Timing in Solo and Duet Piano Performances

Abstract

Perhaps some of the most refined forms of timing arise in musical performance, particularly in the coordination between musicians playing together. Studies of timing in solo and duet piano performances are described, in which the musicians gave repeat performances of the music. In both solo and duet performances there was expressive use of timing, modulating the tempo of the music and the phase relationship between the voices, and the expressive forms were similar in successive performances of the piece. There was also evidence of separate timing control of the metre and of the production of notes and rests. Thus timing in musical performance is best modelled by assuming two levels of timekeeper, one pacing the metre and the other contained in the movement trajectories of note production, computed by motor procedure in relation to the metre. It is argued that expressive forms are derived from an interpretation of the music rather than memorized; and that coordination between voices in the music is achieved at the level of the metre.

Time estimation and attentional perspective

“…Analyses of musical performances reveal similar findings. Numerous studies have shown that pianists display salient changes in amplitude, tempo, and tonal prolongation at melodic phrase boundaries nested within the underlying tonality scheme (e.g., Clarke, 1982Clarke, , 1988Gabrielsson, 1988;Shaffer, 1981Shaffer, , 1984Sundberg, 1988;Todd, 1985). Such findings suggest that the individual producing an event may rely on a hierarchical motor scheme that temporally highlights the intended meaning.…”

Cooperative tapping: Time control under different feedback conditions

“…The significance of feedback in musical performance is a complex matter that has been studied relatively little (Shaffer, 1984). The stimulus sequences in experiments like ours should be more multifarious (multitonal and with more durations) to study this problem more adequately.…”

Computational Models of Expressive Music Performance: The State of the Art

“…A lot of quantitative research on detailed aspects of expressive performance, based on measurements of timing, dynamics, etc., has been done in recent decades (e.g., Shaffer, 1981Shaffer, , 1984Shaffer et al, 1985;Clarke, 1985;Gabrielsson, 1987;Palmer, 1989Palmer, , 1996aRepp, 1992Repp, , 1995Repp, , 1998Repp, , 1999Goebl, 2001, to name but a few). Some of this work is descriptive rather than predictive, focusing on measuring performance details and describing classes of common patterns, often with the help of statistical analysis.…”