AIRS 6th Annual Meeting: 2014

Title: Gesture, Embodied Cognition, and Emotion: Comparing Hindustani Vocal Gharanas in
Performance
Authors: Hans Utter

Abstract

Introduction: Bilateral gesture in North Indian classical vocal music (khyal) has a complex
relationship with music structure and aesthetic intentions, and appears to augment emotional
expression and serve important pedagogical functions. Gesture has an important role in Indian
vocal training, especially in relation to processes of attention, cognition, and memory. In this
paper, I examine the multimodal interactions between voice production, emotional expression,
song text, and gesture through an audio/visual analysis of performers in three different vocal
traditions. I will examine distinctions between different vocal gharanas (schools) through both
gesture and related stylistic/aesthetic elements. The use the spatial visualization of sound based
on particular vowels in the dhrupad vocal genre will also be discussed as a possible influence
on movement.
Method: The methods employed consist of collecting ethnographic data through interviews and
audio/video recordings, participation in learning situations, and examining Indian theoretical
treatises on vocal music. The data is correlated with performance practices of the gharanas to
determine the relationships between aesthetics, vocal culture, and musical structure.
Results: While the use of gesture is not formally taught and can be idiosyncratic, performers
from specific vocal gharanas exhibit some common practices. However, between gharanas
gestures tend to emphasize the dominant aesthetic features particular to that gharana, and
correlate with distinct musical elements.
Discussion: For North Indian classical vocal music, the system of oral transmission and
individualized training in a particular gharana is evident in gesture, which developed through
the process of enculturation. My evidence shows that gesture is a component of multi-modal
processes of learning and expression, which supports the hypothesis of the embodied nature
emotional-cognitive processes.