First-person, video-stimulated recall method for studying musical improvisation strategies

Abstract

Accessing the strategies implemented during real-time musical creative processes represents a challenge for researchers. Retrospective verbal protocol with subjective aided recall (RVPwSAR), where a first-person video is used as an aid to elicit feedback from a subject, has shown great potential for the study of real-time decision-making in sport, therapy, emergency situations, and consumer behavior. This article reviews research methods studying real-time decision-making and discusses the implications of a previous study using RVPwSAR to observe decision-making strategies during musical improvisation. The objective of this article is twofold: (1) to present the contributions and limitations of the RVPwSAR to arrive at a better understanding of the strategies implemented in real-time during musical improvisation; (2) to discuss the potential of the RVPwSAR for studying the strategies implemented in other real-time musical creative tasks. I argue that research where the RVPwSAR is applied may contribute to a better understanding of the strategies used during the real-time musical process, and, ultimately, contribute to the promotion of creative musical teaching and learning.

Influence of Imagery Training on Adjusting the Pressure of Fin Swimmers, Improving Sports Performance and Stabilizing Psychological Quality

“…Because the athletes may still lose due to errors that may occur during the competition, this may lead to a fear of not receiving encouragement and honor. The results of this study are thus inconsistent with those in the literature [43][44][45][46].…”

“…Imagery simulation can enhance exercise effectiveness by enabling one to imagine the upcoming movement pattern or technique [43,44], and the measures of imagery training can predict individuals' imagery outcomes [45], effectively enhancing the neural feedback required for exercise, reducing errors, and improving stability and performance [23,24,46]. The higher is the level of engagement in imagery training, the higher is its effect [26,41,47,48].…”

“…According to the literature, imagery training can reduce athletes' error rate, improve athletic performance and physical stability 46,[55][56][57][58], reduce physical and psychological barriers [29,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]60,61], increase stress resistance and willpower [46,48], and ultimately improve athletic performance [26,32,41,46,[55][56][57][58]. Therefore, the researchers hypothesized that imagery training should have the same effect on the imagery ability, physical anxiety, and athletic performance of fin swimmers.…”

“…Information and practical questions from experts and coaches were also gathered, and the characteristics of the sport of fin swimming, such as its operation, spectator value, and competition pace, were taken into account. Therefore, we compiled questionnaires on imagery ability 46,[55][56][57][58], physical anxiety [29,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]60,61], and athletic performance [26,32,41,46,[55][56][57][58] based on the abovementioned literature and the information provided by experts and coaches. After that, experts and coaches were invited to review the validity of the content and confirm the suitability of the topic and the target audience before the analysis was conducted.…”

“…After referring to the literature on body anxiety [29,[42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]60,61], a total of six questions were compiled. The questionnaire had KMO > 0.700, a Bartlett's approximate χ 2 value of 108.231, df of 15, and significance of 0.000 (p < 0.001), making it suitable for factor analysis.…”