Expressive timing: Foundations of expressive timing control in music

Timing is a crucial aspect of meaningful musical communication. In order to achieve the intended musical expression, musicians need to control their movements such that time-critical musical structures can be adequately performed. In the past, foundations of timing have been based on cognitive theory. However, we believe that an embodied approach may offer new insights that are of fundamental importance to music research. In particular, we aim at studying how gestures (corporeal articulations) and timing may mutually entrain each other in view of meaningful musical communication. We will investigate the role of gestures in precise timing in musical expressions and study in more detail the relationship with musical intentions and expressions. We aim at defining a theoretical framework for expressive timing, which we will support with a unique methodology based on a performer informed analysis.

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