Lesson 1 - definitions

Gestalt (pronounced GESHTALT) is a German word for which there is not an effective English equivalent. Though it is often translated as form, pattern, or configuration, none of these terms quite capture the underlying idea, which is that the “whole is more than the sum of its parts” (Robert J. and Karin Sternberg, Cognitive Psychology).

In the early 20th century, psychologists Max Wertmeir, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Köhler developed the theory of gestalt psychology in reaction to the “structuralist” concepts prevalent in their day. Structuralism argued that basically everything, even abstract concepts like motivation and thought, is formed of basic elements, or parts, similar to the way material objects are formed of atoms and molecules. These parts were thought to give meaning and motivation to the whole. Gestaltism, on the other hand, argued that the whole has priority over, and gives meaning and structure to, its formative parts. (Ian Verstegen, "Gestalt Psychology". The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology). The whole is therefore an entity of greater significance than the sum of those parts - this “whole” is a gestalt.

The Gestalt Institute of Cleveland offers a handy overview of the various fields of thought and endeavor that have emerged from this over-arching concept, such as gestalt therapy, gestalt principles, and even a general gestalt “approach.” The underlying concept to all these is simply the understanding that a gestalt is a series of parts which have taken on greater significance, and meaning, in becoming a whole.

A cake makes a good analogy: it might be made from flour, eggs, sugar, chocolate and other delectable ingredients, or parts. But who takes a bite of cake and says, “Wow! That is a delicious combination of flour, eggs, sugar, chocolate and other delectable ingredients!” (Answer: no one.)

Clearly the cake has become something greater than the sum of its parts - it has become a whole, a thing unto itself - a gestalt (if you will) of the baking variety.

The same may be said of a great musical performance. Regardless of the specific instrument (or voice) played, all virtuoso performances demonstrate an artistic wholeness, readily apparent through easy, graceful execution and the players’ transmission of musical ideas much larger than a tidy collection of musical parts (for example notes, articulations, dynamics, or other musical elements).

Since artistic wholeness is, or at least ought to be, the goal of every burgeoning performer, a gestalt approach to music-making (in this case brass playing, specifically) is one in which we intentionally make a whole from individual musical parts , rather than hoping that the whole will magically emerge on its own after we have diligently hammered away at each part. At its core, then, gestalt brass playing attempts to be a means of “beginning with the end in mind.”