The Effects of Body Movement on Perceptions of Violin Performance Among Musically Trained and Untrained Audiences

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of violinists’ body movement on perceptions of solo violin performance among Chinese audiences, considering differences in gender and musical background. A three-factor mixed experimental design was employed, with both musically trained and untrained audiences (N = 88, equally distributed by gender) viewing and assessing a series of audio-visual solo violin performance recordings. Results showed that body movement and audiences’ gender had significant effects on perceived technical proficiency, perceived musicality, and interest in solo violin performance, while audiences’ musical background yielded a significant effect only on perceived technical proficiency and perceived musicality. Audiences’ musical background significantly interacted with body movement and audiences’ gender. Musically trained audiences showed less favorable perceptions of restricted movement compared with their untrained counterparts, while both groups had similar perceptions of other body movements. Among women, musically trained audiences gave lower ratings than their untrained counterparts, a difference that was not observed among men. These findings enhance our understanding of the important role of body movement in audience evaluations of solo violin performance. Implications for violin performers and educators are discussed.