scholarly journals Movement-Related Feedback and Temporal Accuracy in Clarinet Performance

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 439-449 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Palmer ◽  
Erik Koopmans ◽  
Janeen D. Loehr ◽  
Christine Carter

SENSORY INFORMATION AVAILABLE WHEN MUSICIANS' fingers arrive on instrument keys contributes to temporal accuracy in piano performance (Goebl & Palmer, 2008). The hypothesis that timing accuracy is related to sensory (tactile) information available at finger-key contact was extended to clarinetists' finger movements during key depressions and releases that, together with breathing, determine the timing of tone onsets. Skilled clarinetists performed melodies at different tempi in a synchronization task while their movements were recorded with motion capture. Finger accelerations indicated consistent kinematic landmarks when fingers made initial contact with or release from the key surface. Performances that contained more kinematic landmarks had reduced timing error. The magnitude of finger accelerations on key contact and release was positively correlated with increased temporal accuracy during the subsequent keystroke. These findings suggest that sensory information available at finger-key contact enhances the temporal accuracy of music performance.

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 415-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Janeen D. Loehr ◽  
Caroline Palmer

THE CURRENT STUDY EXAMINED HOW AUDITORY AND kinematic information influenced pianists' ability to synchronize musical sequences with a metronome. Pianists performed melodies in which quarter-note beats were subdivided by intervening eighth notes that resulted from auditory information (heard tones), motor production (produced tones), both, or neither. Temporal accuracy of performance was compared with finger trajectories recorded with motion capture. Asynchronies were larger when motor or auditory sensory information occurred between beats; auditory information yielded the largest asynchronies. Pianists were sensitive to the timing of the sensory information; information that occurred earlier relative to the midpoint between metronome beats was associated with larger asynchronies on the following beat. Finger motion was influenced only by motor production between beats and indicated the influence of other fingers' motion. These findings demonstrate that synchronization accuracy in music performance is influenced by both the timing and modality of sensory information that occurs between beats.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brad W. Willis ◽  
Katie Hocker ◽  
Swithin Razu ◽  
Aaron D. Gray ◽  
Marjorie Skubic ◽  
...  

Context: Knee abduction angle (KAA), as measured by 3-dimensional marker-based motion capture systems during jump-landing tasks, has been correlated with an elevated risk of anterior cruciate ligament injury in females. Due to the high cost and inefficiency of KAA measurement with marker-based motion capture, surrogate 2-dimensional frontal plane measures have gained attention for injury risk screening. The knee-to-ankle separation ratio (KASR) and medial knee position (MKP) have been suggested as potential frontal plane surrogate measures to the KAA, but investigations into their relationship to the KAA during a bilateral drop vertical jump task are limited. Objective: To investigate the relationship between KASR and MKP to the KAA during initial contact of the bilateral drop vertical jump. Design: Descriptive. Setting: Biomechanics laboratory. Participants: A total of 18 healthy female participants (mean age: 24.1 [3.88] y, mass: 65.18 [10.34] kg, and height: 1.63 [0.06] m). Intervention: Participants completed 5 successful drop vertical jump trials measured by a Vicon marker-based motion capture system and 2 AMTI force plates. Main Outcome Measure: For each jump, KAA of the tibia relative to the femur was measured at initial contact along with the KASR and MKP calculated from planar joint center data. The coefficient of determination (r2) was used to examine the relationship between the KASR and MKP to KAA. Results: A strong linear relationship was observed between MKP and KAA (r2 = .71), as well as between KASR and KAA (r2 = .72). Conclusions: Two-dimensional frontal plane measures show strong relationships to the KAA during the bilateral drop vertical jump.


2013 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryony Buck ◽  
Jennifer MacRitchie ◽  
Nicholas J. Bailey

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.


1998 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas C. Lehmann ◽  
K. Anders Ericsson

This study investigated an expert pianist's nine-month preparation for a public music performance (recital) through the collection of practice diaries and MIDI recordings of the eight scheduled pieces. Recordings were made under the experimentally varied conditions of solitary performance and public performance. The practice diaries revealed that the expert (an advanced student performer) allocated practice time consistently across the entire preparation period and tended to use mornings to practice the pieces perceived as being more difficult. Total preparation time for each of the pieces could be predicted on the basis of the pianist's subjective ratings of complexity and independent ratings of complexity given by other experts. An analysis of the performance data showed that, near the time of the recital, variability in performance tempo was large between pieces but very small for multiple renditions of the same piece, even under the different experimental conditions. Thus, to attain a highly reproducible public performance, the expert allocated practice time in response to task demands and engaged in specific preparations that would safeguard the performance against unexpected problems.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Elyse Dalabakis

<p>This project focuses on Dimitris Dragatakis (1914–2001), his legacy, and Concerto for Viola in the twenty-first century. The research examines the following overarching questions within interlaced scholarly and creative components of the dissertation:   How can we use twenty-first-century digital tools to promote Dimitris Dragatakis, one of Greece’s most important modern composers, to advance his legacy including, importantly, his Concerto for Viola, and to assist future scholars and performers in accessing information about his life and music?  This dissertation discusses the digital tools and processes used to advance the legacy of Dimitris Dragatakis and to promote his Concerto for Viola. These tools and processes include creating and publishing the Dragatakis Archive Digital Database website, recording interviews with the Dragatakis family and leading Dragatakis scholar, and using his Concerto for Viola (1992) as a digital case study. The digital case study demonstrates how twenty-first-century performers, scholars, and archivists might approach advancing the works of lesser-known composers through digital media. In this case study, a new viola and piano performance edition and percussion chamber music performance edition are offered, a new digital orchestra score along with complete orchestral parts is made available, interview material with the violist who premiered the work has been recorded, and the recently unearthed premiere performance recording of the work from the Dragatakis archive has been included in an interactive video created by the researcher. This project also aims to provide a model for future performers and scholars to use to assist future projects beyond this topic.</p>


2007 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-131
Author(s):  
Brenda Wristen ◽  
Chiarella Sforza

I read with great interest the article by Ferrario et al., reporting their findings from a study of pianists' hand and finger movements using three-dimensional motion capture in the March 2007 issue of this journal. The authors noted that most previous investigations of musicians technique investigated only limited parts of the playing apparatus "without considering global movements."


AI Magazine ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Widmer ◽  
Sebastian Flossmann ◽  
Maarten Grachten

The article is about AI research in the context of a complex artistic behavior: expressive music performance. A computer program is presented that learns to play piano with 'expression' and that even won an international computer piano performance contest. A superficial analysis of an expressive performance generated by the system seems to suggest creative musical abilities. After a critical discussion of the processes underlying this behavior, we abandon the question of whether the system is really creative, and turn to the true motivation that drives this research: to use AI methods to investigate and better understand music performance as a human creative behavior. A number of recent and current results from our research are briefly presented that indicate that machines can give us interesting insights into such a complex creative behavior, even if they may not be creative themselves.


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