Exploring the effect of tempo changes on violinists’ body movements

In expressive music performance, tempo is known to be a fundamental parameter. In this article, we explored effects of changes in musical tempo on performers’ movement articulations. Eight duos (piano – violin) played two pieces at a predefined tempo, after which this start tempo was gradually increased and decreased. Throughout the different performances, we measured acceleration of the violinists’ head and right wrist, together with the downward force applied by their body to the ground surface. We calculated periodicities in downward force using fast Fourier transform (FFT) analyses and tested whether differences occurred across different tempi. Also, we clustered acceleration and force patterns across different tempi using self-organizing maps (SOMs) and k-means clustering. The results show that a continuous change in performance tempo leads to distinct “performance states” with characteristic bodily behavior in terms of periodic body movement and co-articulated gestures, which supports theories of tempo-variant motor control.

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Effects of Attentional Focus on Motor Performance and Physiology in a Slow-Motion Violin Bow-Control Task: Evidence for the Constrained Action Hypothesis in Bowed String Technique

Journal of Research in Music Education ◽

10.1177/00224294211034735 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002242942110347

Author(s):

Emma Allingham ◽

Clemens Wöllner

Keyword(s):

Music Education ◽

Motor Performance ◽

Body Movement ◽

Music Performance ◽

Arm Movement ◽

Slow Motion ◽

Attentional Focus ◽

Electromyographic Activity ◽

Constrained Action Hypothesis ◽

Conscious Thinking

The constrained action hypothesis states that focusing attention on action outcomes rather than body movement improves motor performance. Dexterity of motor control is key to successful music performance, making this a highly relevant topic to music education. We investigated effects of focus of attention (FOA) on motor skill performance and EMG muscle activity in a violin bowing task among experienced and novice upper strings players. Following a pedagogically informed exercise, participants attempted to produce single oscillations of the string at a time under three FOA: internal (on arm movement), external (on sound produced), and somatic (on string resistance). Experienced players’ number of bow slips was significantly reduced under somatic focus relative to internal, although number of successful oscillations was not affected. Triceps electromyographic activity was also significantly lower in somatic compared to internal foci for both expertise groups, consistent with physiological understandings of FOA effects. Participants’ reported thoughts during the experiment provided insight into whether aspects of constrained action may be evident in performers’ conscious thinking. These results provide novel support for the constrained action hypothesis in violin bow control, suggesting a somatic FOA as a promising performance-enhancing strategy for bowed string technique.

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The Interpretive Shaping of Embodied Musical Structure in Piano Performance

Empirical Musicology Review ◽

10.18061/emr.v8i2.3929 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 92 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Bryony Buck ◽

Jennifer MacRitchie ◽

Nicholas J. Bailey

Keyword(s):

Music Performance ◽

Structural Features ◽

Upper Body ◽

Musical Structure ◽

Piano Performance ◽

Body Movements ◽

Motion Patterns ◽

Structural Interpretation ◽

Highly Skilled ◽

A Performance

Research has indicated that the magnitude of physical expressive movements during a performance helps to communicate a musician's affective intent. However, the underlying function of these performance gestures remains unclear. Nine highly skilled solo pianists are examined here to investigate the effect of structural interpretation on performance motion patterns. Following previous findings that these performers generate repeated patterns of motion through overall upper-body movements corresponding to phrasing structure, this study now investigates the particular shapes traced by these movements. Through this we identify universal and idiosyncratic features within the shapes of motion patterns generated by these performers. Gestural shapes are examined for performances of Chopin’s explicitly structured A major Prelude (Op. 28, No. 7) and are related to individual interpretations of the more complex phrasing structure of Chopin’s B minor Prelude (Op. 28, No. 6). Findings reveal a universal general embodiment of phrasing structure and other higher-level structural features of the music. The physical makeup of this embodiment, however, is particular to both the performer and the piece being performed. Examining the link between performers' movements and interpreted structure strengthens understanding of the connection between body and instrument, furthering awareness of the relations between cognitive interpretation and physical expression of structure within music performance.

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Vocal and locomotor coordination develops in association with the autonomic nervous system

eLife ◽

10.7554/elife.41853 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Morgan L Gustison ◽

Jeremy I Borjon ◽

Daniel Y Takahashi ◽

Asif A Ghazanfar

Keyword(s):

Heart Rate ◽

Nervous System ◽

Motor Control ◽

Autonomic Nervous System ◽

Body Movement ◽

Arousal Level ◽

Vocal Development ◽

Autonomic Nervous ◽

Locomotor Behaviors ◽

Marmoset Monkeys

In adult animals, movement and vocalizations are coordinated, sometimes facilitating, and at other times inhibiting, each other. What is missing is how these different domains of motor control become coordinated over the course of development. We investigated how postural-locomotor behaviors may influence vocal development, and the role played by physiological arousal during their interactions. Using infant marmoset monkeys, we densely sampled vocal, postural and locomotor behaviors and estimated arousal fluctuations from electrocardiographic measures of heart rate. We found that vocalizations matured sooner than postural and locomotor skills, and that vocal-locomotor coordination improved with age and during elevated arousal levels. These results suggest that postural-locomotor maturity is not required for vocal development to occur, and that infants gradually improve coordination between vocalizations and body movement through a process that may be facilitated by arousal level changes.

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Automated Analysis of Body Movement in Emotionally Expressive Piano Performances

Music Perception An Interdisciplinary Journal ◽

10.1525/mp.2008.26.2.103 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 103-119 ◽

Cited By ~ 65

Author(s):

Ginevra Castellano ◽

Marcello Mortillaro ◽

Antonio Camurri ◽

Gualtiero Volpe ◽

Klaus Scherer

Keyword(s):

Emotional Expression ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Body Movement ◽

Music Performance ◽

The Body ◽

Head Movements ◽

Automated System ◽

Upper Body ◽

Musical Score ◽

Motion Cues

EMOTIONAL EXPRESSION IN MUSIC PERFORMANCE includes important cues arising from the body movement of the musician. This movement is related to both the musical score execution and the emotional intention conveyed. In this experiment, a pianist was asked to play the same excerpt with different emotionally expressive intentions. The aim was to verify whether different expressions could be distinguished based on movement by trying to determine which motion cues were most emotion-sensitive. Analyses were performed via an automated system capable of detecting the temporal profiles of two motion cues: the quantity of motion of the upper body and the velocity of head movements. Results showed that both were sensitive to emotional expression, especially the velocity of head movements. Further, some features conveying information about movement temporal dynamics varied among expressive conditions allowing emotion discrimination. These results are in line with recent theories that underlie the dynamic nature of emotional expression.

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Field measurements in two tunnels in Edmonton, Alberta

Canadian Geotechnical Journal ◽

10.1139/t80-002 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 20-33 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

S. Thomson ◽

F. El-Nahhas

Keyword(s):

Body Movement ◽

Small Diameter ◽

Ground Surface ◽

Beam Theory ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Element Analysis ◽

Overburden Pressure ◽

Pressure Cell ◽

Horizontal Diameter ◽

Overburden Thickness

Observations of the deformation of the temporary lining of two tunnels are presented. The Whitemud Creek tunnel was 6.05 m in diameter and was bored through Upper Cretaceous clay shale. The 170 Street tunnel was bored through till and had a diameter of 2.56 m.In the Whitemud Creek tunnel, the vertical diameter decreased by 10–15 mm and the horizontal diameter decreased by 6 mm. Movement was essentially complete in about 3 months. There was a rigid body movement upward of the lining system probably due to unloading of the soil in the invert area. Deformation moduli indicate a softening of the soil around the tunnel, which is consistent with the deformation observations. A finite-element analysis suggests that this softened zone is as important with regard to lining deformation as increasing K0 from 0.67 to 1.0In the 170 Street tunnel, the ground surface showed significant movement despite the small diameter and considerable overburden thickness. The vertical and horizontal diameter decreases were about one half of those of the Whitemud Creek tunnel and were essentially complete in 4–5 weeks. Soil pressures calculated from the observations showed a wide variation. Values derived from lagging deflection yielded a maximum of 63% of overburden pressure whereas pressure cell readings were 3.3% of overburden.It appears that the space between the lagging and the moled surface of the soil is an important factor affecting the magnitude of stresses in the temporary lining. Diameter changes are considered to be the easiest and most reliable observation of tunnel linings. The deflection of the lagging is also simple to observe but may not satisfy simple beam theory. Pressure cell results were disappointing and their use is debatable.

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Quantifying Postural Control during Exergaming Using Multivariate Whole-Body Movement Data: A Self-Organizing Maps Approach

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0134350 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. e0134350 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Mike van Diest ◽

Jan Stegenga ◽

Heinrich J. Wörtche ◽

Jos B. T. M Roerdink ◽

Gijsbertus J. Verkerke ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Postural Control ◽

Body Movement ◽

Whole Body ◽

Self Organizing Maps ◽

Movement Data ◽

Whole Body Movement ◽

Self Organizing

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Music Performance

10.1093/acrefore/9780190236557.013.492 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Peter Pfordresher

Keyword(s):

Motor Control ◽

Structural Information ◽

Music Performance ◽

Interpersonal Coordination ◽

Motor Tasks ◽

Performance Skills ◽

Vocal Apparatus ◽

Musical Knowledge ◽

Complex Structural ◽

Communication And Coordination

Music performance involves precise motor control that is coordinated with higher order planning to convey complex structural information. In addition, music performance usually involves motor tasks that are not learned spontaneously (as in the use of the vocal apparatus), the reproduction of preestablished sequences (notated or from memory), and synchronized joint performance with one or more other musicians. Music performance also relies on a rich repertoire of musical knowledge that can be used for purposes of expressive variation and improvisation. As such, the study of music performance provides a way to explore learning, motor control, memory, and interpersonal coordination in the context of a real-world behavior. Music performance skills vary considerably in the population and reflect interactions between genetic predispositions and the effect of intensive practice. At the same time, research suggests that most individuals have the capacity to perform music through singing or learning an instrument, and in this sense music performance taps into a universal human propensity for communication and coordination with conspecifics.

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A Novel Artificial Intelligence Technique for Analysis of Real-Time Electro-Cardiogram Signal for the Prediction of Early Cardiac Ailment Onset

Handbook of Research on Advancements of Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare Engineering - Advances in Healthcare Information Systems and Administration ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-2120-5.ch003 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 42-66

Author(s):

Dinesh Bhatia ◽

Animesh Mishra

Keyword(s):

Feature Extraction ◽

Fourier Transform ◽

Fractional Fourier Transform ◽

Mapping Technique ◽

Self Organizing Maps ◽

Map Generation ◽

Unsupervised Training ◽

Cardio Vascular ◽

Short Time

The role of ECG analysis in the diagnosis of cardio-vascular ailments has been significant in recent times. Although effective, the present computational algorithms lack accuracy, and no technique till date is capable of predicting the onset of a CVD condition with precision. In this chapter, the authors attempt to formulate a novel mapping technique based on feature extraction using fractional Fourier transform (FrFT) and map generation using self-organizing maps (SOM). FrFT feature extraction from the ECG data has been performed in a manner reminiscent of short time Fourier transform (STFT). Results show capability to generate maps from the isolated ECG wavetrains with better prediction capability to ascertain the onset of CVDs, which is not possible using conventional algorithms. Promising results provide the ability to visualize the data in a time evolution manner with the help of maps and histograms to predict onset of different CVD conditions and the ability to generate the required output with unsupervised training helping in greater generalization than previous reported techniques.

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