The Impact of Body Language Use of a Conductor on Musical Quality

Abstract

In this study, which points out the communication between the choir and conductor, the impact of body language movements of the conductor such as left hand, face, gestures and head on the quality of music in choir is aimed to be analyzed in terms of the fact that as a leader, the conductor, is the most important factor that affects the general music quality of the choir. The study carries an important role as it indicates what affective impacts there can be depending on how the conductor leads “Pulse”, “Measure Beat”, “Left Hand” and “Body Language” and whether this conductive variety has an impact on musical elements such as Note, Tone Quality / Timbre / Sound, Balance / Sound Stability, Intonation, Rhythm, Articulation / Diction, Vocals, Expression / Emotion, Dynamics, Breath, Synchronization/ Togetherness, Motivation in choir. During the experimental process of the study, a  polyphonic piece named “Evening Rise” has been performed by a study group consisted of 29 members who were conducted with the methods of “Pulse”, “Measure Beat”, “Left Hand” and “Body Language” by the choir conductor. Audial and imagery data records obtained from each conduction method have been converted to Mpeg-4 format and evaluated by 9 expert conductors by using musical sub-dimensions such as Note, Tone Quality, Balance, Intonation, Rhythm, Articulation, Expression, Dynamics, Breath, Synchronization and Motivation that appear in Choir Musical Quality Assessment Form. As an outcome of the research, it is observed that “Left Hand” and “Body Language” conduction methods affect motivation, expression, articulation and dynamics steps placed in Choir Musical Quality Assessment Form a lot and that “Pulse” conduction does not affect musical elements sufficiently and that as a consequence of conduction methods of “Measure Beat”, “Left Hand” and “Body Language”, choir musical quality has been affected to a large extend.