Aurelio Porfiri
We already saw the many facets of brain involvement in our music-making. We did not think of it so much before we are faced with problems that are of course influenced by the functioning of our mind. We are mind and spirit and we need to maintain a good balance. Let us see some more elements of this relationship.
BEFORE A PERFORMANCE
- Choking
We have a very important problem to deal with before a performance. This problem is called “choking”, which is a kind of anxiety regarding our ability to perform. This name was coined by Roy Baumeister (1984) who wanted to describe the decreased ability to perform under pressure. I am sure every conductor will understand what I am talking about. This is one of the most frequent problems experienced especially by young singers. How to overcome this problem? It is not easy to give a clear answer to this. Psychologist Sian G. Beilock, from the University of Chicago, has specialized on studying this kind of phenomenon (Beilock S.L, Carr T.H. 2001). I think the conductor, especially when dealing with young performers, has to find strategies to overcome this issue. Furthermore, important studies were done in this regard by the Italian scholar Giorgio Nardone.
DURING A PERFORMANCE
- Mimicry
What do we want to communicate when we show certain expressions to our singers? This is important to know because psychologists are studying a particular branch of this discipline called “mimicry”. A young Dutch psychologist, Marielle Stel has extensively studied this phenomenon:
“People constantly mimic each other’s postures behaviors, facial expressions, speech manner, and a lot more. If I were to present this orally to you and suddenly look surprised, you will look surprised too. Maybe you have experienced it yourself, that you scratched your face wondering why you did that because it did not itch, and then suddenly became aware that your interaction partner scratched him – or herself” (Stel 1998, 7).
The way we show our emotions directly influences the way the people in the performing body react. But sometimes this reaction can be different from the one we were expecting. Moreover, there is the risk of an opposite reaction. Rodney Eichenberger, a choral conductor, made a DVD video called “What they see is what you get,” where he explains how the non-verbal communication between performers and conductor affects the performance. Experiments and researches show that when you block facial mimicry you are blocking the recognition of emotions (Oberman M. L., Winkielman P., Rachamandran S. V. 2008). So it seems that if a conductor is able to show the right facial expression, he or she will also be able to lead the performers to the desired performance. Indeed the problem is not so simple. We also know that there are differences between men and women. Indeed it seems that women more easily feel empathy than men (Stel, M., van Knippenberg A. 2008). A conductor should be aware of this, when speaking to different genders you may have different reactions. The emotional flow between a conductor and a group of performers is always the main issue in a relationship between them. How to control and build this flow is a problem every conductor has to face.
- The role of the amygdala
One study (Ralph A., Spezio M, 2006) alerts us on the role of the amygdala, a very important part of our brain which deals with emotions and memory:
“We argue that, although it is clear that social-behavioral representations are not stored in the amygdala, the most parsimonious interpretation of the data is that the amygdala plays a role in guiding social behaviors on the basis of socio-environmental context. Thus, it appears to be required for normal social cognition.”
This reaction between the face of a conductor and the way the brain processes it is not to be underplayed. When we are conducting we are dealing with a storm of emotions coming and going and the ability to govern this traffic of feelings is crucial for a good outcome from the performance. There is no receipt for the achievement of a good performance but certainly the consideration of how heavily the emotions (through the amygdala, we learn) play a fundamental part in the relationship between conductor and performers. Be aware of the emotional world of your performers and be aware of the social context where they are from.
- Cultural differences
The conductor, especially in a connected world like the one in which we live today, should be aware that the way he or she expresses their feelings through his or her face can be acceptable in one given culture but probably may not be agreeable in the same way in another culture. Indeed a recent study published in Current Biology (Jack R. E.; Blais C.; Scheepers C.; Schyns P. G., Caldara R., 2009) show that some facial expressions have different meanings in the West and in the East:
“Rather than distributing their fixations evenly across the face as Westerners do, Eastern observers persistently fixate the eye region. Using a model information sampler, we demonstrate that by persistently fixating the eyes, Eastern observers sample ambiguous information, thus causing significant confusion. Our results question the universality of human facial expression of emotion, highlighting their true complexity, with critical consequences for cross-cultural communication and globalization.”
In some parts of the world like Asia, the most relevant part are the eyes. In the western world, the whole face is relevant.
- Charisma
The style of the conductor is obviously very important. How the conductor leads the group and how they make the performers feel about him or her. An interesting research (Boerner S., Freiherr Von Streit C., 2007) shows that the style of a conductor can be directive and non-participative but this is not by default the best solution:
“Empirical data show that a non-participative, directive leadership by a conductor can enhance an orchestra’s artistic quality, particularly if the musicians also perceive the conductor to be an indisputable authority in the field (Boerner and Krause, 2002). Moreover, it is empirically shown that the rating of an orchestra’s artistic quality rises with the degree of expertise and power of identification that musicians attribute to their conductor (Krause et al., 2002). Competence, credibility, and charisma have been identified as influencing musicians’ attitudes and performance (Atik. 1994, Faulkner, 1973)”.
It is clear here that the conductor can obtain some results that are important with a certain style, but he or she will obtain more relevant results if their style is based on charisma more than authority. What is charisma? It is the ability to fascinate people, the ability to make them follow you, the ability to have the trust of the people working with you. Charisma is not a musical ability. This confirms the importance of a conductor training that is not only based on music but that is much more broader and comprehensive.
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