This study had two primary purposes: (1) to investigate the effect of register, direction, and magnitude on musicians' evaluation of chamber ensemble intonation, and (2) determine whether a novel nonparametric technique, ordinal pattern analysis (OPA), was a viable alternative to repeated-measures analysis of variance (rANOVA). I digitally…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among beat perception, error detection, and musical experience. We presented monophonic rhythms using a piano timbre along with two measures of beat perception (Harvard Beat Finding and Interval Test [BFIT] and Goldsmiths Beat Alignment Test) and a measure of melodic error detection.…

The constrained action hypothesis states that focusing attention on action outcomes rather than body movement improves motor performance. Dexterity of motor control is key to successful music performance, making this a highly relevant topic to music education. We investigated effects of focus of attention (FOA) on motor skill performance and EMG…

In two experiments we examined the extent to which musicians identify discrepancies between their intentions and their playing during individual practice. In the first experiment, 60 musicians representing four levels of skill development practiced a familiar piece from their own repertoire for 5 min while being audio recorded. They then listened…

During evening practice sessions, 32 nonpianist musicians learned a short melody on piano, and then either learned a second short piano melody, learned a difficult unfamiliar piece on their principal instruments, practiced familiar material on their principal instruments, or engaged in no other music-related motor behavior prior to sleep; practice…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of cognitive load during practice on university wind students' learning. Cognitive load was manipulated through instrument family (woodwind or brass) and the amount of repetition used in practice (highly repetitive or random). University woodwind and valved-brass students (N = 46)…