Can You See Her?

Gestalt psychologists have studied figure and ground extensively as applied to visual presentation, but there has not been a lot of discussion of figure and ground applied to musical performance. In reality, figure and ground is one of the most fundamental musical decisions that a perform must make. It is a decision that must be made in every performance.

The classic hag/girl picture to the right is a well know example. You either see an old hag, or you see an attractive young lady. This visual example points out very well the ability that we have for seeing the same thing differently. 

Music is filled with ambiguity. Practically every phrase can be interpreted differently. Jazz in particular offers the musician many different expressive possibilities. The most basic of these is whether a particular part should be interpreted as part of the figure or as part of the ground. As a jazz performer, you must constantly decide if what you are doing is figure or ground. If you fail to do that, you are simply failing in your responsibility to your audience. You may be having fun, but you are not serving your audience well.

In the hag/girl illustration, most can eventually see both, and with a bit of practice, they can switch back and forth between the hag and the girl. Often in a musical interpretation, what was once figure, become ground as new figures are introduced. A competent performer does not leave that interpretation to chance. He chooses what will be important and performs the music so that the audience will be carried along in the drama that he is creating.