Body movements in music performances: The example of clarinet players

Abstract

Musicians move in many ways when performing music. Such movements, or gestures, may have a variety of roles in a performance. They can directly and indirectly control the sound of the instrument and build up communication between performers or between performers and the audience. Although omnipresent in performances, some of these gestures, however, do not seem to have a clear relationship to the process of sound production. In this chapter, general aspects of movements of musicians in music performances, and the distinction of these movements, are introduced and illustrated with an analysis of ancillary movements of clarinet performers.