Psychology for Musicians This page intentionally left blank Psychology for Musicians Understanding and Acquiring the Skills Andreas C. Lehmann John A. Sloboda Robert H. Woody 1 2007 1 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2007 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of Oxford University Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Lehmann, Andreas C., 1964– Psychology for musicians: understanding and acquiring the skills / Andreas C. Lehmann, John A. Sloboda, Robert H. Woody. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references ISBN-13 978-0-19-514610-3 ISBN 0-19-514610-7 1. Musicians—Psychology. 2. Music—Psychological aspects. I. Sloboda, John A. II. Woody, Robert H. III. Title. ML3838.L464 2006 781'.11—dc22 2006007991 135798642 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Preface The idea for this book came a few years back, when we were discussing the dif- ferent classes we were teaching for musicians, psychologists, and educators. Each of us had discovered how difficult it was to find materials that matched the interests and previous knowledge of our students. All our students had experi- ence as music listeners, and the great majority of them played a musical instru- ment or sang, albeit at different levels of proficiency. Yet the questions they posed regarding the psychology of music were quite similar. This book aims to answer precisely those questions. The topics covered here contain relevant information for musicians who per- form or teach, for students of psychology who want to know more about music and the mind, and for musically inclined persons who seek personal growth and enrichment. Although we steer clear of giving recipes for musicians on how to do things (which is, after all, the responsibility of methods teachers and practi- tioners), we try to provide a basis for informed decisions on why and how things might or might not work. When talking to students or people in the street, we have come across strongly held beliefs or myths about music. Some of them have no sound scientific basis and, in fact, might be counterproductive. For example, it is not true that absolute (or perfect) pitch is an indicator of innate musical talent, that music is exclusively processed in the right brain hemisphere, that listening to a lot of Mozart will make you smarter in general, or that there is just one way of learning to perform from memory. These and other firmly held beliefs will be addressed in the appropriate chapters. In order to stay close to music making and listening, we had to leave out a wealth of fascinating information that lies on the boundaries of our main focus. We only touch on such topics as musical acoustics and the early stages of cog- nitive processing (psychoacoustics), music and computer technology (music and artificial intelligence), music theory, music therapy, music medicine, and vi Preface the cognitive neurosciences of music. Specialized publications exist in these emergent fields. We have included some of their findings, but for more detailed information we refer the interested reader to representative sources in those areas. There are many excellent publications available in the field of music psy- chology, ranging from more general coverage (e.g., Deutsch, 1999; Hodges, 1996) to specialized topics (e.g., Peretz & Zatorre, 2003, on cognitive neuro- science; Juslin & Sloboda, 2001, on emotion; Butler, 1992, and McAdams & Bigand, 1993, on perception; Parncutt & McPherson, 2001, Williamon, 2004, and Davidson, 2004, on performance; Hargreaves & North, 1997, on social psychology; Deliège & Sloboda, 1996, Colwell, 1992, and Colwell & Richard- son, 2002, on developmental psychology and music education). However, none of those edited books attempts a panoramic view of music making and listening based on cognitive theory in conjunction with the cultural context in which the music occurs. Perhaps the closest publication is John Sloboda’s (1985b) mono- graph The Musical Mind, to which this book could be considered a sequel. While being professional academics, each of us has a distinct specialization and musical competency. As an interdisciplinary team, we draw from our indi- vidual fields of expertise: psychology and administration in higher education (JAS), general and music education (RHW), and musicology and psychology (ACL). We are all avid music lovers who enjoy listening to and making music in different musical settings and “cultures.” Since our earlier and formative years as performance majors or music educators, we have moved our focus to research- ing and writing about musical topics from psychological, sociological, musico- logical, and educational standpoints. Together we decided on the overall plan of the book, as well as the content of the individual chapters. Although only one of us was responsible for each chapter, all of us had a hand in every chapter. Hence, this publication is a true three-author book. This book can be used in different ways. Initially written with the classroom situation in mind, its 12 chapters allow for use during an average semester. Fol- lowing an introduction in which we present some basic ideas and concepts (chapter 1), the remaining 11 chapters divide into three sections: Musical Learn- ing, Musical Skills, and Musical Roles. • The first part, on musical learning, contains chapters on musical develop- ment, motivation, and practice. Chapter 2 covers the controversial debate surrounding talent and the environment in fostering musical development, chapter 3 addresses motivational issues in music, and chapter 4 discusses practice as the key activity in skill building. • The second part, on musical skills, enumerates the skills that are part of music making, such as expressivity and interpretation (chapter 5), reading and remembering (chapter 6), improvising and composing (chapter 7), and managing performance anxiety (chapter 8). Preface vii • In the last part, on musical roles, we elaborate on the different roles that musical actors can assume as performers (chapter 9), teachers (chapter 10), listeners (chapter 11), and music users/consumers (chapter 12). All chapters are structured similarly and start with a main text, which in- cludes a brief chapter overview. The number of references used in each chapter has been intentionally limited. Interested readers can find many more by using appropriate search terms in relevant databases or by consulting the references mentioned under “Further Reading” as starting points. From our teaching expe- rience, we have gathered a number of tried-and-tested self study exercises or demonstrations that readers can do to experience (and write about) a central concept of the chapter. Also, knowing that our readers are likely to be most familiar with the Western art music tradition, we have tried to broaden the perspective by creating a box called the “Cross-cultural Perspective” (except in chapter 12). The idea is to show how cultural practices differ across time and space. Due to limits of space we have chosen one important and methodologi- cally typical key study per chapter, which is reported in some detail. Finally, we added a few study questions as starting points for discussions or term papers. Many of our students lack scientific knowledge and are not comfortable with technical terminology and formal scientific writing. Therefore, we have—like many other colleagues—developed ways of putting scientific findings across in ways that musicians are likely to understand and find relevant. This book is written in such a manner that everybody interested in music should understand. This book would not have reached its current form without the help of a number of people. We thank Anders Ercisson for having inspired all of us, Aaron Williamon, Wolfgang Auhagen, Lucy Green, two anonymous reviewers, and various others for their helpful comments on chapter drafts. We are thank- ful to the School of Music at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, for hosting us on their campus for a productive week during the fall of 2003. We also ac- knowledge the people at Oxford University Press, especially Linda Donnelly, for their patience and help with this project. Most of all, we would like to thank Maria S. Lehmann for her editorial supervision and help throughout. This page intentionally left blank Contents Part I Musical Learning 1 Science and Musical Skills 5 2 Development 25 3 Motivation 44 4 Practice 61 Part II Musical Skills 5 Expression and Interpretation 85 6 Reading or Listening and Remembering 107 7 Composition and Improvisation 127 8 Managing Performance Anxiety 145 Part III Musical Roles 9 The Performer 165 10 The Teacher 185 11 The Listener 205 12 The User 224 References 243 Index 265 This page intentionally left blank Psychology for Musicians This page intentionally left blank Part I Musical Learning This page intentionally left blank 1 Science and Musical Skills sychology should offer some points of reference for musicians in Ptheir activities as teachers or performers or in their everyday lives at home where they practice, rehearse, or play for their own entertainment. Be- fore delving into topics such as musical development, practice, performance anxiety, and various other aspects of the psychology of music, we must clarify basic concepts and ideas behind our approach to these topics.