Abstract
We present a study of coordination behavior in complex violin-bowing patterns involving simultaneous bow changes (reversal of bowing direction) and string crossings (changing from one string to another). Twenty-two violinists (8 advanced amateurs, 8 students with violin as major subject, and 6 elite professionals) participated in the experiment. We investigated the influence of a variety of performance conditions (specific bowing patterns, dynamic level, tempo, and transposition) and level of expertise on coordination behavior (a.o., relative phase and amplitude) and stability. It was found that the general coordination behavior was highly consistent, characterized by a systematic phase lead of bow inclination over bow velocity of about 15° (i.e., string crossings were consistently timed earlier than bow changes). Within similar conditions, a high individual consistency was found, whereas the inter-individual agreement was considerably less. Furthermore, systematic influences of performance conditions on coordination behavior and stability were found, which could be partly explained in terms of particular performance constraints. Concerning level of expertise, only subtle differences were found, the student and professional groups (higher level of expertise) showing a slightly higher stability than the amateur group (lower level of expertise). The general coordination behavior as observed in the current study showed a high agreement with perceptual preferences reported in an earlier study to similar bowing patterns, implying that complex bowing trajectories for an important part emerge from auditory-motor interaction.
Highlights
Preludium In violin and other bowed-string instrument performance, the primary function of bowing movements is to exert instantaneous control of the sound
The focus of this paper is on a particular class of bowing movements, namely fast repetitive bowing patterns (FRBPs) involving simultaneous bow changes and string crossings (i.e., moving the bow from one string to another by pivoting it about the axis of the string(s))
We present an analysis of circular clockwise bowing patterns in the dynamic-level conditions
Summary
Preludium In violin and other bowed-string instrument performance, the primary function of bowing movements is to exert instantaneous control of the sound. Already in simple note sequences, this can lead to rather complex movement patterns, in which sound control, timing and anticipation are interwoven. The two movement components of the bow can be effectively described in a polar coordinate representation, where the to-and-fro movement (blue and red arrows) responsible for the production of sound is considered as the radial coordinate, and the pivoting movement (green arrow) responsible for string selection as the angular coordinate. In the type of bowing patterns considered here, the radial component is predominantly produced by elbow flexion/extension, and the angular component by a combination of shoulder abduction/adduction and shoulder medial/lateral rotation. The respective movement components involve different groups of muscles, whose actions need to be coordinated to produce the desired behavior
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