Complex hand dexterity: a review of biomechanical methods for measuring musical performance

Abstract

Complex hand dexterity is fundamental to our interactions with the physical, social, and cultural environment. Dexterity can be an expression of creativity and precision in a range of activities, including musical performance. Little is understood about complex hand dexterity or how virtuoso expertise is acquired, due to the versatility of movement combinations available to complete any given task. This has historically limited progress of the field because of difficulties in measuring movements of the hand. Recent developments in methods of motion capture and analysis mean it is now possible to explore the intricate movements of the hand and fingers. These methods allow us insights into the neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning complex hand dexterity and motor learning. They also allow investigation into the key factors that contribute to injury, recovery and functional compensation. The application of such analytical techniques within musical performance provides a multidisciplinary framework for purposeful investigation into the process of learning and skill acquisition in instrumental performance. These highly skilled manual and cognitive tasks present the ultimate achievement in complex hand dexterity. This paper will review methods of assessing instrumental performance in music, focusing specifically on biomechanical measurement and the associated technical challenges faced when measuring highly dexterous activities.

Buttons, Handles, and Keys: Advances in Continuous-Control Keyboard Instruments

“…Studies often compare expert pianists with amateurs, with experts demonstrating better use of the innate connectivity between fingers (Winges and Furuya 2014), more economical use of finger force (Parlitz, Peschel, and Altenmüller 1998) and more efficient coordination of upper limb motion (Furuya and Kinoshita 2008). Further review of the biomechanics of musical performance has been documented by Metcalf et al (2014).…”

Une interface pour utilisateur de caméra 3D employée pour enregistrer les angles des poignets lors de prestations au piano

“…1 Although performance-related injuries are common, scarce data exists examining and/or defining the precise limits of "good" body posture and movement in order to minimize the risk of incurring injury (MacRitchie 2015). The recent increase of accessible and user-friendly forms of motion capture technologies may be key in aiding the study of these issues in the pianist population (Metcalf et al 2014), but a number of issues and limitations remain regarding both the design (cost, portability, accuracy) of such technologies and their implementation (usefulness) within lessons. This paper describes an efficient wrist motion capture system that satisfies these requirements, particularly with regards to ease of operation and useful data visualizations.…”

“…Other studies are based on motion capture, electro-goniometers or electromyography which are used to make real-time measurements of joint angles during performances of technical exercises or repertoire (Chung et al 1992;Lai et al 2015;Oikawa et al 2011;Sakai et al 2006;Savvidou et al 2015;Wristen et al 2006). Laboratory-based studies measuring wrist posture generally use goniometers (see studies measuring wrist and finger angles in typing, such as Treaster and Marras 2000) although studies based in the performance arts report using a range of multi-camera motion capture systems, data-gloves and accelerometers to measure wrist and finger angles (see Metcalf et al 2014 for a review of technologies used to study finger/hand motion in the performance arts field). These solutions, particularly in the case of the multi-camera motion capture systems, are costly and not very portable.…”

Establishing metrics and control laws for the learning process: ball and beam balancing

“…It is well established that practice is required to attain and maintain dexterity in the performance of voluntary, goaldirected movements. Dexterity requires that an individual is able to more effectively plan and correlate physical movements in a manner consistent with underlying biomechanical and neuromuscular constraints (Inouye and Valero-Cuevas 2016;Metcalf et al 2014;Milton et al 2016). The underlying neural mechanism involves many levels of sensory and motor integration.…”