'Beyond an Acoustical Understanding of the Impact of Environment On
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‘Beyond an Acoustical Understanding of the Impact of Environment on Musical Performance’ by James Edward Armstrong Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Music & Media Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences University of Surrey - 2 - Summary of Thesis This PhD thesis combines music performance studies and environmental psychology as part of an interdisciplinary research project on the impact of environment on a musician’s performance experience. Building on existing studies into the effects of acoustical conditions on a musician’s playing, this study explores the experiential qualities of different performance environments from the musician’s perspective. Drawing from research within the field of environmental psychology, environmental attributes such as behaviour-settings, socio-cultural significance, and a sense of personal meaning are considered is influential factors in affecting a musician’s performance. A methodological approach designed for the purpose of this research, placing eight participating musicians in a number of different music performance environments. Performances are recorded and later analysed to identify alterations in playing between the different environments. Following, semi- structured interviews with participating musicians are conducted in order to engage with each musician’s experience of performing in the different environments. The data gathered is analysed and themes are extracted. The findings of this thesis reveal the extent of influence the surrounding environment can have on a musician’s experience of performing; the intricate person-environment relationship between a musician and their surroundings in a performance context often outweigh the effect of various acoustical characteristics over a musician’s playing. This thesis offers an understanding of how an environment, beyond its acoustical characteristics, can affect a musician’s performance, and is of importance to those operating within music performance and recording fields and professions. - 3 - - 4 - Statement of Originality This thesis and the work to which it refers are the results of my own efforts. Any ideas, data, images or text resulting from the work of others (whether published or unpublished) are fully identified as such within the work and attributed to their originator in the text, bibliography or in footnotes. This thesis has not been submitted in whole or in part for any other academic degree or professional qualification. I agree that the University has the right to submit my work to the plagiarism detection service TurnitinUK for originality checks. Whether or not drafts have been so-assessed, the University reserves the right to require an electronic version of the final document (as submitted) for assessment as above. Signature: J E Armstrong Date: 28/08/2019 - 5 - - 6 - Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to thank my parents, Margaret and Geoffrey Armstrong, and to, Andreea Szabo, for all of their love, support and encouragement. This couldn’t have happened without you. I would like to thank my supervisors, Dr. Milton Mermikides and Dr. Birgitta Gatersleben, whose expertise and interest have made this interdisciplinary study possible. I would also like to thank Prof. Steve Goss and Dr. Andrew Bourbon for their honest feedback and attention to detail. I am grateful to Yaron Shyldkrot, whose invitation to collaborate provided a much-needed creative outlet, and to Chelsea Dainton, whose help with statistics furthered the reach of this study. I would like to thank Prof. Jane Ogden, whose help and dedication in the final stages of this research project cannot be downplayed. I would like to express my gratitude to the Doctoral College and the Research Development Programme at the University of Surrey; the services, support and enthusiasm from both teams are invaluable to the research community. - 7 - - 8 - Table of Contents Acknowledgments ................................................................................................................................. - 7 - List of Figures ....................................................................................................................................... - 13 - CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION, LITERATURE REVIEW, AND GLOSSARY OF TERMS .................. - 15 - Abstract ............................................................................................................................................... - 17 - General Introduction ............................................................................................................................ - 19 - Literature Review................................................................................................................................. - 27 - How is musical playing affected by Environment? ..................................................................................... - 28 - Theories of Environmental Interaction ....................................................................................................... - 37 - Key Literature within this thesis .................................................................................................................. - 46 - Glossary of Terms ......................................................................................................................................... - 48 - CHAPTER 2: INTRODUCING ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY: BACKGROUND, HISTORY, AND APPLICATION IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE STUDIES ............................................................ - 53 - Introduction.................................................................................................................................................. - 55 - Why Environmental Psychology? ................................................................................................................ - 58 - Applying environmental psychology in music performance studies ......................................................... - 59 - Behaviour Settings Theory ........................................................................................................................... - 61 - Theories of Interaction ................................................................................................................................ - 64 - Environmental Settings ................................................................................................................................ - 69 - The Church Setting ....................................................................................................................................... - 70 - The Concert Hall Setting .............................................................................................................................. - 72 - The Live Venue Setting................................................................................................................................. - 74 - The Rehearsal Room Setting ........................................................................................................................ - 76 - The Recording Studio Setting ...................................................................................................................... - 78 - The Virtual Setting ....................................................................................................................................... - 80 - Sounding Out Environmental Psychology ................................................................................................... - 81 - CHAPTER 3: DEFINING THE ‘MUSIC PERFORMANCE ENVIRONMENT’ ................................ - 83 - Defining the Performance Environment ................................................................................................ - 85 - The Audience: the influence of observers on a musical performance ...................................................... - 89 - St. Martha’s ‘Church on the Hill’: a restorative (performance) environment ........................................... - 93 - St. Mary’s Church: regional significance on the North-Eastern coast........................................................ - 96 - The Concert Hall as a Performance Environment ..................................................................................... - 101 - The Live Music Venue as a Performance Environment ............................................................................ - 103 - The Rehearsal Room as a Performance Environment .............................................................................. - 106 - The Recording Studio as a Performance Environment ............................................................................. - 110 - Simulated Acoustic Environments as Performance Environments .......................................................... - 113 - Defining the music performance environment: closing remarks............................................................. - 115 - CHAPTER 4: METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................... - 117 - Primary Study: Three-Stage Method ................................................................................................... - 121 - - 9 - Primary Study Participants ........................................................................................................................ - 121 - Experience of environment prior to participation in primary study........................................................ - 124 - Participant