Multidimensional analysis of interdependence in a string quartet

Abstract

Comunicació presentada al International Symposium on Performance Science (ISPS), celebrat a Viena (Àustria) els dies 28 a 31 d'agost de 2013.

In a musical ensemble such as a string quartet, the performers can influence each other’s actions in several aspects of the performance simultaneously. Based on a set of recorded string quartet exercises, we carried out a quantitative analysis of ensemble interdependence in four distinct dimensions of the performance: dynamics, intonation, tempo, and timbre. We investigated the fluctuations of interdependence across these four dimensions, and in relation to the exercise being performed. Our findings suggest that, although certain differences can be observed between the four dimensions, the most influential factor on ensemble interdependence is the musical task, shaped by the underlying score.

The work presented on this document has been partially supported by the EU-FP7 FET SIEMPRE project and an AGAUR research grant from Generalitat de Catalunya.