Keeping an eye on the violinist: motor experts show superior timing consistency in a visual perception task

Common coding theory states that perception and action may reciprocally induce each other. Consequently, motor expertise should map onto perceptual consistency in specific tasks such as predicting the exact timing of a musical entry. To test this hypothesis, ten string musicians (motor experts), ten non-string musicians (visual experts), and ten non-musicians were asked to watch progressively occluded video recordings of a first violinist indicating entries to fellow members of a string quartet. Participants synchronised with the perceived timing of the musical entries. Results revealed significant effects of motor expertise on perception. Compared to visual experts and non-musicians, string players not only responded more accurately, but also with less timing variability. These findings provide evidence that motor experts’ consistency in movement execution—a key characteristic of expert motor performance—is mirrored in lower variability in perceptual judgements, indicating close links between action competence and perception

Subvocalization in singers: Laryngoscopy and surface EMG effects when imagining and listening to song and text

Subvocalization has been described as a series of attenuated movements of the vocal tract during silent reading and imagination. This two-part study investigated covert laryngeal activations among singers during the perception and imagination of music and text. In the first part, 155 singers responded to an online survey investigating their self-perceived corporal activation when listening to live or recorded singing. Respondents reported frequent corporal activation in their larynx and other body parts in response to live singing and, to a lesser extent, recordings. In the second part, an exploratory experiment was conducted to investigate physiological correlates of subvocalization in singers during the perception and imagery of melody and text stimuli, using simultaneous measurements of laryngeal activation both externally, with surface electromyography, and internally, with nasolaryngoscopy. Experimental results indicate the occurrence of subvocalization during imagination—but not during listening—of both stimuli and suggest that laryngoscopy is more sensitive to detection of subvocalization in singers. The results may point to vocal resonance or empathy in the perception of singers

An exploratory study of the role of performance feedback and musical imagery in piano playing

Musicians experience various forms of sensory feedback when practising and performing. By studying the extent to which musicians rely on such auditory, visual and kinaesthetic information, insight can be gained (albeit indirectly) into the content and strength of their mental imagery for the music they play. While in previous empirical research, impaired auditory feedback has not been shown to affect performance outcome, the significance of visual and kinaesthetic feedback is less well-understood. In the current study, performance feedback was systematically removed in a repeated measures (within-subjects) design. Eight skilled pianists performed from memory under a normal condition and under three further conditions without auditory, visual and kinaesthetic feedback, one of which included tapping along with the beat of an imagined performance. Differences and similarities in the expressive timing and intensity (dynamic) microstructure were analyzed and compared across conditions. Performance consistency in both timing and intensity profiles was highest for conditions with kinaesthetic feedback, even in the absence of auditory and visual feedback. The results are discussed in relation to their implications for mental imagery and mental practising

Music researchers’ musical engagement

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of reflexivity across various disciplines, which encourages researchers to scrutinize their research perspectives. In order to contextualize and reflect upon research in music, this study explores the musical background, current level of musical engagement and the listening habits of music researchers. A total of 103 respondents of 17 different nationalities, working in music psychology, music science and related areas at various academic levels (e.g., doctoral students, professors and independent researchers), completed an internet survey. Questions addressed four major areas: (1) detailed demographic information and research interests; (2) musical training; (3) current musical activities (e.g., composing, conducting, improvising, listening, performing); (4) musical preferences and listening habits. Findings indicate that nearly all respondents to the survey had studied one or more musical instrument(s), and around 90% still enjoy performing music to some extent. A relatively high number of researchers had composed or improvised music, thus engaging in particularly creative musical activities. Respondents show stronger preferences for classical music and jazz/blues/RnB as compared with other musical genres. Contrary to notions of expert listening, emotional listening styles were rated as more important than analytical listening. Strong relationships between respondents’ musical practice and research were found, leading to the conclusion that music research is a highly practice-informed field

Die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Musikpsychologie (DGM)

Seit ihrer Gründung im Jahr 1983 führt die Deutsche Gesellschaft für Musikpsychologie Interessierte aus der Musikwissenschaft, Psychologie, Pädagogik, Medizin, Soziologie, Philosophie sowie aus der Musiktherapie, Instrumentalpädagogik und weiteren Anwendungsfeldern zusammen. Sie führt an jährlich wechselnden Orten Tagungen zu aktuellen Themen der Musikpsychologie durch, unterhält Kontakte zu Fachgesellschaften im In- und Ausland und fördert den wissenschaftlichen Nachwuchs durch Workshops, Tagungsstipendien und Preisverleihungen. Mit dem Jahrbuch Musikpsychologie, das seit 1984 erscheint, liegt ein Publikationsorgan vor, das sowohl zeitnah digital (open access) als auch in Druckversion erscheint. Der Beitrag geht auf die Gründungsgeschichte und die aktuellen Entwicklungen der DGM ein und bietet einen Überblick über die derzeitige wissenschaftliche Themenvielfalt in Tagungs- und Jahrbuchbeiträgen