To test the effects of octave and timbre on tuning accuracy, four stimuli-B-flat 4 sounded by flute, oboe, and clarinet and B-flat 2 sounded by tuba-functioned as reference pitches for high school wind players (N = 72). The two stimulus octaves combined with participants' assigned tuning notes created soprano, tenor, and bass tuning groups. All participants tuned to each instrument. Results indicated no effect due to tuning group. There was a significant difference due to stimulus. Participants' responses were more out of tune to the tuba stimulus than to the oboe, clarinet, and flute stimuli, which were not different from each other. There was no difference in the distribution of in-tune, sharp, and flat responses across tuning stimuli, a result that differs from the "preference for sharpness" effect in previous research. Verbal and performance responses to the tuba, oboe, and flute stimuli revealed misconceptions between participants' perceptions of tuning difficulty and actual performance difficulty and favored the use of oboe and flute as tuning references. Most of the participants (82%) reported tuning to the tuba as the prevalent approach to mass tuning in their school bands.
The purpose of this study was to test the effects of octave and timbre on advanced college musicians’ ( N = 63) ability to tune their instruments. We asked: “Are there differences in tuning accuracy due to octave (B-flat 2, B-flat 4) and stimulus timbre (oboe, clarinet, electronic tuner, tuba)?” and “To what extent do participants’ posttuning perceptions of pitch accuracy align with actual pitch accuracy?” Participants were organized according to octave played in the tuning process, thus forming bass, tenor, and soprano groups. Results showed no significant effect due to group and no significant differences due to stimulus. There was no difference in the distribution of in-tune, sharp, and flat responses. Comparisons of participants’ performance accuracy and posttuning perceptions of task difficulty were favorable to the electronic tuner’s viability as a tuning stimulus and less so to the tuba stimulus. Participants’ responses to “describe how you know you are out of tune” and “describe the strategies you use to get in tune” brought to the foreground two observations of conceptual importance: tuning as four different and sometimes overlapping “experiences” and a self-imposed comparative strategy. Considered alongside previous research, results address developmental aspects of musicians’ tuning performance.
We examined how visual feedback from electronic tuners affected trombonists’ pitch performance and tuning confidence. High school ( n = 29) and college trombonists ( n = 30) were tasked to play in tune with a stimulus tone (G3) recorded by a professional trombonist presented through headphones. Following each of three attempts, participants rated their confidence level that their performance was in tune. A different tuner was provided during each tuning attempt and set to one of three conditions: in-tune (A = 440Hz); flat (A = 437Hz); and sharp (A = 443Hz). These tuner conditions displayed either accurate (A = 440Hz) or inaccurate (A = 437Hz; A = 443Hz) visual feedback. Results indicated significant main effects due to tuner condition and experience level. Participants’ tuning accuracy with the sharp tuner was significantly less precise in comparison to flat and in-tune tuners. Collegiate participants performed with greater precision than high school participants in all tuner conditions. Weak relationships were observed between participants’ tuning performance and confidence ratings.
Prior research indicates that listeners' perceptions of music are influenced by the expressed approval of others. The focus of this investigation was the extent to which applause, an overt expression of approval from an audience of other listeners, influenced musicians' perceptions of ensemble performances, specifically the effects of applause magnitude (high magnitude applause, low magnitude applause, or no applause) and musical style (ballad or march). Undergraduate instrumentalists (N = 98) from five institutions listened to recorded excerpts of wind band musicthree identical recordings of a ballad and three identical recordings of a march. A distinct applause magnitude condition was electronically attached to each recording, resulting in six unique stimuli. For each excerpt, participants rated eight performance dimensions, which were summed to create a composite rating. Results indicated that listeners' composite ratings were influenced by an interaction between applause magnitude and musical style. Furthermore, a significant three-way interaction among applause, style, and performance dimension was observed, but the effect size was small. Another significant main effect was found, which could be evidence of an order effect. Results of this study suggest that listeners perceive different audience responses to be approving of musical performances, based on the musical style of works being performed.
Applause, an overt expression of approval from audience to performer, is one of the most common forms of audience response to live musical performances. In this study, we examined the effects of applause magnitude (high, low, or no applause) and musical style (motet or spiritual) on listeners’ ratings of choral performances. A secondary area of interest was the degree to which these effects might differ between music majors and non-music majors. University singers ( N = 117) listened to six excerpts recorded by a university choral ensemble and rated the performance quality of each excerpt. Across these recordings, they heard three identical recordings of a motet and three identical recordings of a spiritual with unique applause conditions attached. Listeners’ ratings were influenced by the magnitude of audience applause to a limited degree, but this effect interacted with musical style and presentation order. We observed no differences between the ratings of music and non-music majors, however. Results are interpreted in light of previous research on majority effects, and implications of these results regarding performance evaluation and concert programming are discussed.
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