ERIC Number: EJ918801
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2011-Apr
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-4294
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Focus of Attention Affects Performance of Motor Skills in Music
Duke, Robert A.; Cash, Carla Davis; Allen, Sarah E.
Journal of Research in Music Education, v59 n1 p44-55 Apr 2011
To test the extent to which learners performing a simple keyboard passage would be affected by directing their focus of attention to different aspects of their movements, 16 music majors performed a brief keyboard passage under each of four focus conditions arranged in a counterbalanced design--a total of 64 experimental sessions. As they performed the test passage, participants were directed to focus their attention on either their fingers, the piano keys, the piano hammers, or the sound produced. Complete MIDI data for all responses were digitally recorded by software written specifically for this experiment. Consistent with findings obtained in tests of other physical skills, the results show that performance was most accurate and generalizable when participants focused on the effects their movements produced rather than on the movements themselves, and that the more distal the focus of attention, the more accurate the motor control. (Contains 2 figures and 1 note.)
Descriptors: Music Education, Music, Musical Instruments, Psychomotor Skills, Instruction, Experiments, Attention, Physical Activity Level, Feedback (Response), Perceptual Motor Learning, Memory, Musicians, Cues, Intervals
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Texas
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A