The Interplay Between Chamber Musicians During Two Public Performances of the Same Piece: A Novel Methodology Using the Concept of “Flow”

The purpose of the study is to explore a new research methodology that will improve our understanding of “flow” through indicators of physiological and qualitative state. We examine indicators of “flow” experienced by musicians of a youth string quartet, two women (25, 29) and two men (23, 24). Electrocardiogram (ECG) equipment was used to record heart rate variability (HRV) data throughout the four movements in one and the same quartet performed during two concerts. Individual physiological indicators of flow were supplemented by assessments of group “state flow” (means from standardized questionnaires) and a group interview in which the musicians provided qualitative data. A matrix was constructed for the characterization of different kinds of demands in the written music in each one of the four movements for each one of the musicians. HRV derived from ECG data showed non-significant trends for group state flow across the eight musical episodes. Individual-level analysis showed that compared to the other players the first violin player had the highest mean heart rate and the lowest increase in high frequency (HF) power in HRV during this particular movement, particularly during the second concert. The qualitative data illustrated how an interplay of synchronized social interactions between this player and their colleagues during the musical performance was associated with a feeling of group state flow and served to support the first violinist. The case illustrates that the proposed mixed methodology drawing on physiological and qualitative data, has the potential to provide meaningful information about experiences of a flow state, both at individual and group levels. Applications in future research are possible.

[1]  Michael Yonas The Healthy Heart , 1921, The Hospital.

[2]  T. Theorell,et al.  New technique for assessment of self-perception in fibromyalgia patients: a pilot study with video-interpretation , 2004 .

[3]  G. Breithardt,et al.  Heart rate variability: standards of measurement, physiological interpretation and clinical use. Task Force of the European Society of Cardiology and the North American Society of Pacing and Electrophysiology. , 1996 .

[4]  P. Sleight,et al.  Physical activity influences heart rate variability and very-low-frequency components in Holter electrocardiograms. , 1996, Cardiovascular research.

[5]  Sheldon Cohen,et al.  Psychological stress and disease. , 2007, JAMA.

[6]  Conny H. Antoni,et al.  The relation of flow-experience and physiological arousal under stress - can u shape it? , 2014 .

[7]  Andrew J. Martin,et al.  Long and short measures of flow: the construct validity of the FSS-2, DFS-2, and new brief counterparts. , 2008, Journal of sport & exercise psychology.

[8]  Raymond MacDonald,et al.  Flow, identity, achievement, satisfaction and ownership during therapeutic songwriting experiences with university students and retirees , 2013 .

[9]  T. Theorell,et al.  Emotional Effects of Live and Recorded Music in Various Audiences and Listening Situations , 2019, Medicines.

[10]  Clifford J. Mallett,et al.  The Flow State Scale-2 and Dispositional Flow Scale-2: Examination of factorial validity and reliability for Japanese adults , 2008 .

[11]  D. Eckberg,et al.  Human vagal baroreflex sensitivity fluctuates widely and rhythmically at very low frequencies , 2005, The Journal of physiology.

[12]  R. Eklund,et al.  The Flow Scales Manual , 2004 .

[13]  Herbert Benson,et al.  The relaxation response: its subjective and objective historical precedents and physiology , 1983, Trends in Neurosciences.

[14]  Laura K. Cirelli,et al.  Interpersonal synchrony increases prosocial behavior in infants. , 2014, Developmental science.

[15]  R. Sawyer,et al.  Group creativity: musical performance and collaboration , 2006 .

[16]  E. Rydwik,et al.  Arts as an ecological method to enhance quality of work experience of healthcare staff: a phenomenological-hermeneutic study , 2017, International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being.

[17]  D. Bonaduce,et al.  Effects of Converting Enzyme Inhibition on Heart Period Variability in Patients With Acute Myocardial Infarction , 1994, Circulation.

[18]  D L Eckberg,et al.  Mechanisms underlying very-low-frequency RR-interval oscillations in humans. , 1998, Circulation.

[19]  Carolyn Siivola,et al.  Effect of Audience on Music Performance Anxiety , 1997 .

[20]  J. Herman,et al.  Neural regulation of endocrine and autonomic stress responses , 2009, Nature Reviews Neuroscience.

[21]  Laura Bishop Collaborative Musical Creativity: How Ensembles Coordinate Spontaneity , 2018, Front. Psychol..

[22]  J. Thayer,et al.  Prolonged Cardiac Effects of Momentary Assessed Stressful Events and Worry Episodes , 2010, Psychosomatic medicine.

[23]  W. Osika,et al.  You Can t Feel Healthier than Your Caregiver - The Ripple Effect of Trust and Empathy for Patients and Health Care Staff, Cultivated through Cultural Activities , 2017 .

[24]  R. Eklund,et al.  Assessing Flow in Physical Activity: The Flow State Scale-2 and Dispositional Flow Scale-2 , 2002 .

[25]  F. Ullén,et al.  Physiological correlates of the flow experience during computer game playing. , 2015, International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology.

[26]  Brian Bruya Effortless attention : a new perspective in the cognitive science of attention and action , 2010 .

[27]  D. Hoang FLOW: The Psychology of Optimal Experience , 2018 .

[28]  A. Norberg,et al.  A phenomenological hermeneutical method for researching lived experience. , 2004, Scandinavian journal of caring sciences.

[29]  W. Cannon,et al.  STRESSES AND STRAINS OF HOMEOSTASIS , 1935 .

[30]  Regina Vollmeyer,et al.  Understanding the psychophysiology of flow: A driving simulator experiment to investigate the relationship between flow and heart rate variability , 2015, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[31]  Edward A. Roth,et al.  The neurochemistry and social flow of singing: bonding and oxytocin , 2015, Front. Hum. Neurosci..

[32]  J. Fachner,et al.  “Telling me not to worry…” Hyperscanning and Neural Dynamics of Emotion Processing During Guided Imagery and Music , 2019, Front. Psychol..

[33]  K. Søgaard,et al.  Comparison of two systems for long-term heart rate variability monitoring in free-living conditions - a pilot study , 2011, Biomedical engineering online.

[34]  F. Ullén,et al.  The psychophysiology of flow during piano playing. , 2010, Emotion.

[35]  F. Ullén,et al.  Heart Rate Variability During Piano Playing : A Case Study of Three Professional Solo Pianists Playing a Self-Selected and a Difficult Prima Vista Piece , 2011 .

[36]  Tahmine Tozman,et al.  Experimental Paradigms to Investigate Flow-Experience and Its Psychophysiology: Inspired from Stress Theory and Research , 2016 .

[37]  A. Oláh,et al.  The Effect of Social Interaction on Flow Experience , 2017 .

[38]  Ben Saul,et al.  The reciprocal relationship between jazz musicians and audiences in live performances: A pilot qualitative study , 2012 .

[39]  Eun-Seok Cha,et al.  Translation of scales in cross-cultural research: issues and techniques. , 2007, Journal of advanced nursing.

[40]  U. Ekelund,et al.  Reliability and validity of the combined heart rate and movement sensor Actiheart , 2005, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[41]  E. Hart,et al.  Combined flow in musical jam sessions: A pilot qualitative study , 2015 .

[42]  S. Porges The polyvagal perspective , 2007, Biological Psychology.

[43]  Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi,et al.  Effortless attention in everyday life: A systematic phenomenology. , 2010 .

[44]  A. Oláh,et al.  A Cross-Sectional Survey Study About the Most Common Solitary and Social Flow Activities to Extend the Concept of Optimal Experience , 2015, Europe's journal of psychology.

[45]  F. Shaffer,et al.  A healthy heart is not a metronome: an integrative review of the heart's anatomy and heart rate variability , 2014, Front. Psychol..

[46]  W. Wrigley,et al.  The experience of the flow state in live music performance , 2013 .

[47]  L. O'grady The therapeutic potentials of creating and performing music with women in prison: a qualitative case study , 2009 .