| Summary: | Presentation given at International Symposium on Performance Science, Reykjavik, Iceland. Program Background A musician has many choices of where to direct her attention while playing. The field of motor control has identified these possible areas as “focus of attention” (FOA). FOA can be directed internally (embouchure or fingers) or externally (keys or the sound of one’s music). Previous research in motor learning and one piano study found an external FOA generally leads to more efficient and effective movement than an internal FOA. However, a recent study indicated university novice woodwind players were not differentially affected by internal and external FOAs, while the advanced players performed most evenly and accurately using an internal FOA. Aims The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of FOA on second-year band students’ performance. It extended existing literature by including a control condition and by examining performance on wind instruments instead of piano or voice. Method Participants were forty-nine band students in their second year of study, aged 13-14 years (n=25, woodwinds; n=14, valved brass; n=10, trombones). The design was repeated measures, including three experimental conditions of a control condition (no directed FOA), an internal focus condition (fingers, or right hand for trombones), and an external focus condition (sound). The study stimuli were isochronous, alternating two pitch patterns (e.g. eighth notes C-A-C-A-C-A-C). Participants were tested in individual study sessions, across two days. On Day 1, students heard a model recording of each stimulus at a specified tempo and were then directed to play the measure as evenly and accurately as possible (control condition), while “thinking about your fingers” (internal focus condition), and while “thinking about your sound” (external focus condition). Participants played eight trials of each three stimuli. The design was fully counterbalanced, with the exception that the control condition was always performed ...
|
|---|