Sloboda & Dobson
ICMPC 2012
How was it for you? Obtaining artist-directed feedback from audiences at live musical events. John Sloboda and Melissa Dobson. Guildhall School of Music & Drama, London John.sloboda@gsmd.ac.uk, Melissa.dobson@gsmd.ac.uk Paper presented to the 12th International Conference on Music Perception and Cognition, Thessaloniki, Greece, July 2012 Abstract (as submitted Dec 2011) Background: Musicians generally have rather limited means of obtaining direct and detailed feedback from their live audiences. This is often limited to applause and “the feel of the room�. Although many research studies collect more detailed evaluative responses from music listeners, this is often done without reference to the specific concerns or interests of the musicians involved. It is rare for the musicians themselves to be directly involved in the formulation of the research questions, or the review of the data obtained. Aim: This research project aims to develop and pilot a means for audiences to provide responses to questions which are of direct interest and importance to the musicians involved in live performance events. Specifically we wish to evaluate how such processes enhance (a) audience engagement, and (b) professional and artistic development of the musicians involved. Method: The research team has worked with several artistic teams in a process which involves (a) discovering artistically relevant questions which can be validly posed to audience members, (b) collaboratively devising appropriate means of collecting this data (e.g. questionnaire, post-performance discussion), (c) jointly reviewing the outcomes of the event, and the audience data, (d) obtaining reflective feedback from those involved regarding the value of being involved in the exercise. Results: We will illustrate the process with specific data from one or more live musical events which will have taken place between July 2011 and May 2012. This will include the world premiere of a composition whose inspiration was a traditional day of celebration in the composer’s home town, characterised by distinctive rituals involving folk-music and dance. The composer was interested to know if audience knowledge of the programmatic background to the composition was a significant factor in audience appreciation of the work. In this case, unexpected emergent features of the research experience yielded unanticipated benefits in terms of heightened audience attention to the piece being researched, and consequent affirmation experienced by the composer. Implications: Involvement of musicians in the design and implementation of research on audience response is a significant means of enhancing mutual understanding between musicians and audiences and of making research more directly relevant to practitioner concerns. Issues for discussion include the appropriate means of ensuring sufficient research rigour without distorting the artistic process.
Background: 1