Relationships Among Model Performances and Performances by Piano Majors: Articulation and Dynamics in Selected Bach Fugal Excerpts.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships among model performances and performances by graduate and undergraduate piano majors of three Bach fugal subjects. Twenty-five undergraduate and graduate piano majors in the School of Music at Louisiana State University participated in the study. Subjects were instructed to listen to a pre-recorded performance of three Bach fugal subjects by a concert pianist/teacher. After listening to each excerpt, they were asked to replicate the performance with particular attention to the relative dynamic level of each note and the relative duration (staccato/legato) of each note in the excerpts. Subjects' performances were digitally recorded and analyzed by computer. Each subject's performance was analyzed separately by means of comparison to the model performances using the Spearman rank order correlation coefficient. These correlation coefficients were then used as the basis for further observations. Results seemed to indicate that exact replication of the performance variables was easier with regard to articulation as compared to dynamics. In general, most subjects improved the level of replication on at least one factor (dynamics or articulation) across trials. More than one-third improved concerning both factors.