1 Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1060: 1–5 (2005). © 2005 New York Academy of Sciences. doi: 10.1196/annals.1360.052 Dimensions of Emotion in Expressive Musical Performance BRADLEY W. VINES, a,b CAROL L. KRUMHANSL, c MARCELO M. WANDERLEY, b IOANA DALCA, a AND DANIEL J. LEVITIN a,b a Psychology Department, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada b Faculty of Music and Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology (CIRMMT), McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada c Psychology Department, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, USA ABSTRACT: This paper explores the dimensions of emotion conveyed by music. Participants rated emotion terms after seeing and/or hearing recordings of clarinet performances that varied in expressive content. A factor analysis re- vealed four independent dimensions of emotion. Changes to the clarinetists’ ex- pressive intentions did not significantly affect emotions conveyed by sound. It was largely through the visual modality that expressive intentions influenced the experience for observers. KEYWORDS: crossmodal interactions; music cognition; emotion; performance BACKGROUND Multisensory Integration in Music Musical performance involves both auditory and visual communication between musicians and observers. Body movements and postures convey a person’s mental states and emotions. 1,2 Past research revealed that musicians’ physical gestures con- vey their expressive intentions more accurately than the musical sound, 3 and that seeing a musician has a significant impact on the temporal dynamics of the experi- ence for observers. 4 Additionally, music and dance can induce similar experiences of emotion and structural form. 5 Thus, the visual aspect of musical performance con- tributes information that is relevant to the audience’s emotional response. Address for correspondence: Bradley W. Vines, Harvard Department of Neurology, Palmer 127, West Campus, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, 330 Brookline Avenue, Boston, MA 02215. Voice: 617-632-8951; fax: 617-632-8920. bvines@bidmc.harvard.edu MUS052vin.fm Page 1 Thursday, November 24, 2005 1:38 PM