Grip pattern and finger coordination differences between pianists and non-pianists

Fernandes, Luciane Fernanda Rodrigues Martinho; Barros, Ricardo Machado Leite de

doi:10.1016/j.jelekin.2012.02.007

Cited by 15 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…Whilst laboratory based quantitative research on music performance biomechanics is continuously emerging (Visentin et al, 2008; Chadefaux et al, 2012; Fernandes and de Barros, 2012; Kelleher et al, 2013; Sung et al, 2013), music teachers still rely almost entirely on qualitative approaches to performance technique feedback. This is mostly based on the outcome goal of the quality of sound output rather than observing how the musician is moving and reacting to achieve the desired sound.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-informed physical therapy management of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians

Chan

Ackermann

2014

Front. Psychol.

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Playing a musical instrument at an elite level is a highly complex motor skill. The regular daily training loads resulting from practice, rehearsals and performances place great demands on the neuromusculoskeletal systems of the body. As a consequence, performance-related musculoskeletal disorders (PRMDs) are globally recognized as common phenomena amongst professional orchestral musicians. These disorders create a significant financial burden to individuals and orchestras as well as lead to serious consequences to the musicians’ performance and ultimately their career. Physical therapists are experts in treating musculoskeletal injuries and are ideally placed to apply their skills to manage PRMDs in this hyper-functioning population, but there is little available evidence to guide specific injury management approaches. An Australia-wide survey of professional orchestral musicians revealed that the musicians attributed excessively high or sudden increase in playing-load as major contributors to their PRMDs. Therefore, facilitating musicians to better manage these loads should be a cornerstone of physical therapy management. The Sound Practice orchestral musicians work health and safety project used formative and process evaluation approaches to develop evidence-informed and clinically applicable physical therapy interventions, ultimately resulting in favorable outcomes. After these methodologies were employed, the intervention studies were conducted with a national cohort of professional musicians including: health education, onsite injury management, cross-training exercise regimes, performance postural analysis, and music performance biomechanics feedback. The outcomes of all these interventions will be discussed alongside a focussed review on the existing literature of these management strategies. Finally, a framework for best-practice physical therapy management of PRMDs in musicians will be provided.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence-informed physical therapy management of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians

Chan

Ackermann

2014

Front. Psychol.

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“…Remarkably, both of these two patterns in common displayed simultaneous motion across fingers, forming the coupled finger motions. Repetitive use of the coupled finger motions in music performance may facilitate finger coordination and movement accuracy of motor tasks irrelevant to piano playing such as grasping (Fernandes and De Barros, 2012), possibly due to a decrease of surround inhibition across hand muscles (Shin et al, 2012). In addition, these two patterns of hand motion differed in timing of thumb rotation depending on whether the hand opens or closes before and after the thumb keystroke, which suggests independent use of the thumb from the fingers.…”

Section: Hand Motor Control In Piano Playingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexibility of movement organization in piano performance

Furuya

Altenmüller

2013

Front. Hum. Neurosci.

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Piano performance involves a large repertoire of highly skilled movements. The acquisition of these exceptional skills despite innate neural and biomechanical constraints requires a sophisticated interaction between plasticity of the neural system and organization of a redundant number of degrees of freedom (DOF) in the motor system. Neuroplasticity subserving virtuosity of pianists has been documented in neuroimaging studies investigating effects of long-term piano training on structure and function of the cortical and subcortical regions. By contrast, recent behavioral studies have advanced the understanding of neuromuscular strategies and biomechanical principles behind the movement organization that enables skilled piano performance. Here we review the motor control and biomechanics literature, introducing the importance of describing motor behaviors not only for understanding mechanisms responsible for skillful motor actions in piano playing, but also for advancing diagnosis and rehabilitation of movement disorders caused by extensive piano practice.

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“…Considering multi-joint motor control during keyboard playing, reach and grasp motion also requires independence and the control of finger movements. When hand function was compared between pianists and non-pianists, pianists showed better hand movements in grip tasks and enhanced finger movements in hand tasks (Fernandes & Barros, 2012). It can be assumed that repeated key pressing motion during keyboard playing improves dexterity and yields 12.14 ± 6.55 Table 6 Correlation ( opportunities for synergistic finger movements that are central in manipulating hands.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between output from MIDI-keyboard playing and hand function assessments on affected hand after stroke

Chong

Han

Kim

et al. 2014

NRE

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BACKGROUND: While a number of studies have tested the therapeutic effectiveness of playing musical instruments, such as the electronic keyboard using Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), it is still unclear whether outcomes of electronic keyboard playing are related to hand function tests. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between MIDI-keyboard playing and hand function tests, including grip strength, Box and Block test (BBT), and Jensen-Taylor Hand Function Test (JTHF). METHODS: A total of 66 stroke patients were recruited from medical centers and were classified into acute (n = 21), subacute (n = 28), and chronic (n = 17) recovery stages. The participants' mean age was 60.5 years. The MIDI-keyboard playing protocol based on sequential key pressing was implemented. All hand function tests were performed by certified occupational therapists. RESULTS: MIDI scores from participants at all three recovery stages were significantly correlated with BBT and grip strength. Overall, MIDI-keyboard playing scores demonstrated moderate to high correlations with hand function tests except for participants at the chronic stage and the JTHF, which showed no correlation. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that MIDI-keyboard playing has great potential as an assessment tool of hand function, especially hand dexterity in acute and subacute stroke patients. Further studies are needed to refine the specific keyboard playing tasks that increase responsiveness to traditional hand function tests.

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Grip pattern and finger coordination differences between pianists and non-pianists

Cited by 15 publications

References 19 publications

Evidence-informed physical therapy management of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians

Evidence-informed physical therapy management of performance-related musculoskeletal disorders in musicians

Flexibility of movement organization in piano performance

Relationship between output from MIDI-keyboard playing and hand function assessments on affected hand after stroke

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