Digitizing digital dexterity: A novel application for MIDI recordings of keyboard performance.

Abstract

Describes the process of collecting samples of keyboard performance and the use of specially developed software to dissect and study fragments of interest. The quantitative analysis of timing achieved by 2 pianists playing a Chopin sonata provides an objective gauge of consistency in music execution; the examination of trills executed by 2 student pianists suggests that individual pianists may play distinctively even in the execution of a "mechanical" exercise. It can be expected that further experience with this technology will yield valuable insights into both the successes and the deficiencies of music execution at a purely technical level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2014 APA, all rights reserved)