Piano Performance Research Articles

Stylistic Origins of Chinese Pianism

The majority of foreign observers recognize that the most important aspect of Chinese pianism is its technical perfection, which can be explained in two ways: first, by social factors (the close resemblance between the traditional Confucian conception of education and the foundations of learning to play the piano, parents’ interest in their children’s success as pianists, the competitive nature of Chinese society), and second, by the classical setting of children’s piano education to develop strict finger technique. Though it was unable to gain traction at all levels of Chinese piano teaching, the image of “singing on the piano” was also important for the development of Chinese pianism. The monosyllabic nature of the contributes language, as well as the dynamic brokenness and temporal syncopation of its intonation contribute to the specificity of the “singing on the piano” tradition in Chinese music culture. In general, the performing image of the piano in China is comparable to the image of the “salon piano,” just as the current piano boom in China is comparable to the “golden age” of the piano in Europe and America at the close of the 19th century. Keywords: Chinese pianism, Chinese piano education, image of the piano, singing on the piano, musical intonation, piano performance.

Exploring quantitative indices to characterize piano timbre with precision validated using measurement system analysis.

Timbre in piano performance plays a critical role in enhancing musical expression. However, timbre control in current piano performance education relies mostly on descriptive characterization, which involves large variations of interpretation. The current study aimed to mitigate the limitations by identifying quantitative indices with adequate precision to characterize piano timbre. A total of 24 sounds of G6 were recorded from 3 grand pianos, by 2 performers, and with 4 repetitions. The sounds were processed and analyzed with audio software for the frequencies and volumes of harmonic series in the spectrum curves. Ten quantitative timbre indices were calculated. Precision validation with statistical gage R&R analysis was conducted to gage the repeatability (between repetitions) and reproducibility (between performers) of the indices. The resultant percentage study variation (%SV) of an index must be ≤10% to be considered acceptable for characterizing piano timbre with enough precision. Out of the 10 indices, 4 indices had acceptable precision in characterizing piano timbre with %SV ≤10%, including the square sum of relative volume (4.40%), the frequency-weighted arithmetic mean of relative volume (4.29%), the sum of relative volume (3.11%), and the frequency-weighted sum of relative volume (2.09%). The novel indices identified in the current research will provide valuable tools to advance the measurement and communication of timbre and advance music performance education.

Ukrainian piano music paradigm of the past and present in the performance dimension

The research relevance on the specificity of Ukrainian piano composition, both solo and ensemble, is predefined by its demand for modern society, as well as in the content and significance of this sphere of musical art. The research aims to highlight the phenomenon in question as a voluminous, complex and, at the same time, holistic system, as well as to identify its leading components, their content, functional significance, and principles of interconnection between themselves and with the society. To achieve the above objective, the following methods were used: historical, culturological, analysis, structuring, synthesis, comparative characterization, and systematization. The research analyses the complexity of the phenomenon. The study examined several components of the phenomenon, namely the leading components of the foundation of piano performance in Ukraine, the sectors of pianism implementation and the nature of its impact on them, the modernisation of social life directions under the influence of music, Ukrainian piano art and performance in different historical eras, elements of the art of piano performance, software functions in the sphere of modern pianism. The research results illuminate processes of Ukrainian academic national piano art integration into world professional creative and performing culture as well as the uniqueness of Ukrainian music which embodied stylistic and technical achievements of classicism, romanticism, directions of the twentieth century and modernity on the ground of original colourful ethnic origins. The practical significance of the proposed study consists in the fact that its materials can be used in the concert activities of pianists, in compiling educational programs of secondary and higher music schools in piano performance, as well as in the implementation of research projects aimed at finding discoveries in the field of pianism, its specificity, manifested in different areas.

Between Performance and Notation: How did Carl Reinecke understand Mozart’s piano concerto No.26 K.537?

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) was a German composer, pianist, conductor of the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and professor at the Leipzig Conservatory. His piano performances were admired by Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt, and he was reputed as "the greatest and most sincere Mozart player of his time."However, you may be surprised on listening for the first time to his performances preserved on piano rolls, since there is noticeable use of expressive practices such as manual asynchrony, unnotated arpeggiation, and rubato (flexibility of rhythm and tempo), which is quite far from the kind of performance style that is considered good today. This research clarifies the features of the performance practices audible in early piano rolls, such as those by Reinecke. It focuses on how he arranged and notated the Larghetto from Mozart's Piano Concerto No.26 K.537 for piano solo, how he performed it on piano roll (1905), and how he described the performance of the movement in his book Zur Wiederbelebung der Mozart'schen Clavier-Concerte (1891). The discrepancies between the three source materials give an insight into the implied performance practices of Reinecke’s time and his tacit knowledge. The research culminates with personal experimentation and reflection on how these performance practices can expand the freedom and possibilities of the author’s performances.

ACQUISITIONS OF PIANO PEDAGOGY OF 18TH-CENTURY CHINA IN THE CONTEXT OF THE CULTURAL DIALOGUE WITH EUROPEAN CIVILISATION

The subject of the paper is the gains of Chinese civilisation in the 18th century in the field of musica speculativa and musica practica, achieved through a cultural dialogue with European civilisation. The intentions of the scientific discourse are focused on the activities of the Italian missionary Teodorico Pedrini (1671–1746) and his contribution to the formation of pedagogical traditions of piano performance in China. Analysing the cultural situation of that historical era, the author of the paper identifies the fundamental points of teaching methods and didactic means of piano pedagogy, which then determined the strategies of the piano teaching theory in the Celestial Empire.

Exploring the Effects of Digital Game-Based Learning on Music Education

Digital game-based learning (DGBL) has been proven its potential and benefits in educational fields, including musical education. Yet, there remains a paucity of robust quantitative evidence on the effects of DGBL on enhancing students’ piano performance, particularly in Chinese tertiary levels. Therefore, this current research aims to conduct a quasi-experimental design to investigate the impact of DGBL on Chinese university students’ piano performance. Participants were recruited in a southern Chinese university with 30 intermediate-level piano major students. Whilst the experimental group received the DGBL during classes, the control one used the traditional method to learn piano. Quantitative findings showed that the posttest of the experimental group students was higher than their pretest. Moreover, students from the experimental group performed better than the control group. This study may shed some light on implicational practices for teachers and educators with regard to using DGBL to teach students piano.

Social Learning Experience and Its Impact on Piano Performance among Chinese Students

This study explores the benefits of piano study for students' personal and professional development, the challenges of online piano instruction, and potential solutions to these problems. Surveying both students and educators in China, this study employs a descriptive research strategy rooted in a blend of positivism and interpretivism to ascertain their stand on the matter. Everyone agrees that learning to play the piano has positive effects on one's intellectual and ethical development, according to the results. It was obvious that social skills were crucial; musicians' skill levels usually rose after collaborating with peers and working on group projects. Nevertheless, challenges related to social learning were found. Some of the suggested methods include interactive video courses and online peer cooperation. By bringing attention to the significance of both human and technology resources, this research contributes to the continuing discussion on what constitutes excellent music education.

Multimodal Co-Ranking of Music Sentiment Analysis with the Deep Learning Model

Deep learning techniques have emerged as powerful tools for analyzing music sentiment, offering a sophisticated understanding of the emotional content embedded within musical compositions. Analyzing music sentiment in piano performance poses a unique challenge due to the multifaceted nature of musical expression and the complexity of piano dynamics. In recent years, deep learning techniques have shown promising results in various music analysis tasks. This paper introduces a novel approach, termed Co-ranking Multimodal Fuzzy Cluster Deep Network (CRMFC-DL), designed specifically for analyzing music sentiment in piano performance. The proposed CRMFC-DL framework leverages the complementary information from both audio and symbolic representations of piano music. By integrating deep neural networks with fuzzy clustering, CRMFC-DL effectively captures the intricate relationships between different musical features and their corresponding sentiment labels. Moreover, the co-ranking mechanism facilitates the joint optimization of multimodal feature representations, leading to enhanced model performance. Through extensive experimentation, CRMFC-DL achieves an average sentiment analysis accuracy of 87.5%, surpassing existing methods by 8.2%. The both audio and symbolic representations of piano music, CRMFC-DL effectively captures the intricate relationships between different musical features and their corresponding sentiment labels.

Transferability of motor skills from piano training to learning new laparoscopic surgical skills

There is a widely held belief that musicians make better surgeons based on the far transfer of their established fine motor skills when learning new surgical skills. There is, however, a deficit of quantified knowledge on the transfer of fine motor skills from one domain of expertise to another. In this study, pianists and controls were provided with daily laparoscopic training sessions for five consecutive days. Each session consisted of six tasks on a Train Anywhere Skill Kit laparoscopic training box. Performance was evaluated each day and retention was evaluated one week later by measuring the speed and accuracy of task completion. Except for the bead to peg transfer task, no statistical differences were found between participant groups. The only significant confounding variable was that the control group was more interested in surgery than the musician group (p = .037). This research addressed limitations of previous studies by measuring the long-term performance and retention of laparoscopic surgical skills. The results of this study demonstrate that, contrary to expectations, piano performance training did not far transfer to laparoscopic surgery. Our findings indicate that fine motor skills are domain specific to music and surgery, respectively.

TEACHING PIANO USING DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES IN A MODERN UNIVERSITY

This study represents an analysis of the modern educational process in the field of development of piano performance skills in higher educational institutions. The author characterises the foundations of music education, as well as the role of modern information technologies, which have become widespread in this area. The article also provides factors that negatively affect the development of this aspect of music education, among which special attention is paid to the low level of competence and the use of digital devices. The author considers special software that can increase the effectiveness of learning to play the piano. As a result, it was found that due to the widespread use of information technologies, there is a need to integrate them into the educational process, as well as to adjust the piano teaching methods. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to increase the level of competence of the teaching staff, improve teaching methods, as well as the education system as a whole, which should reflect modern global trends.

Exponential similarity measure of confidence consistency fuzzy cubic sets in fuzzy multiset scenarios and its application in piano performance evaluation

A consistency fuzzy set is composed of mean values and consistency degrees of fuzzy sequences in the transformation process of a fuzzy multiset (FM), but lacks confidence intervals in relation to a confidence level of fuzzy sequences, which shows its deficiency. To solve this deficiency, this paper aims to propose an improved transformation approach from FM to a confidence consistency fuzzy cubic set (CCFCS) and to develop an exponential similarity measure of CCFCSs for modeling piano performance evaluation (PPE) in a FM scenario. Consequently, this study includes the following context. First, a transformation approach from FM to CCFCS is proposed in terms of mean values, consistency degrees (the complement of standard deviation), and confidence intervals of fuzzy sequences subject to a confidence level and normal distribution. Second, the exponential similarity measure of CCFCSs is proposed in the scenario of FMs. Third, a PPE model is developed based on the proposed similarity measure of CCFCSs in the FM scenario. Finally, the developed model is applied to a piano performance competition organized by Shaoxing University in China as an actual evaluation example, and then the rationality and validity of the proposed model in the scenario of FMs are verified through sensitivity and comparison analysis.

Effects of altered sensory feedback on piano performance errors: An exploratory study

Music performance is an intensive sensorimotor task that involves the generation of mental representations of musical information that are actively accessed, maintained, and manipulated according to the demands of the performance. Internal representations and external information interact through feedback and feedforward processes that adjust the musician’s motor behavior to optimize a musical performance. This study aimed to examine the relationship between altered sensory feedback and performance errors. Seventeen experienced pianists aged between 33 and 54 years performed Hanon Exercise N°1 from memory under four different conditions: (1) normal (normal sensory feedback); (2) closed fallboard (altered haptic and auditory feedback); (3) blindfolded (altered visual feedback); and (4) combined (blindfolded and closed fallboard; altered haptic, auditory, and visual feedback). Performance errors were quantified based on a video analysis of the performances. Results indicated that compared with normal performance, participants made significantly more note errors in the blindfolded condition and more bar-adding errors per trial in the closed fallboard condition. The comparison between the normal condition and the three altered sensory feedback conditions revealed the impact of altering sensory feedback in musical performance. These findings are discussed in the context of music learning.

Interaction of motor practice and memory training in expressive piano performance: expanding the possibilities of improvisation.

This paper aimed to investigate the influence of motor practice and music performance experiences on musicians' auditory memory, the effect of auditory distinctiveness on melody recognition, and the differences in the working memory of classical and jazz pianists. The study was conducted among 26 jazz and 24 classical music students at Shenyang Conservatory of Music. To achieve the goal set, a melody recognition ability was analyzed after listening, performing without sound, and simultaneous listening and performing using computer recordings and pianist-taken notes. The study was conducted following repeated measures mixed design. The within-group variable was the learning condition. As the within-participant variable, the number of melody practicing trials was chosen. The type of influence on auditory memory was chosen as a between-group variable. The dependent variables were auditory recognition score, motor imagery ability, and auditory imagery ability. Students' recognition of the heard melodies was assessed by means of a 3-point Likert scale. Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to investigate the relationship between working memory and other student characteristics. The study outcomes unveiled that pianists are much better at recognizing tunes they generate themselves in auditory-motor practice than auditory practice alone. It was pointed out that the ability to recognize melody in auditory-motor learning is influenced by its acoustic characteristics. Hence, melodies that are slow in tempo and regular in time and intensity are easier to recognize than more variable pieces.

Optimization of Piano Performance Teaching Mode Using Network Big Data Analysis Technology

To effectively avoid subjective bias in manual evaluation. This article proposes a MIDI piano teaching performance evaluation method based on bidirectional LSTM. This method utilizes a three-layer bidirectional LSTM neural network mechanism to make it easier for the model to capture useful information. In addition, the Spark clustering training model is constructed using the deeplearning4j deep learning framework, and the model parameters are adjusted through the UI dependency relationships provided by deeplearning4j to improve work efficiency. The experimental results verified the superiority of the bidirectional LSTM model. The methods provided in this article can improve students' independent practical abilities and reduce the pressure on teachers during the teaching process. These measures can promote the development of music education, improve students' music literacy and learning skills, and make positive contributions to the music education industry.

Learning Experience of University Music Course Based on Emotional Computing

Identification and analysis of piano performance music are essential activities in the study of music knowledge and enjoyment. The goal of this study is to employ recurrent neural networks (RNNs) to create a multimedia identification and analysis method for piano performance music. RNNs excel at capturing the temporal relationships and dynamics seen in musical performances. The project entails gathering a large dataset of piano performance recordings that spans a variety of genres, performers, and playing techniques. The audio and video components of the performances are pre-processed in order to extract pertinent information. Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM), an RNN architecture, is used to mimic the sequential nature of the performances. The RNN is trained on the features that were retrieved in order to discover the patterns and traits connected to various piano performances. The similarity between the performance representations may be measured using similarity measures using Euclidean distance. The RNN-based system may be further developed to do tasks like score following, expressive performance analysis, and stylistic variation creation to aid in performance analysis. The system may provide insights into timing accuracy, dynamics, phrasing, and other expressive qualities of the piano performances by matching performance data with related musical scores. The proposed method RNN-LSTM provides accuracy about 99%, precision about 97% , recall about 98.9% and F1 Score of 97.6%.

Multimedia Identification and Analysis Algorithm of Piano Performance Music Based on Deep Learning

In the biometric biomedical applications, the study presents a pioneering research endeavor focused on the development of a multimedia identification and analysis algorithm tailored for piano performance music. With the power of deep learning techniques, this algorithm has been designed to address the intricate challenges posed by the convergence of musical data analysis and biometrics. The core objectives encompass the extraction, recognition, and interpretation of biometric information from piano performances, exploring the intricate patterns, nuances, and individualistic characteristics inherent to musicians. The study focuses on the development of advanced biometric authentication and identification systems capable of capturing and analyzing a user's unique behavioral patterns across diverse modalities. These biometric modalities offer the potential for highly secure and non-intrusive user identification. Hence, this paper developed an architecture of Marker Controlled Point (MCP) Estimation for the computation of the gesture in biometric-based applications. This architecture utilizes markers or reference points to precisely track and analyze user gestures, resulting in accurate and reliable biometric data. The research details the architecture's implementation, integrating advanced deep-learning techniques for feature extraction, pattern recognition, and authentication. This system finds versatile applications in various domains, from healthcare and cybersecurity to finance, where secure and user-friendly authentication is paramount. Experimental results underscore the system's effectiveness and robustness, demonstrating its potential for enhancing biometric authentication. The proposed model represents a significant stride in biometric technology, offering secure, non-intrusive user identification through the synergy of behavior biometrics and emerging modalities.

Commentary on Watanabe and Takeda

This is a commentary on Watanabe and Takeda's article, "Why do I like Schumann more than Chopin? A Physiological Analysis of Pianists' Affinities for Composers". The study offers a valuable insight into the relation between pianists' physiological 'Stance Type', as evaluated through 6 short test exercises, and their preference as well as aptitude for music by certain composers. While being a valuable presentation of a potentially very practical and effective method that addresses development and improvement of piano performance skills, there is some scope for improvement, namely: insight into how the three hypotheses were derived, detailed explanation of the proposed body positions for the performance of tempo-driven and momentum-driven composers' music, reasoning for effectiveness of the two body positions, and reconsideration of some terminology.

Exploring Dual Dimensions in Piano Performance Practice Based on Modern Digital Technology

Abstract The practical area of “piano performance” is one of the core areas in the piano classroom, and performance skills need to be applied in the practical area of “piano performance”. In this paper, the Leap Motion algorithm is used to extract the piano gesture movements, and the frame-by-frame processing is performed to encode the velocity direction of the fingers during the piano performance. Probabilistic predictions for forward and backward algorithmic sequences of fingers during playing are generated by using the HMM algorithm. To improve piano fingering automatic labeling, we propose combining the HMM algorithm with the judgment HMM algorithm and the Viterbi improvement algorithm for prioritizing piano fingering knowledge. The quantitative evaluation system for piano performance fingering is established to evaluate fingering in piano performance and check the performance scoring of the piano. The selection process included selecting three music clips that had a scoring rate above 0.8764, a gap between them that was not more than 0.06, and superior piano fingering generation quality. In the pre-post performance scoring of each dimension, the performer’s overall performance of the work on the overall appearance of the highest score, the highest score reached 84, the average score of 72.565, the piano performance of the follow-up effect is better. The assisted piano performance practice through digital technology helps piano players improve their performance skills and provides theoretical and practical references for the exploration of piano performance.

Historical Evolution and Modern Development of Piano Performance - A Visual Analysis Based on Cite space

Abstract Piano performance represents a refined artistic expression characterized by its expressive and emotive qualities. This study focuses on research papers related to piano performance indexed in the Chinese literature database, utilizing the CiteSpace visualization tool to conduct an analysis. Employing the tool’s capabilities for word frequency, thematic, and cluster analysis, we investigate the temporal and spatial distributions, key terms, research trends, and emergent themes in the literature on piano performance. This multifaceted approach enables a deeper understanding of the developmental stages and overarching trends in the field. Our findings reveal significant shifts in thematic focus and research intensity, with notable increases in themes related to the transformation of piano performance and theoretical exploration post-2017.50, achieving an impact score exceeding 0.425. Prominent emergent keywords include “piano art” (4.9948), “piano certificate” (3.8833), “style” (3.4721), “accompaniment” (3.3155), “piano technique” (2.8888), “piano teaching” (2.6997), “emotional expression” (2.6129), and “intelligence” (2.2193). These findings indicate a trend towards the integration of modern technology and intellectual approaches in piano performance. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution and current trends in piano performance research, offering insights into its future trajectory.

Artistic Guidance and Emotional Expression Pathways in Piano Performance - Based on Deep Score Characterization Fusion

Abstract In the evolving domain of artificial intelligence and deep learning, the pedagogical applications of piano performance— specifically its artistic instruction and emotional expressiveness—have garnered increasing scholarly attention. This research leverages MIDI music file formats to mine necessary data, engaging in a detailed examination of the structural and characteristic elements of MIDI files. To optimize the precision of mathematical models applied in this study, MIDI music data underwent preliminary preprocessing steps, including hexadecimal encoding and feature filtering, which facilitated the transformation of MIDI features into vectors representing emotional attributes. The study introduced the development of a BiLSTM_BLS model tailored to articulate the nuances of piano performance and emotional expression. This model synthesis integrates features reflective of emotional states induced by piano playing. A mathematically derived loss function was utilized to gauge the model’s fidelity, thereby enabling an assessment of its efficacy in the realms of artistic instruction and emotional conveyance in piano performance. Findings indicate a proximity between the emotional states of Anger (0.392) and Stress (0.385), with Depressed (0.422) presenting a slightly elevated distance from these states. Moreover, the BiLSTM_BLS model achieved a performance score of 3.214 in the evaluation of artistic expression, which corresponds to 64.28 on a standardized 100-point scale. This investigation contributes to the enhancement of musical skills and theoretical knowledge among pianists, promotes cognitive development, augments emotional expression, and nurtures creativity.