Expressive gesture and non-verbal communication skills in popular music performance pedagogy

Within the field of music performance education, the majority of tuition focuses on the honing of technical ability; the importance of which should not be underestimated. Paradoxically, whilst the importance of expressivity is rarely questioned, very few (popular) musicians have received formal training on, or even an awareness of, the different elements which make a performance visually stimulating and engaging. \ud \ud Through an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, extracts of original video footage of rehearsals and live performance will be analysed using Delalande’s (1988) typology of different musical gestures, and then compared to an analysis of the musical output. A variety of different aspects, facets, and relationships involved in music performance with be discussed and, interviews with both students and professional practitioners provide additional context for the question which is at the heart of this research: How can the use of expressive gesture, and other non-verbal communication skills, be incorporated into popular music performance pedagogy