Modes of Communication

Between Members of a
String Quartet

Small Group Research

Volume 40 Number 2
April 2009 115-137
2009 Sage Publications
10.1177/1046496408329277
http://sgr.sagepub.com
hosted at
http://online.sagepub.com

Frederick A. Seddon
Michele Biasutti
University of Padova

This qualitative case study revealed the modes of communication employed

between members of a professional string quartet during rehearsal and performance. Six modes of communication and two levels of attunement were
revealed. The modes of communication were interpreted as verbal and nonverbal: instruction, cooperation, and collaboration. The levels of attunement
were interpreted as sympathetic and empathetic. Results indicated that the
members of the string quartet were able to become empathetically attuned
and produce spontaneous musical variations during performance. These
spontaneous musical variations were interpreted as examples of empathetic
creativity. Participants confirmed researcher interpretations of the six modes
of communication, sympathetic and empathic attunement, and empathetic
creativity during member checks. The authors propose that spontaneous
musical variations are examples of empathetic creativity. The findings of the
current qualitative case study support the findings of a previous study conducted with a jazz sextet (Seddon, 2005). Implications of the findings of the
current study for small group communication and creativity are discussed.
Keywords: collaboration; creativity; communication; attunement; empathy

rior research investigating group creativity has tended to focus on

group members individual characteristics without taking into consideration the interaction between those individuals (Salazar, 2002; Sunwolf,
2002). Even when member interaction is considered, prior research into
creativity and communication in groups has tended to employ unrealistic or
inappropriate tasks in laboratory situations ignoring natural settings for

Authors Note: Please address correspondence Dr. Frederick A. Seddon, Dipartimento di

Scienze dellEducazione, Via Beato Pellegrino, 28 - 35137 Padova, Italy; e-mail: frederick.
seddon@unipd.it
115

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116 Small Group Research

investigation (Jarboe, 1999). Research conducted in natural settings provides

an opportunity to reveal a more holistic view of group communication making it a more meaningful contributor to research on group creativity that
moves beyond issues merely related to divergent thinking and ideation
strategies (Jarboe, 1999).
When musicians play together in small groups (e.g., string quartets and jazz
groups), they have at their disposal a unique form of communication: musical
communication. The string quartet has been the focus of attention for many
music psychology researchers examining issues of musicians individual roles,
leadership, and social collaboration (Blum, 1986; Butterworth, 1990; Davidson
& Good, 2002; King, 2006; Murnighan & Conlon, 1991; Rounds, 1999;
Tovstiga, Odenthal, & Goerner, 2005; Young & Colman, 1979). With the
exception of Davidson and Good (2002), none of the previous studies of string
quartets examined in any detail musical communication. Davidson and Good
(2002) investigated sociocultural issues and moment-by-moment social and
musical communication between members of a student string quartet. They
concluded that the student musicians limited experience working together
restricted their exchanges to technical and individual concerns rather than creative issues and called for further research with professional musicians.
Jazz musicians often describe how they listen to recordings they have
made and hear themselves playing phrases they have never previously practiced but which have emerged as a result of what other musicians were
playing at the time. These unpracticed phrases may be regarded as spontaneous musical utterances (Davidson & Good, 2002; Seddon, 2005), which
can emerge from the interplay of stocks of musical knowledge when musicians are empathetically attuned (Seddon, 2005). For classical musicians in
a string quartet, spontaneous musical utterances should be regarded as
spontaneous musical variations as classical musicians must play accurately
the pitch of the notes indicated in the musical score but still have the opportunity to employ a wide variety of musical interpretations (Cohen, 2005).
The research reported in the current study addresses issues of group
communication and creativity between members of a professional string
quartet undertaken within a theoretical framework based on the concept of
empathetic creativity (Seddon, 2005), which was derived from the concept
of empathetic intelligence (Arnold, 2004).

Review of the Literature

Research focusing on individual, personal characteristics ignores how communication between group members can foster environments that facilitate the

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 117

emergence of group creativity. Researchers have called for further research into
this phenomenon (Firestien, 1990; Jarboe, 1999; Salazar, 2002; Sunwolf,
2002). For example, group synergy and its underlying processes require clarification through theories and models revealing group communication and its
associations with group creativity (Salazar, 2002). Group synergy suggests that
a group can collectively generate more creative ideas than the individuals within
a group (Fabian, 1990). When viewing group creativity from a communication
perspective, the focus is on the sending and receiving of messages and how such
exchanges can stimulate and extend creative ideas (Sunwolf, 2002). The sending and receiving of messages between group members takes place in a fluctuating social environment, which is influenced by the organization of the group
and the synergy between its individuals (Salazar, 2002; Sunwolf, 2002). This
means that the social system in which the group operates is an important dimension when researching group communication and creativity.
Self-organizing systems theory can have relevance for understanding the
role of communication during group creativity. Social systems may be examined from the sciences of complexity perspective, which theorists have more
recently applied to understanding system behaviour (Cohen, 1999). A small
group may be regarded as a system consisting of interdependent parts that
form a coherent whole. A system can be self-organizing and can experience
a perturbation or disruption, which can cause it to move away from equilibrium. This perturbation may at first make the system appear chaotic but
through repetition, over time, a new order is established in the system. The
system can be said to have organized itself from chaos into a new order. Selforganization is dynamic and nonlinear, and the point at which the system
encounters the perturbation is called the bifurcation point. A system that
experiences multiple bifurcation points will find it increasingly difficult to
return to equilibrium and could be described as being in a chaotic state. A
system can exist somewhere between equilibrium and chaos and while in this
state may be described as functioning on the edge of chaos. Working on the
edge of chaos increases the sense of dynamism between the members of the
system, and the stronger the relationships between the members of the system, the greater potential for change affecting it (Lewin, 1992). It is at a
certain point of dynamism, somewhere between stability and the edge of
chaos, that the potential for enhanced group creativity is optimized (Salazar,
2002). This dynamism manifests itself through the communication that takes
place between the systems members. A system communicating in this way
can be regarded as a complex adaptive system (Sherman & Schultz, 1998)
and its communication processes can be said to have the capacity for spontaneity within a bounded instability (Stacey, 1996). Adopting a complexity
approach to group creativity through concepts of complexity, stability, and

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118 Small Group Research

chaos may facilitate the generation of group creativity assessment instruments where group creativity is defined as the following: Creativity is an
emergent group phenomenon; it emerges from how group members communicate with one another . . . various environmental, organisational, group and
person factors may set the stage for its emergence (Salazar, 2002, p. 181).
In summary, a small group in a stable state, or at equilibrium, will be less
likely to be creative than a group moved far from equilibrium. Furthermore,
a cascade of bifurcation acting on a group produces a complex state of
dynamic behaviour, which can provide the conditions for the emergence of
creativity (Salazar, 2002).
Much of the prior research into small group creativity and communication has tended to focus on verbal communication between group members.
This focus on verbal communication is potentially limiting for group
research, as it tends to ignore the importance of nonverbal communication
and associated affective sensitivities such as empathy. Highly creative individuals tend to be more empathetic than less creative individuals. They
display an affective sensitivity through empathy that can be experienced by
others in the same environment (Carlozzi, Bull, Eells, & Hurlburt, 1995).
Arnold (2003, 2004) presents an argument for the importance of empathy
in communication processes in her work on empathetic intelligence.

Empathetic Intelligence: The Phenomenon

of Intersubjective Engagement
Arnold (2003, 2004) argues a case for empathetic intelligence from a pedagogical perspective. She maintains that effective learning can take place when
an educator creates a dynamic between thinking and feeling and that empathetic intelligence articulates aspects of the intersubjective and intrasubjective
(Arnold, 2003, 2004). It is this dynamic between thinking and feeling that differentiates empathetic intelligence from emotional intelligence. Emotional
intelligence is a necessary part of empathetic intelligence, but there are two key
differences between them. Empathetic intelligence relies on the dynamic
between cognitive and emotional intelligence, and empathetic intelligence has
an ethical intention revealed in a creative or beneficial outcome (Arnold, 2004).
Empathetic intelligence is grounded in personal histories and how they play a
formative role in the development of personal, interpersonal, and professional
life. It is a blend of theory, reflective practice, and idiosyncratic experience.
According to Arnold (2003), empathy is achieved by understanding the
thoughts and feelings of self and others through attunement, decentring, and

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 119

introspection engaging in an act of thoughtful, heartfelt imagination (p. 15).

Attunement prepares individuals for exploration, risk taking, concentration, and
rapport. In pedagogy, mirroring can be verbal (e.g., echoing or elaborating
words used in an exchange). Decentring serves to distinguish between sympathy and empathy because sympathy suggests we share common experiences,
but empathy encourages us to decenter and see things from anothers point of
view, experiencing layers of thought and feeling beyond what might be immediately accessible. Introspection gives perspective to ones experiences in terms
of evaluating the importance and lasting significance of those experiences.
Empathy is a complex condition requiring objectivity, self-understanding, and
complex cognitive and affective functioning. Empathetic intelligence in teaching and learning requires collaborating individuals to interact empathetically
through mirroring and attunement creating a preparedness for exploration, risk
taking, concentration, and rapport taking into account shifts in intrasubjective
and intersubjective experiences resulting in a creative act.
Seddon (2005) proposed a theory of empathetic creativity derived from
Arnolds theory of empathetic intelligence, supported by empirical evidence from a research study investigating group creativity that emerged
during various modes of communication between the musicians in a jazz
sextet when rehearsing and performing.

Empathetic Creativity: The Phenomenon of

Intersubjective Creativity
The pedagogically orientated intersubjective engagement proposed by
Arnold (2003, 2004) resonates with musicians intersubjective creativity.
Musicians engage in a mutual creative learning experience when they rehearse
and perform together. They have to be able to trust the musical abilities of the
other ensemble players during performance, especially if they are taking
musical risks. Listening and responding to other musicians produces a collaborative and intersubjectively generated performance. The performance
emerges out of the actions of everyone working together (Sawyer, 2006).
Empathetic musicians are sensitive to attunement to signal attention and mirroring to affirm and modulate musical responses. Empathetic attunement
between musicians goes beyond mere concentration and aesthetically pleasing self-absorption to cognitive distancing coupled with self-engagement and
aesthetic judgment. Musical attunement can occur at both a sympathetic and
empathetic level. At a sympathetic level of attunement, there is musical
cohesion. To reach empathetic attunement, musicians must decenter and see

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120 Small Group Research

things from other musicians musical points of view. The process of decentring facilitates empathetic attunement, which can lead to musicians thinking
of and feeling phrases beyond what had been immediately accessible to
them. During performance, a distinction may be drawn between the interplay of stocks of musical knowledge and truly spontaneous musical variations (Davidson & Good, 2002; Sawyer, 2006; Seddon, 2005). These
spontaneous musical variations rely on the performance evolving to an
empathetic mode of communication requiring empathetic attunement
between the musicians. It is proposed that empathetic attunement is a prerequisite for the emergence of spontaneous musical variations, which exemplify empathetic creativity.

Research Questions
The current study examines the relationship between communication
and creativity revealed by the members of a string quartet in the natural
setting of rehearsals for, and the performance of, a musical concert. The
study is a qualitative case study based on methodology established in a
previous study that investigated modes of communication between members of a jazz sextet (Seddon, 2005). The aim of the study is to reveal the
moment-by-moment verbal and nonverbal communication between the
members of a string quartet during rehearsal and performance. Although
exploratory in nature, the following general research questions were
addressed:
RQ 1: What are the communication processes employed between members of
this string quartet during rehearsal and performance?
RQ 2: How does group member communication impact on the rehearsal
process and the eventual performance?

Method
Participants
The Paul Klee String Quartet is an international, professional string
quartet based in Venice, Italy (www.quartettopaulklee.it). The quartet was
formed in 1990, and since formation, there have been two changes in personnel. The current second violinist and cellist were recruited in 2002 after
which there have been no further changes. The quartet is unusual in that
they adopt the German seating position (i.e., from left to right, 1st violin,
viola, cello, and 2nd violin) rather than the conventional seating position

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 121

(i.e., from left to right, 1st violin, 2nd violin, viola, and cello). All the players are male: Alessandro Fagiuoli (1st violin), Stefano Antonello (2nd violin), Andrea Amendola (viola), and Luca Paccagnella (cello). The average
age of the musicians is 43 years. All the players graduated from Italian
conservatories of music and studied in postgraduate masters classes in
various parts of the world. Currently, all the players are also involved with
instrumental tuition and/or teaching chamber music at conservatory level.
The quartet performs internationally in prestigious venues such as The
Grande Teatro, La Fenice in Venice and other important international venues in the major cities of Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and the United
States (including New York). Their performances have been featured in
radio broadcasts, and their discography includes recordings of pieces ranging from Baroque to Contemporary music. The quartet has had a number of
pieces composed specifically for them.

Procedure
The musicians invited the researchers to videotape three rehearsals prior
to the concert, a preconcert rehearsal, which took place immediately before
the performance, and the concert performance. The rehearsals followed the
usual pattern of rehearsal employed by this string quartet when preparing for
a concert. The concert was performed on May 29, 2005 in the Sala dei
Giganti al Liviano in Padova. The program consisted of (a) J. S. Bach,
Contrapunctus 1, 2 & 3, Da LArte della Fuga BWV 1080; (b) Philip
Glass, String Quartet n 2 Company Movements I, II, III & IV; (c) Philip
Glass, String Quartet n 4 Buczak Movements I, II & III.; and (d) J. S. Bach,
Contrapunctus 4 & 6, Da LArte della Fuga BWV 1080.
Memorization of the music was not specifically employed. However, the
Bach pieces and the Glass No. 2 had been performed at previous concerts,
thus the musicians were very familiar with the music. This meant that the
Bach pieces and the Glass No. 2 required less reference to the score during
rehearsal and performance than the Glass No. 4, which was the only piece
they learned specifically for this concert during the rehearsals.

Data
Videotape data were recorded at all four rehearsals and the concert and
consisted of rehearsal 1 (50 minutes), rehearsal 2 (75 minutes), rehearsal 3
(117 minutes), preconcert rehearsal (33 minutes), and concert (60 minutes).

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122 Small Group Research

Analysis
The procedures employed for analyzing the video data collected during
the rehearsals and concert were informed by the sequence of procedures
employed in previous studies (Davidson & Good, 2002; King, 2006;
Seddon, 2005). The qualitative analysis procedures employed in the current
study allowed the modes of communication to emerge from the data. This
combination of procedures resulted in a six-stage analysis.
First, the two authors (both music psychologists and trained musicians)
together observed all the videotaped material once through to establish the
nature of the material.
Second, all rehearsal videotapes were transcribed documenting the verbal discourse between the participants during rehearsal, and these transcripts were subjected to a thematic analysis. This thematic analysis was
based on grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) and employed the constant comparative method, which allowed the verbal categories to emerge
from the data through a process of inductive reasoning (Glaser & Strauss,
1967; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Constant comparative method involves a
five-stage process: (a) immersion, (b) categorization, (c) phenomenological
reduction, (d) triangulation, and (e) interpretation (McLeod, 1994).
Immersion involved repeated viewing of the transcribed verbal material to
acquire a high level of familiarity with the raw data. Categorization involved
the identification and categorization of verbal units of analysis that emerged
from the data (e.g., instructions, discussion of organization, technique, interpretation, dynamics, bowing, tempo, and phrasing). Phenomenological reduction involved grouping these verbal units of analysis into themes according to
a rule of inclusion, which was constructed through a propositional statement
grounded in the verbal units of analysis already assigned to the categories.
Each verbal unit of analysis had to comply with the rule of inclusion for a
theme to be included in that theme. When a verbal unit of analysis did not
comply with the rule of inclusion for existing themes, a new theme was created with its own rule of inclusion defined by a new propositional statement.
Three verbal communication themes emerged during this process, which at
this stage were labeled A, B, and C (see the appendix). Triangulation of these
verbal communications was addressed concurrently with the nonverbal communications through the process known as member checks where examples
of verbal and nonverbal communication and researcher interpretations of
these communications were presented to the participant musicians for their
comments (Brown & Gilligan, 1992; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Punch, 1998;
Seddon, 2005).

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 123

Rehearsal and performance videotapes were repeatedly viewed to allow

categories of nonverbal communication to emerge from the raw data. The
analysis of the nonverbal communication followed the procedures employed
in the analysis of the verbal communication described above. The process
was an adaptation of the constant comparative method for use with nonverbal communication first employed in a previous study investigating composition strategies (Seddon & ONeill, 2003) and communication between
jazz musicians (Seddon, 2005). Immersion involved repeated viewing of
the videotaped material to acquire a high level of familiarity with the raw
data. Categorization involved the identification and categorization of nonverbal units of analysis that emerged from the data (e.g., aural demonstration, body language, facial expression, eye contact, gesticulations, and
musical cues). Phenomenological reduction repeated the process previously
described for the verbal communication. Three nonverbal communication
themes emerged during this process, which at this stage were labeled D, E,
and F, (see appendix). Triangulation of these nonverbal communications
was addressed concurrently with the verbal communications through the
process known as member checks where examples of verbal and nonverbal
communication and researcher interpretations of these communications
were presented to the participant musicians for their comments (Brown &
Gilligan, 1992; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Punch, 1998; Seddon, 2005).
Discussions between both researchers produced agreement on the interpretation of the themes A through F. The themes in the current study were
subsequently interpreted as verbal instruction, verbal cooperation, and verbal
collaboration and nonverbal instruction, nonverbal cooperation, and nonverbal collaboration. Together, both authors revisited the raw data to ensure that
all communications between the members of the string quartet were attributed to the modes of communication established in the current study.

Results and Interpretation

Hoogsteder, Maier, and Elbers (1998) in a study investigating interaction
during joint problem solving describe a mode of interaction as a communicative interaction that provides a framework that gives meaning to the participants activities. As each of the six types of communication displayed by the
participants in the current study was linked to a particular activity instruction,
cooperation, and collaborationthe different types of communication were
interpreted as modes of communication. Analysis of the videotaped rehearsals
and performance revealed six modes of communication between the members

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124 Small Group Research

of the string quartet that were directly related to musical aspects of rehearsal
and performance. These modes of communication formed two main categories,
verbal and nonverbal, each containing three distinct modes of communication
that were subsequently interpreted as instruction, cooperation, and collaboration (see Table 1). Two of the modes of communicationcooperative verbal and
cooperative nonverbalwere revealed to be related to activities facilitating
cohesive performance of the music. Another two of the modescollaborative
verbal and collaborative nonverbalwere revealed to be related to activities
facilitating creative developments in the interpretation of the music. The modes
of communication related to cohesive performance were interpreted as being of
a lower order than those related to interpretation of the music. Underwood and
Underwood (1999) support this interpretation of the modes as they make a
hierarchical distinction between cooperative modes and collaborative modes.
Generally speaking, cooperative modes are associated with lower level cohesive processes, and collaborative modes are associated with higher level creative processes. A further hierarchical distinction was made between modes of
communication in relation to levels of attunement between the participants.
Sympathetic attunement was regarded as a lower order level of attunement than
empathetic attunement (Arnold, 2003, 2004; Seddon, 2005). Evaluation of the
performances produced was based on researcher judgements of the production
of spontaneous musical variations, which are examples of empathetic creativity
as distinct from adherence to stylistic convention (Seddon, 2005). Although it
was possible to identify six distinctly different modes of communication, the
musicians seldom used these modes separately. Rather, they often employed
them simultaneously. For example, the musicians often illustrated verbal instruction, cooperation, and collaboration with their nonverbal counterparts. These
nonverbal illustrations remain in the verbal examples below to remain faithful to
the original verbal transcripts, but during analysis, the nonverbal illustrations
would be regarded separately as nonverbal modes of communication.

Verbal Instruction
A verbal communication was interpreted as instructional when a member of the group gave another member specific verbal instructions on when
to start playing and members verified notes in the score with each other or
instructed each other how a section of the piece should be performed. These
communications did not require any discussion. For example, the 1st violinist clearly instructs the other members of the quartet to begin playing at
bar 22 from the second time bar with Lets go from bar 22 the second
time. In another example, the violist and 1st violinist ask the cellist for
verification of the key at a certain point in the score:

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Table 1
Modes of Communication
Mode of
Communication

Verbal

Nonverbal

Instruction
Musicians are instructed when to
Musicians are instructed through
start playing. Notes in the score music notation or aural
are verified, and instruction on demonstration.
how to play certain sections of
the piece is given.
Cooperation
Musicians discuss and plan the
Musicians achieve sympathetic
organization of the piece to attunement producing a cohesive
achieve a cohesive performance performance employing body
and address technical issues language, facial expression, eye
(e.g., bowing). contact, musical cues, and
gesticulation.
Collaboration Musicians collaborate to evaluate
Musicians achieve empathetic
performance and discuss remedial attunement and take creative
action if required in the music to risks, which can result in
develop interpretation and/or style spontaneous musical variations.
of the piece. When they do, this signals
empathetic creativity.

Cellist: Bar 32?

Violist: Is it minor?
Cellist: I have A flat major [singing a fragment]. And then D major [singing
a fragment].
1st violinist: Is it correct?
Cellist: A flat major Bar 33, 34.

As a third example, the cellist instructs the violist to play a section without
crescendo. You try it without the crescendo, like . . . even. Verbal instruction
emerged mainly when the group were beginning rehearsal of a piece and was
distinguished by an absence of discussion between the musicians.

Verbal Cooperation
A verbal communication was interpreted as cooperative when discussion
between the musicians regarding possible organizational or technical
changes (e.g., repeats or bowing) took place. These organizational changes
to the piece were agreed to enable the musicians to cooperate to achieve a
cohesive performance by agreeing on the basic form and technical aspects

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126 Small Group Research

of the piece beforehand. For example, a discussion regarding the bowing of

a certain section of the piece takes place between the 2nd violinist and the
violist.
2nd violinist: Yes, if we dont stress this one; it works.
Violist: Excuse me Stefano, I dont remember, at bar 9, dont you have
maybe . . . I mean, I do [sings his part] . . . at that point the bowing is
correct, only at the end?
2nd violinist: The only thing is that this hasnt to be stressed too much [sings
what he, the violist, should play].

Verbal cooperation emerged when musical communication was suspended. It provided a verbal medium for the musicians to discuss, clarify,
evaluate, and adapt organizational issues or technical problems that did not
directly involve creative issues (e.g., bowing, whether or not to observe
repeated sections).

Verbal Collaboration
A verbal communication was interpreted as collaborative when discussion
regarding possible creative changes took place. During verbal collaboration,
changes in interpretation were discussed, developed, and implemented following group evaluation of both the piece and the musicians individual and
combined performances. For example, an evaluation of a section of the piece
is made and discussion regarding the interpretation takes place.
Violist: Take care that it is not too much at bar 17 [singing demonstration]
but Im not sure of that.
Violist: As you were saying before, playing the downward slurs? Perhaps it
is true? I exaggerated.
Cellist: Usually, when it is a bridge passage, it is better if you slur downwards. After, you can do whatever you want. It could happen in many
places of the piece; it is never regular, but it is a change of accent and you
must not change it.

Verbal collaboration also emerged when musical communication was

suspended. It involved the verbal expression of a musicians creative preferences (e.g., issues of interpretation such as phrasing, dynamics, and tempo),
which gave a sense of the creative development of the piece belonging to
the group rather than the individual.

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Nonverbal Instruction
A nonverbal communication was interpreted as instructional when
(a) the musicians focused on reading the music notation to the extent that it
could be argued that the notation was instructing them on what to play and
(b) when there was a musical dialogue consisting mainly of one or more of
the musicians demonstrating for another how a particular section of the
piece should sound by playing it on an instrument or vocalizing it. For
example, the members of the quartet were observed focusing intently on
reading the notation. Essentially, in this mode of communication, often
found in the early stages of rehearsing a new piece, the notation instructs
the musicians playing. As another example, the1st violinist and cellist
provided an aural demonstration to the viola player demonstrating how his
part should be played.

Sympathetic and Empathetic Attunement

The main differences between nonverbal cooperative and collaborative
modes of communication lie in the level of attunement (sympathetic or
empathetic), required between the musicians and the focus of their communication (cohesion or interpretation). Nonverbal cooperative modes are
related to sympathetic levels of attunement and group cohesive issues,
whereas nonverbal collaborative modes are related to empathetic levels of
attunement and group creative issues as exemplified through visual and
musical communication between the musicians. Researcher judgments of
sympathetic versus empathetic attunement were made based on comparisons of observed participant communication, both visual and musical,
produced during videotaped observation sessions.
When sympathetically attuned, the musicians were perceived to be
drawing on their musical knowledge base playing without taking risks or
challenging their individual or collective creativity.
Sympathetic attunement was visually evident in expressions of relative disinterest (e.g., no smiles, affirmative nods, or energetic body movements).
Sympathetic attunement was musically evident in comparatively predictable
performance providing musical cohesion without creative risk through adhering to previously rehearsed interpretations.
When empathetically attuned, the musicians seemed to respond to each
other in an atmosphere of risk taking and challenge, which extended their
joint creativity. They took risks with musical phrasing, timing, and dynamics in that they challenged each others musical creativity.

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128 Small Group Research

Empathetic attunement was visually evident in expressions of interest

(e.g., smiles, collective affirmative nodding, and animated body movements). Empathetic attunement was musically evident in the production of
a more animated performance of the piece. On occasion, this more animated, risk-taking performance could result in the production of unpredictable musical variations to interpretation when participants engaged each
other in challenging musical interaction. Researcher interpretation indicated that these responses went beyond cohesive modes of communication
to creative modes of communication.

Nonverbal Cooperation
Nonverbal communication was interpreted as cooperative when the
musicians became sympathetically attuned displaying nonverbal communication (e.g., body language, facial expression, eye contact, musical cues,
and gesticulations). This mode of communication facilitated a cohesive
performance and at times contained sympathetically attuned musical cues
that focused on cohesive issues (e.g., staying in time and generally playing
together). When cohesive performance became problematic, playing would
cease and verbal communication would address these problems. Depending
on the nature of the problem this would involve either verbal cooperation
or verbal collaboration.

Nonverbal Collaboration
A nonverbal communication was interpreted as collaborative when communication was conveyed directly through musical interaction that focused
on creative exchanges. This nonverbal collaborative form of interactive,
creative musical communication required empathetic attunement between
the musicians to occur. In this mode of communication, the music itself acts
to communicate along with body language, which tends to be more exaggerated expressing enjoyment and positive evaluation of their combined
playing. When this phenomenon occurs, it provides the vehicle for empathetic creativity to emerge, which, when it does, is exemplified by spontaneous musical variations.

Empathetic Creativity
Empathetic creativity was interpreted to have emerged when the string
quartet was empathetically attuned, and a novel spontaneous musical variation was judged to have been produced. Although, theoretically, empathetic

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 129

creativity could emerge at any time we propose that it is more likely to

emerge during performance than rehearsal. Support for this proposal can be
found in Davidson and Good (2002) where the researchers argue that during
rehearsal musicians seek to coordinate their timing and expression and during
performance they seek spontaneous variations.

Member Checks
To provide validation of researcher interpretations of the six modes of
communication, sympathetic and empathetic attunement, and empathetic
creativity, participants were individually shown video clip examples of
these concepts and asked to review and critique the research of which they
were the focus. This procedure is known as member checks where participants are asked to tell researchers if they have accurately described their
experience and produced a recognizable reality (Brown & Gilligan, 1992;
Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Punch, 1998; Seddon, 2005).
Following the analysis of the video data, the researchers subsequently
met with each of the participants individually to conduct the member
checks procedure. During these sessions, the six modes of communication,
relationships with sympathetic and empathetic attunement, and the concept
of empathetic creativity were explained to the participants. The researchers
used a script to ensure explanations were constant for each participant.
Multiple examples of the six modes of communication, sympathetic and
empathetic attunement, and two examples of empathetic creativity from the
video data were recorded to DVD. These recordings were played to the
participants and they were asked (a) if they agreed with the interpretations
made by the researchers and (b) if they had any further comments they
would like to make about any aspect of the research. The member checks
procedures were recorded to audiotape and transcribed for later analysis.
All members of the string quartet individually concurred with and confirmed researcher interpretations of the six modes of communication, concepts of sympathetic and empathetic attunement, and empathetic creativity.
Examples of participants further responses to researcher interpretations are
presented below.
Verbal Instruction

During the instruction phase, we verify technical issues that do not need
discussing from an aesthetic point of view, because we have to respect the
score. This is a very important phase because there could be a printing error.

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130 Small Group Research

We also verify basic technical elements such as staccato and slurs, which are
not issues of interpretation but the composers instructions. (1st violinist)

Verbal Cooperation

It is the phase in which some friction can arise between members, because
the technical problem of bowing is pretty individual, subjective, and expressing his own vision, which could be different than the others vision . . . we
have to arrive at a compromise. (2nd violinist)
It is really evident that the discussion is heated, animated where the musicians can confront, bring their experiences and consequently before deciding
anything we confront each other. (cellist)

Verbal Collaboration

This is an essential step of a superior level. This is the moment in which you
detach from what youve heard [commercial recordings of the piece] . . . this
is the moment in which you free yourself from what you know and you are
looking for your own [interpretation]. (violist)
Here is entering something more important, something which characterizes
the string quartet, the interpretationit places the quartet in a certain situation. (cellist)
It is the moment in which the ideas of the individuals become common ideas
of the quartet. (violist)

Nonverbal Instruction

The Glass quartet it is not in the Classical repertoire . . . and then a piece
that you are studying for the first time, which is not of [your] repertoire,
there is always attention for understanding the structure, verifying and to be
sure that we are doing exactly what is required by the score. (1st violinist)
Sometimes it is more efficient to demonstrate to the others by playing
how a passage should be played more than explaining it in words. (1st
violinist)

Nonverbal Cooperation

We are still worried about keeping together, of performing all together.

(2nd violinist)
There is still no flow state; that will comethis is a phase in which the
focal points are difficult; we are still not fluid. (violist)

Nonverbal Collaboration

We are certainly in collaboration. Also, small variations like sonorities

produced, we dont need to say anything because if one component [of the
string quartet] is proposing them [sonorities] all the quartet follows and
then there is this empathetic phase. (1st violinist)

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 131

Sympathetic Attunement

There is still a lot of attention paid to the score but we start to see some
gesture, some breathing. (1st violinist)

Empathetic Attunement

From this moment, during which the artists [musicians] are absolutely
concerned with creating a certain magic which for me is all linked with
the sound. At this point the quartet are not any more four individuals with
their own individualities, their own personalities, their own knowledge
but it is only a unique energy. (cellist)
In this condition [empathetic attunement], the risks are high . . . you are
aware that there is a risk, but it is a risk that gives great joy because in that
moment you are really making music. (cellist)

Empathetic Creativity

It is sufficient that one of the group is performing a note softer so the other
members understand his intentions, and they follow him because some
different things are coming out, and many times are more interesting than
what we did during the rehearsal. (2ndviolinist)
If there is no [empathetic creativity], then everything is even. What
changes are the dynamics also the tempi which are faster [for allegros] or
slower [for adagios]. You dont worry if it doesnt happen during the
rehearsals because . . . it costs effort and psychophysical stress and during
the rehearsal, it is not necessary to do that because we know that all four
of us will do that [during the concert]. (violist)
Sometimes something happens that we did not rehearse at any time. (violist)
For me the quartet is the most organically united unit that you can think
of because a quartet must breathe as one performer. (1st violinist)

Although the member checks procedure provided a useful validation

tool, there is a potential for researcher bias to influence the procedure. For
example, when the researcher describes the interpretations made, the
participant(s) may be influenced by the researcher and may find it difficult
to challenge the researchers interpretation. The researchers were aware of
this potential bias and made every effort to describe their interpretations
objectively and allow the musicians every opportunity for disagreement and
discussion. Moreover, the musicians were articulate adults with many years
experience and very strong professional opinions about their involvement
with music and were confident in voicing those opinions. In addition to
this, a good rapport was developed between the participant musicians and
the researchers over a period of several months, which facilitated the opportunity for the musicians to challenge researcher interpretations of the

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132 Small Group Research

modes of communication. A further concern with the process was that the
musicians adopted some of the research terminology in their responses during the member checks procedure. This could also be regarded an example
of conforming to researcher expectations. However, we believe the member
checks procedure facilitated a common understanding of the modes of communication between researchers and musicians. Also, the fact that the musicians adopted the research terminology associated with the modes of
communication provided some evidence that, for them to effectively discuss their communication processes, the musicians needed to draw on this
specific vocabulary. These terms, directly related to the theoretical concept
of empathetic creativity, provided the musicians with a vocabulary that was
previously unavailable to them and is an important outcome of the current
research.

Discussion
The results of the current case study reveal qualitative information about
this particular string quartet within its holistic, contextual, and natural setting. More specifically, it reveals the modes of communication employed
by the musicians in this professional string quartet and how those modes of
communication impacted on creative outcomes during rehearsal and performance for one of their concerts. When communicating employing verbal
instruction, the musicians focused on the verification of notes or dynamic
instructions in the written score. When communicating employing verbal
cooperation, democratic discussion was employed to resolve noncreative
issues. When communicating employing verbal collaboration, the musicians democratically developed creative issues. When communicating
employing nonverbal instruction, quartet members gave aural demonstrations using their voices or instruments to indicate how something in the
piece should be played. When communicating employing nonverbal cooperation, the musicians became sympathetically attuned, which facilitated
cohesive performances. When communicating employing nonverbal collaboration, the musicians became empathetically attuned, which facilitated
the emergence of more creative outcomes in the performances.
The six modes of communication revealed in the current study have been
individually characterized but were seldom used separately. For example, during discussions there were times when the technical resolution of bowing
issues was also related to creative issues of musical interpretation, which indicated they were moving between verbal cooperative to collaborative modes.

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 133

Moreover, although a general progression from instructional to cooperative to

collaborative modes of communication was observed, the musicians at times
moved back and forth between cooperative or collaborative modes of communication dependent on whether or not the issue they were considering was
a cohesive or creative one.
Results also revealed that the musicians were able to collectively create
spontaneous musical variations while empathetically attuned during the
concert performance. The emergence of spontaneous musical variations
during performance supports the results of prior research that reported the
emergence of spontaneous musical variations during performances by other
string quartets studied (Cohen, 2005; Murnighan & Conlon, 1991; Sawyer,
2006). It is proposed that the two examples of spontaneous musical variations perceived by the researchers in the current study, and confirmed by
the musicians in the string quartet during the member checks, are examples
of empathetic creativity and constitute novel musical performances (Seddon,
2005). Furthermore, we propose the Paul Klee string quartet strive to
achieve a novel musical performance every time they perform. The example
below, taken from the member checks procedure, supports this assertion:
Researcher: Are you experimenting something in the performance?
Cellist: Absolutely yes, otherwise it becomes very boring and it doesnt take
you anywhere, instead for us the concert, every concert, is different.
Every concert is starting again from the beginning.

The current study also takes research in group communication and creativity beyond what is already known because it offers a view that has broad
implications for a discipline that is not often researched. For example, the
results provide evidence from research conducted in a naturalistic setting
that reveal relationships between empathy and nonverbal communication
and how this relationship can impact on group creativity. The emergence of
examples of empathetic creativity in the current study provide empirical
evidence supporting the proposition that collective group synergy enables
small groups to generate more creative ideas than individuals within the
group ( Fabian, 1990; Salazar, 2002). The emergence of the communication
mode of nonverbal collaboration with its link to empathetic attunement
resulting in empathetic creativity supports the notion that sending and
receiving messages between group members stimulates and extends creative ideas (Sunwolf, 2002). The string quartet in the current study may be
regarded as a complex adaptive system, consisting of group members that
send and receive messages within a fluctuating social environment (Sherman

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134 Small Group Research

& Schultz, 1998). The importance of empathy, particularly during nonverbal communication, is demonstrated during the current study, which supports the findings of Carlozzi et al. (1995) who reported that empathy is
related to higher levels of group creativity. By producing spontaneous
musical variations while empathetically attuned, the musicians could be
said to have emerged from a cascade of bifurcations, into a complex state
of dynamic behavior, to a certain point of dynamism somewhere between
stability and the edge of chaos where the potential for enhanced group
creativity is optimized (Salazar, 2002). We propose that optimized creativity was achieved by the musicians as evidenced by the emergence of spontaneous musical variations providing examples of empathetic creativity
(Seddon, 2005).

Future Research
We also propose that the modes of communication have implications for
nonmusical groups engaged in creative activities (e.g., brainstorming to
create or improve products or systems). Although the current research
focuses on a musical dimension in nonverbal communication, it is possible
that small groups of nonmusicians could be trained to develop their empathy skills to employ during their nonverbal communication and subsequently become empathetically attuned while engaged in collaborative
creative tasks. Future research with nonmusical groups could investigate
this possibility. We believe empathetic attunement is achieved through the
process of decentring (Arnold, 2004; Seddon, 2005). Future research could
examine potential relationships between training that focuses on the promotion of decentring techniques and more creative group outcomes. Also,
the importance of body movements and gestures in musicians nonverbal
communication cannot be overemphasized (Clayton, 2005; Davidson,
2005). These researchers discuss how body language and gesture (e.g.,
facial expressions and eye contact) influence co-performers cooperative
and collaborative communication across a wide range of musical genres.
Future research could also examine the impact of the employment of various types of body language and gestures on creative outcomes when nonmusical groups collaborate in creative situations.

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Seddon, Biasutti / Modes of Communication 135

Appendix
Propositional Statements for Themes A Through F
Theme A: This verbal communication was characterized by the musicians being
instructed by other musicians on any aspect of playing.
Theme B: This verbal communication was characterized by the musicians discussing the organization of the music or technical problems that arose during rehearsal
for example, bowing when related to technical issues, whether or not to observe
repeat signs.
Theme C: This verbal communication was characterized by the musicians discussing issues of interpretation and the creative development of the piece for example,
phrasing, dynamics, tempo, and bowing when related to interpretation.
Theme D: This nonverbal communication was characterized by a musician(s) being
instructed by another musician(s) through aural demonstration, or the musical
score, on how to play something in the music.
Theme E: This nonverbal communication was characterized by the musicians playing cohesively when sympathetically attuned. Sympathetic attunement was exemplified by a lack of risk taking and challenge to individual or collective creativity.
Sympathetic attunement was visually evident through a lack of physical expressions
of engagement with the music for example, no smiles, no affirmative nods or positive energetic body movements and musically evident through comparatively predictable performance that ensured musical cohesion without creative risk through
adhering to previously rehearsed interpretations.
Theme F: This nonverbal communication was characterized by the musicians playing more animatedly when empathetically attuned. Empathetic attunement is visually evident through physical expressions of engagement with the music (e.g.,
smiles, collective affirmative nods, and positive energetic body movements) and
musically evident through comparatively less predictable performance that facilitated collective creative risk taking that resulted in challenging previously rehearsed
interpretations, which at times resulted in a spontaneous musical variation. A spontaneous musical variation was produced when the musicians were empathetically
attuned and provided an example of empathetic creativity.

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Frederick A. Seddon, PhD, is a researcher in the Department of Education, University of

Padova, where he conducts research into musical communication, the training of music teachers, and the use of technology in music education. He is a member of the international advisory board of the journal Music Education Research. He has published several articles in
international peer-reviewed journals, contributed chapters to edited books, and presented his
research at international conferences during the past 10 years.
Michele Biasutti, PhD, is an associate professor in the Faculty of Psychology, University of
Padova, where he conducts research in psychology of music and music education. He is
scientific director of a research project financed by Italian Institutions. He is a member of the
editorial board of international journals and has published articles in international peerreviewed journals. He was the conference director of the international conferences Psychology
and Music Education and Training Music Teachers.

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