Abstract
In this study, the influence of piano key vibration levels on players’ personal judgment of the instrument quality and on the dynamics and timing of the players’ performance of a music piece excerpt is examined. In an experiment four vibration levels were presented to eleven pianists playing on a digital grand piano with grand piano-like key action. By evaluating the players’ judgment of the instrument quality, strong integration effects of auditory and tactile information were observed. Differences in the sound of the instrument were perceived by the players, when the vibration level in the keys was changed and the results indicate a sound-dependent optimum of the vibration levels. By analyzing the influence of the vibration levels on the timing and dynamics accuracy of the pianists’ musical performances, we could not observe systematic differences that depend on the vibration level.
Highlights
Playing the piano is a complex multi-modal task, where the pianist controls the instrument through his or her intention and perceived instrument feedback
The interaction with a musical instrument can be modeled as a feedback controller [1], where the musician’s brain controls his or her body, arms, and fingers to modify the instrument’s behavior based on changes in sensory inputs
Vibrotactile feedback can support the precise control of finger force, as shown by Ahmaniemi [2] with a basic force repetition experiment on a rigid sensor box
Summary
Playing the piano is a complex multi-modal task, where the pianist controls the instrument through his or her intention and perceived instrument feedback. There are four main musician-musical instrument interaction modalities: visual feedback, auditory feedback, force feedback, and vibrotactile feedback. The interaction with a musical instrument can be modeled as a feedback controller [1], where the musician’s brain controls his or her body, arms, and fingers to modify the instrument’s behavior based on changes in sensory inputs. This closed-loop model implies that if the instrument’s feedback is altered, the pianist will adapt his or her playing to compensate for and retain the desired instrument behavior. Goebl and Palmer [3] demonstrated that tactile sensations from the finger-key surface interaction support some pianists to improve timing accuracy and precision of finger movements
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
