Expressive Timing in Music and Dance Interactions

Abstract

Abstract Timing is considered a core ingredient of human interaction in music and dance. This chapter approaches timing from an embodied and dynamic perspective. It starts by outlining a sensorimotor timing mechanism—complementing cognitive-based timing—rooted in the idea that time and timekeeping are phenomena that emerge from ongoing sensorimotor processes and interactions within our environment. Basically, sound and (dance) movement contain time-varying cues and patterns that may be used to regulate timing. Where this mechanism typically considers timing on shorter timescales (e.g. on the level of the musical beat), the authors express the need to further incorporate larger-scale temporal developments, like expressive arcs, tension bows, and expressive narratives. Within this framework of multiple interdependent timescales in music and dance interaction, the role of sensorimotor and dynamic prediction mechanisms is examined.