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Book Review: The Science and Psychology of Music Performance: Creative Strategies
for Teaching and Learning

Article · December 2003

DOI: 10.1177/135945750301700208

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Alexandra Lamont
Keele University
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 The Science and Psychology of Music vague impression that some people may be more
Performance: Creative Strategies for Teaching musically talented than others but that scientifically this
and Learning is hard to explain. The remainder of this part comprises
Edited by Richard Parncutt and Gary E. McPherson chapters on performance anxiety, brain mechanisms,
Oxford University Press (2002) and 'music medicine', all related to expert performers.
388 pp. Hbk £42.50 This last chapter, by Brandfonbrener and Kjelland,
ISBN 0 195138104 covers risk factors, diagnosis, treatment, and most
importantly, prevention, dealing with a range of injuries
Reviewed by Alexandra Lamont (physical and to a lesser extent psychological)
commonly suffered by expert performers.
As a music psychologist, I often find myself trying to The next and largest part is entitled 'Sub-skills of
explain the difference between the aims and objectives music performance'. These sub-skills include notation,
of my field and that of music therapy. Broadly speaking, improvisation, sight-reading, practice, memory,
music psychology explores how music 'works' in a very intonation, structural communication, emotional
broad sense for the composer, performer, and listener, communication, and body movement. The three final
while music therapy applies this information in a wide chapters in this section - 'Structural communication'
range of clinical contexts. Thus, the growing literature in (Friberg and Bartel), 'Emotional communication' (luslin
music psychology should be of considerable relevance and Persson) and 'Body movement' (Davidson and
and interest to music therapists. After early work such as Correia) - provide valuable summaries and syntheses of
Sloboda's The Musical Mind (1985) and Hargreaves' The the recent research in these important areas of music
Developmental Psychology of Music (1986), there has performance. They address how the performer is able to
been a flurry of recent publications - like the present communicate aspects of the music to the audience,
one, all edited volumes - in sub-fields of music highlighting the importance of microstructural features
psychology. These include Sloboda & Deliege's Musical such as variations in timing, dynamics and intonation as
Beginnings (1996) and Perception and Cognition of well as larger features such as gestures and body
Music (1997), Hargreaves & North's The Social movements.
Psychology of Music (1997), Deutsch's The Psychology The final section, 'Instruments and ensembles',
of Music (1999, 2d ed.), luslin & Sloboda's Music and comprises chapters dealing with different instrumental
Emotion (2001), and MacDonald, Hargreaves & Miell's and ensemble skills including solo voice, choir, piano,
Musical Identities (2002). string instruments, wind instruments, and finally
Parncutt and McPherson's book provides a timely rehearsing and conducting. The instrumental skills
resource in a new sub-field, focusing exclusively on chapters cover technical information on sound
issues relating to musical performance. The book is production and practical problems. The technicalities
aimed at four main audiences: music educators, are presented in the service of improving performance,
practising musicians, students of music education and whether this be dealing with intonation problems in a
music psychology, and researchers in music vocal ensemble or making the bow vibrate in the
performance. The editors selected two co-authors for Helmholtz mode in order to produce the clearest pitch
each chapter, one a performer or music educator and and smoothest, fullest timbre. The chapters on
the other from a more scientific background, in order to ensembles, rehearsing and conducting are also
engage in a fruitful exchange of ideas from different practically oriented, presenting plenty of problems and
disciplines. This process resulted in an international solutions.
collection of 39 different contributing authors. The book reflects an implicit emphasis on the expert
The book is divided into three main parts. The first, Western musical performer (or the trajectory to
'The developing musician', begins with chapters on becoming one), and mostly deals with art music. As is
musical potential, environmental influences on musical typical in the wider field of music psychology, there is
development, and motivation. These initial chapters very little consideration of non-classical forms of
tackle one of the thorniest issues in music psychology - musical performance, of the development of self-taught
musical talent. All three chapters conclude with performers, of popular music, or of musical traditions in
practical advice for the parent or teacher, and as such non-Western cultures. Even the chapters on children's
tend to prioritise the environmental side of the argument musical development focus on the skills and techniques
(since genetics are largely fixed!). However, although required to become an expert performer. The only parts
some of the authors have argued more forcefully on this of the book to address the broader aspects of musical
issue elsewhere, none provides very convincing communication and exchange experienced in more
conclusions here. This leaves the reader with the rather informal types of musical performance, and of more

106 British Journal of Music Therapy • Volume 17 • No 22003

potential relevance to music therapists, are the chapters lurking tragedy inherent in the illnesses presented in the
identified above on structural and emotional book. Diane Waller chooses 'nameless dread' because
communication and body movement. the person is frightened but does not know why, a
One benefit of such a vast enterprise involving many situation analogous to a baby's unmanageable terror at
different individuals is that a broad range of literature on being left alone. A person with severe dementia is seen
different topics can be covered. However, one obvious as being similar to a baby left alone and, as therapists,
problem, common to many edited collections, is a we have to find a way for the ensuing torment to be
consequent lack of coherence and rationale. The expressed and acknowledged.
individual chapters provide valuable source material, One problem of such a view is that we are in danger
but in an interdisciplinary context the reader might have of infantalising the sufferer. It also misses the point that
gained more from editorial guiding and summarising sufferers have biographies and they have ways of
sections. The parts themselves are also not particularly expressing their terrors, even inappropriate terrors. And
coherent, with some important issues of wider relevance these forms of expression, like the suffering, are shared
being subsumed under inappropriate headings. For among not only the patients but also those who love
example, the chapters on brain mechanisms, them.
performance anxiety and music medicine seem less Moreover, sufferers can often name the dread. One of
relevant to the first section, 'Development', than the the problems of the neurodegenerative diseases, like
chapters on children learning notation and on learning that of chronic illness, is that the sufferers and their
and developing intonation skills, which are included in caregivers have to cope with the knowledge precipitated
the second section on 'Sub-skills'. by the diagnosis and the threat of progressive
I wonder whether the strategy of co-authorship may degeneration. The dread is what form that degeneration
have diluted the perspectives of the individuals, making will take and how soon it will start. Indeed, anxiety and
the book more neutral and less controversial than it depression following diagnosis are clinical features of
might or perhaps should have been. It is possible that the illness progression.
the authors had a more illuminating interdisciplinary The existential argument of dread is not developed
dialogue in writing the book than its readers can have in here, and simply referring to a baby's terror in the first
reading it. However, in terms of its own aims, the book chapter of the book is not enough. The following
provides a great deal of useful information on issues of chapters do go on to explain what happens clinically to
importance for the expert performer which will people, but the concept of dread in all its magnificent
doubtless be of interest to practising musicians in a richness is left undeveloped. And that is unsatisfactory,
range of contexts. Although music therapists are not particularly in an arts therapy book where we could
explicitly identified as intended readers, any initiative have had the clinical concept of dread alongside an
like this that aims to encourage dialogue between existential understanding of dread, and sources from
different communities of researchers and practitioners literature and art woven together into a rich conceptual
should be of mutual benefit to us all. tapestry to understand the sufferer using both science
and art together.
Alexandra Lamont is a lecturer in psychology of music in These limitations are ironic given the content of a
the Psychology Department at Keele University. and has chapter by Ken Evans called 'In the waiting room of the
researched and taught in the fields of music/ education/ Grim Reaper'. He writes that a bad habit of the
and psychology. academic sociologist is the constraining of complex
social experience within discrete and defined
boundaries. He complains that when 'dementia' is
Arts Therapies and Progressive JIIness: nameless researched as a topic suitable for the academic it will
dread probably be filed in a sub-folder under 'mental illness'.
Edited by Diane Waller Yet the wealth of current literature about dementia,
Brunner-Routledge (2002) including that in music therapy, neither simplifies the
206 pp. Hbk £40.00. Pbk £16.99 problem nor labels it under 'mental illness'. Evans is also
ISBN 0415219809 (hbk) let down by his reliance on sociological literature from
ISBN 041521981 7 (pbk) the late 1950s, as if nothing of relevance has been
written since then.
Reviewed by David Aldridge There is a delightful chapter from Dorothy Jerrome
about therapeutic circle dance with older people with
I agreed to review this book because of the subtitle. dementia, and one from Jill Bunce about dance
'Nameless dread' is a wonderful expression of that movement with Parkinson's patients. In the art therapy

Book Reviews 1107

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