Bodies in Resonating Action: Strategies of Initiating Collaborative Creative Work

Faidra Chafta-Douka

Music-making often times based on a system of objectified sound representations delivered into a fixed, precise and descriptive notation, renders the score independent of the composer, while at the same time creating a gap of communication between composer and performer. The research project “Bodies in resonating action” re-examines two fundamental relations of music-making, namely the dynamics between composer and performer, and the relationship of the performer with their own body during performing by extending its materiality towards the body of their instrument. In this context the sense of togetherness is being reinforced throughout the whole creative process of making music. By initiating constant experimentation through improvisation with the performer’s body as a focal point of observation, both composer and instrumentalist—even though from a different perspective—develop a mutual dialogue and tune into physical and mental processes as they manifest during practice. Listening carefully to the performing body, how it behaves and reacts to specific tasks, how it breathes, moves, thinks, feels, while doing so in the unique way of a specific individual, creates a deeper understanding of what musicking actually involves, and in this way gives the composer important insights. The obtained knowledge through that process is individualised depending on the specific research partner, it can however be applied, or even enriched, when put into practice with other musicians. Two strategies are followed in order to achieve that; firstly, devising a methodical process of working with a musician so as to observe and research their own uniqueness, and developing tools that facilitate the (re-)initiation of the creative process. As a composer, that leads this process, one also has to develop strong reflexes to observe and react to whatever may spontaneously occur. Secondly, constructing notations that encapsulate concepts or even processes of research, and can reflect thought, while having the flexibility to expand and include further knowledge gained. The result of this kind of work is a musical idea which is constantly in flux, is being re-shaped, deconstructed and re-constructed. The idea is also being performed on each different stage, incorporating more knowledge along the way, however not striving for a final absolute artwork, but rather attempting to capture and perform the process.

Key concepts

The main idea of the research is to develop a method of composing from the body. The compositional material is primarily action-based; composition is initiated and constantly informed by the body of the performer. This approach fundamentally transforms the musical creation process by elevating the performer’s body to the central compositional material itself, rather than merely a vehicle for execution. It furthermore understands music as emerging directly from the musician’s physical gestures and embodied experience, shifting focus from abstract musical ideas to corporeal reality. Therefore, sound is not dealt with as an end in itself, but as the result of multiple complex interactions of the performer with their instrument, their own body, and the environment in which they are found. Instead of striving for flawless execution, this method also embraces the inherent instability, unpredictability, and unique physicality of each performer, allowing these qualities to shape the musical outcome. The experimentation process aims to challenge the already known and embodied, and explore the extremes of the physical and mental elements of the music-making experience. Christopher Small, who first coined the term “musicking”, meaning music as a verb rather than a noun, reflects on how music should be thought of as an action: “The fundamental nature and meaning of music lie not in the objects, not in musical works at all, but in action, in what people do” (Small 1998, 8). The “‑ing” ending also suggests that music is not just a verb, but that the concept is essentially about an action in process, a constant transformation and evolution. In this sense, what the body of the performer is capable of doing, but also the quality of something they can do, changes constantly through practice, experience and reflection.

The body’s production of sound³ is the synergy of various of its functions, either consciously or unconsciously. What does the body do while musicking that also affects the sounding result? The body moves. From a big, physically articulated arm movement of a percussionist, to a minimal flex of a throat muscle of a singer, the resonating body is a body in incessant motion. Even if it is not necessarily visually prominent, if at all perceivable, there are many ways in which movement affects sound and sound affects movement. The body is, however, always in constant movement along with the breath. Breathing is the prime mechanism for musicians of wind instruments and singers. They have embedded trained patterns of behaviour regarding the use of the breath, which aim at the efficiency and efficacy of playing, and often operate automatically. For other musicians breathing is more often than not a tool of expressivity. The body feels. An essential factor of how one produces and shapes sound is the way they themselves experience sensations in their body, how they perceive, process and react to the stimuli received by their senses. Beyond its materiality, the body thinks. Mental processes have a great impact on structuring gestures, on the quality of an action, as well as the very material that is generated while performing.

Here there is an extensive discussion about the body of the performer. It is important to note that also the instrument’s body is treated as a central compositional element, where its inherent materiality, physical properties, and often incidental sounds are intentionally foregrounded as primary sonic material. The performer’s physical interaction with the instrument’s unique structure directly shapes the musical outcome, ensuring the sound carries the indelible “trace of its making” rather than emerging from a neutral medium.

In order to structure material, define quality of action, and generate duration and rhythm, I have developed five rudimentary concepts that function as the basis for musicking:⁴

The mental focus: the performer might be asked to consciously and purposefully zoom into just the physical action, while letting sound be carved solely by the movement, without judging the result, or zoom into the sound, and how they can shape it, as the body adjusts according to its embodied patterns to achieve the desired outcome.
Breathing: depending on the quality of breath, different breathing patterns or the repercussions breath has on the body and mind, the sound reacts accordingly, while rhythms and durations start to emerge from the breathing behaviour.
Space perception: referring to both the space outside and the space around the body, but also the space inside their own body or the instrument’s body as an extension of their own, the musicians are asked to expand or contract the space a movement occupies, or the space a sound resonates into.
Tension: there are two ways in which tension is used here: deliberately tensing up specific muscles, so as to affect the sound and the quality of an action, or structuring action accordingly, so as to build up physical tension of different kinds as a natural consequence.
State or process: in different moments of the performance, the musician can be in one of the two conditions. Being in a state means that, in terms of evolution of sound and action, there is no specific goal, while on the other hand, being in a process would entail certain elements of progression to achieve transitioning from one thing to another.

These concepts have crystallised gradually throughout the years of the research. They have been constantly reshaping, expanding and adjusting according to the instrument. The specificities of each one also vary conceptually across the four Artefacts and often across different stages of same Artefact development.

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Faidra Chafta-Douka - Bodies in Resonating Action: Strategies of Initiating Collaborative Creative Work - 2025

Key concepts