJECTIVE & GOALS •
stimulate & facilitate learning to play a musical instrument musical creativity * playfulness * flow experience
embodied understanding * body movement * multimodality
optimal relationship with instrument * unity of body and instrument as controller
The Music Paint Machine • OBJECTIVE & GOALS •
optimal relationship with instrument first order embodiment 𝄪 physical 𝄪 bodily freedom
second order embodiment 𝄪 functional 𝄪 action-perception
third order embodiment 𝄪 phenomenological 𝄪 body consciousness
The Musician - Instrument relation • integration •
culture
Personal style Gestures
skill
Instrumental Gestures
Expressive Gestures Bodily Communication
biology
Conclusion
①
musical expressiveness relies on an embodied interaction with the music
②
in music performance, an embodied interaction with the music requires the instrument to become like an natural extension (incorporation)
③
incorporation of the instrument must happen on different levels of embodiment
④
interactive technologies might support this process of incorporation
Thank you!
looking forward to your questions, remarks, …
[email protected] - www.lucnijs.be - www.musicpaintmachine.be
