Embodied musical meaning-making and multimodal viewpoints in a trumpet master class

This paper analyzes how an instructor in a trumpet master class exploits multimodal viewpoints while addressing sound in verbal and/or visuospatial terms in order to conceptualize the interpretation of a piece of music. We show how musical meaning emerges as both an abstract and locally situated, embodied discursive activity, in which speech is connected with metaphorical hand gestures and the material world. Multimodality of musical meaning involves not only abstract gesture and speech about musical ideas, but also implies the concrete use of material objects and actions, such as the instrument, the (breathing) body of the trumpet player, as well as reference to the musical score. Viewpoint is a central issue in this conceptual process: both teacher and student constantly put themselves in the shoes of the performer, simultaneously abstracting over and embodying both their own and the other's body-in-music as they perform and both verbally and gesturally address past and future trumpet playing.