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The relevance of the research topic is due to the enrichment of the musical language and methods of performing works of the 20th and 21st centuries, as well as a significant update in the means of their transmission to the listener. The study aimed to reveal the tendencies of modern pianism in the context of Western (Italy) and Eastern (China) traditions, which contribute to the realisation of its uniqueness in the process of formation of high‐level professionals. This study is based on theoretical and practical methods. Theoretical methods include analysis, comparison and synthesis. Practical methods are online monitoring with systematisation and questioning. In China, the reliance on folklore is manifested in 85%, the philosophical interpretation of the content of musical works and their interpretation in 80%, the perfection of the mastery of performance technique in 95% and the synthesis of the achievements of Chinese and world performance practice in 80%. The spiritual and semantic aspect of piano performance in the framework of both countries is meaningful in 85%, the material and technical basis in 80% and ethnic self‐identification in 82%. The present findings can be used both in pedagogical and performance practices of different countries, traditions and cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Trans/Form/Ação is the property of Trans/Form/Acao and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

A significant number of dams worldwide are very old and thus require a reassessment of maximum flood discharges due to siltation and climate change effects. The Piano Key Weir (PKW) is a relatively new labyrinth-type weir that has emerged as a viable solution for dam rehabilitation and new projects with space constraints. While various studies have been conducted in the past to investigate the influence of geometrical parameters of PKW, there is a lack of information regarding the effect of non-linear slope profile of keys on the discharge efficiency. In this paper, ogee profiles have been introduced in the outlet keys to study their influence on the discharge coefficient. The experiments were performed at the Hydraulics Laboratory, IIT Roorkee, India, using a flume 15 m long, 0.39 m wide and 0.52 m deep. These experiments involved four PKW models with different slope profiles in the outlet key. The results of the laboratory studies and RANS model simulations indicate that the PKW models with ogee shaped outlet keys are more efficient than the linear shaped counterpart for heads higher than their design head. The maximum increase in discharge coefficient for the PKW models with curvilinear outlet keys was 9%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charges of eccentricity have long clung to the Argentine pianist Martha Argerich. Flouting many of the conventions governing classical performance, Argerich has openly resisted professional and identitarian confinement, admitting that she "[doesn't] want to be a pianist" and has never "felt like a woman." Indeed, reviews of her performances are littered with impressions of disorientation attributed to the subtleties of her gendered transgressions coupled with her corporeal stillness in performance. This fixation on stillness invokes a history traceable to eighteenth-century music criticism, wherein descriptions of stillness policed the borders of palatable gender expression. This phenomenon of stillness would come to condition the figure of the "virtuosa" and, persisting into the twentieth century, complicates prevailing narratives centering the great men of piano performance history. This article takes Argerich's performances as invitations to look back toward the tradition of feminine virtuosity to which she belongs, while exploring the ways in which she challenges its gendered limitations. I argue that the tensions underpinning her self-professed gender ambivalence and professional dissatisfaction are enacted through the virtuosic choreography she fashions in performance—a choreography that both reinscribes and traverses the borders of feminine virtuosity. I thus read her performances as queer enactments of her gender disidentification. I then turn toward Argerich's world of artists misaligned with the demands of classical performance. Her commune has provided refuge not only for this community of outcasts but also for those who have never shared a space with Argerich, yet nonetheless stumble upon the traces of her aberrant desires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveTo investigate the association between piano playing and myopia prevalence, and to analyze the interactive effect of piano playing and outdoor activity time or out-of-class study time on myopia among primary and secondary school students in Shanghai. MethodsVisual acuity tests and a self-administered anonymous questionnaire survey were conducted among 26 522 students recruited using multistage cluster sampling in 7 primary and secondary schools in 7 districts of Shanghai municipality from September to November 2021. An unconditional binary logistic regression model was used to analyze the association between piano playing and myopia prevalence among students. ResultsOf the students surveyed, 3 778 (14.2%) reported playing the piano. The myopia detection rate was 77.7% in students who reported playing the piano and significantly different from that 76.1% in those who did not (χ2 = 4.368, P < 0.05). After controlling for gender and parental myopia, no statistically significant association was found between piano playing and myopia prevalence. Compared to students who did not play piano and spent 2 hours or more per day in outdoor activities, students who did not play piano and spent less than 2 hours per day in outdoor activities had an increased risk of myopia (odds ratio [OR] = 1.153, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.073 – 1.239), and students who played piano and spent less than 2 hours per day in outdoor activities also had an increased risk of myopia (OR = 1.165, 95%CI: 1.038 – 1.308). Compared to the students who did not play piano and spent less than 2 hours per day studying outside the classroom, the students who did not play piano and spent 2 hours and more per day studying outside the classroom had an increased risk of myopia (OR = 1.212, 95%CI: 1.119 – 1.312) and the students who played piano and spent 2 hours and more per day studying outside the classroom also had an increased risk of myopia (OR = 1.203, 95%CI: 1.027 – 1.411). ConclusionThis study did not find a statistically significant association between piano playing and myopia prevalence in primary and secondary school students in Shanghai, and further prospective studies may investigate the association between piano playing and myopia in students.

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of piano performance on the psychological well-being of performers. The research was conducted among senior students of universities and music conservatories in Beijing and Shanghai (n = 108). The methods included qualitative and quantitative data analysis. The results confirmed that expressive performance requires technical skills and internal experience. Men reported higher psychological well-being, while women demonstrated increased pre-performance anxiety. Experience and the number of hours of practice also influenced the psychological state. The study provides insights for both novice and experienced musicians, assisting them in achieving musical expressiveness and enhancing the effectiveness of their performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Music reading is the key to literacy for musicians in the Western music tradition. This high-level activity requires an efficient extraction of the visual information from the score to the current needs of the execution. Differences in eye movements between expert and non-expert musicians during music reading have been shown. The present study goes further, using a machine learning approach to classify musicians according to their level of expertise in analyzing their eye movements and performance during sight-reading. We used a support vector machine (SVM) technique to (a) investigate whether the underlying expertise in musical reading could be reliably inferred from eye movements, performance, and subjective measures collected across five levels of expertise and (b) determine the best predictors for classifying expertise from 24 visual measures (e.g., the number of progressive fixations, the number of regressive fixations, pupil size, first-pass fixations, and second-pass fixations), 10 performance measures (e.g., eye-hand span, velocity, latency, play duration, tempo, and false notes), and 4 subjective measures (perceived complexity and cognitive skills). Eye movements from 68 pianists at five different levels of music expertise (according to their level in the conservatory of music-from first cycle to professional) were co-registered with their piano performance via a Musical Instrument Digital Interface, while they sight-read classical and contemporary music scores. Results revealed relevant classifications based on the SVM analysis. The model optimally classified the lower levels of expertise (1 and 2) compared to the higher levels (3, 4, and 5) and the medium level (3) compared to higher levels (4 and 5). Furthermore, across a total of 38 measures, the model identified the four best predictors of the level of expertise: the sum of fixations by note, the number of blinks, the number of fixations, and the average fixation duration. Thus, efficiently classifying musical reading expertise from musicians' eye movements and performance using SVM is possible. The results have important theoretical and practical implications for music cognition and pedagogy, enhancing the specialized eye and performance behaviors required for an expert music reading. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Yegah Musicology Journal / Yegah Müzikoloji Dergisi is the property of International Yegah Music Journal and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In two experiments, we compared the effects of practice (real and imitative) with no practice on the observational learning of hand motor skills from animated videos. Experiment 1 investigated learning to play a series of piano clips of varying complexity. Results demonstrated improved learning efficiency with imitative practice compared to no practice. Experiment 2 featured a paper-folding task, and results indicated that real practice led to significantly greater learning than no practice. Furthermore, a significant interaction was found with gender and practice, where females learned best with both real and imitative practice, but males did not benefit from these interventions. However, males outperformed females in the no practice condition. Overall, we found benefits of practice versus no practice for both tasks. However, the most effective type of practice was dependent upon the task: imitative practice for piano playing, and real practice for paper folding. Task complexity and gender were also found to be moderating factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human–machine interactions (HMIs) have penetrated into various academic and industrial fields, such as robotics, virtual reality, and wearable electronics. However, the practical application of most human–machine interfaces faces notable obstacles due to their complex structure and materials, high power consumption, limited effective skin adhesion, and high cost. Herein, we report a self-powered, skin adhesive, and flexible human–machine interface based on a triboelectric nanogenerator (SSFHMI). Characterized by its simple structure and low cost, the SSFHMI can easily convert touch stimuli into a stable electrical signal at the trigger pressure from a finger touch, without requiring an external power supply. A skeleton spacer has been specially designed in order to increase the stability and homogeneity of the output signals of each TENG unit and prevent crosstalk between them. Moreover, we constructed a hydrogel adhesive interface with skin-adhesive properties to adapt to easy wear on complex human body surfaces. By integrating the SSFHMI with a microcontroller, a programmable touch operation platform has been constructed that is capable of multiple interactions. These include medical calling, music media playback, security unlocking, and electronic piano playing. This self-powered, cost-effective SSFHMI holds potential relevance for the next generation of highly integrated and sustainable portable smart electronic products and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, distance education has become very popular around the world. Innovative pedagogical methods and strategies helped to shift full-time education to online learning. The research purpose is to introduce online piano learning, ensure assessment of academic performance and evaluate the respondents' motivation. The experiment involved 40 students from 19 to 25 years. The research was conducted at Harbin Normal University. Before the research, the respondents were divided into control and experimental groups. The first group was trained using the full-time curriculum, and the second group learnt the piano online. The scholars tested academic performance and motivation among the participants. The results suggested that online methods of teaching piano do not differ from face-to-face lessons. The results comparison of the experimental and control groups revealed no significant statistical differences in skills. The only exception was Fluency in Reading Music Notation. In the control group, the test result at the final stage was 85.1 points. In the experimental group, this indicator was 85.9 points. At all research stages, students' motivation was higher in the experimental group than in the control group. The research findings suggested that the online learning strategy was not less effective than face-to-face training and had better parameters. In practice, the technique can be applied in schools and universities focused on musical curricular activities. The proposed method of learning to play the piano is effective for online courses available for everyone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the pursuit of developing expressive music performance models using artificial intelligence, this paper introduces DExter, a new approach leveraging diffusion probabilistic models to render Western classical piano performances. The main challenge faced in performance rendering tasks is the continuous and sequential modeling of expressive timing and dynamics over time, which is critical for capturing the evolving nuances that characterize live musical performances. In this approach, performance parameters are represented in a continuous expression space, and a diffusion model is trained to predict these continuous parameters while being conditioned on a musical score. Furthermore, DExter also enables the generation of interpretations (expressive variations of a performance) guided by perceptually meaningful features by being jointly conditioned on score and perceptual-feature representations. Consequently, we find that our model is useful for learning expressive performance, generating perceptually steered performances, and transferring performance styles. We assess the model through quantitative and qualitative analyses, focusing on specific performance metrics regarding dimensions like asynchrony and articulation, as well as through listening tests that compare generated performances with different human interpretations. The results show that DExter is able to capture the time-varying correlation of the expressive parameters, and it compares well to existing rendering models in subjectively evaluated ratings. The perceptual-feature-conditioned generation and transferring capabilities of DExter are verified via a proxy model predicting perceptual characteristics of differently steered performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the development of Internet technology, music videos on the network are becoming increasingly rich. How to extract concert video clips for specific scenes or shots from massive video libraries or ultra-long video files is a relatively difficult issue. Traditional music video retrieval methods are mostly based on key text retrieval. However, they cannot meet the needs of users. At the same time, in response to the demand for specific videos in piano performance teaching, it is also difficult for these methods to filter out key music clips from numerous videos. Therefore, a music video retrieval technology is constructed based on video feature similarity calculation. Aiming at the shortcomings of video similarity calculation methods, a dynamic programming algorithm is used to improve it. The improved music video retrieval technology is applied to the classroom learning practice of piano performance teaching, verifying the actual effect of this technology. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the music video retrieval technology reaches 91.02%. After being applied to piano classroom teaching, the overall performance of students has been improved. This shows that the proposed music video retrieval technology can effectively achieve the retrieval of required videos and improve the effectiveness of piano classroom teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Flow, defined as a heightened state of consciousness characterized by intense concentration during an activity, is influenced primarily by the perceived challenge and the dynamic equilibrium of skills. This investigation focuses on the patterns of flow state attainment and its elicitation mechanisms within the context of piano performance among Chinese music college students. Methods: Our study establishes a framework for accessing flow, utilizing quantitative data from music ontology to gauge the level of challenge and the level of music acquisition to assess skills. Additionally, we integrate external factors such as music culture heterogeneity and demographic variables to elucidate the causes and moderating effects of flow on piano performance. Results: The findings reveal a positive correlation between flow and performance, with the model of challenge and skill induction partially explaining these results. Notably, melodic Shannon Entropy emerges as a potential indicator of challenge, suggesting its relevance in future studies on flow. Discussion: This research provides multidimensional insights into the interplay between performance and flow in piano performance, guiding future investigations to explore the musical quantitative perspective more deeply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studying the impact of an individual approach to teaching students' performance subjects is relevant because of the brightness and diversity of creative thinking, artistic interests, and orientation of future specialists in the field of piano art. The aim of the study is to determine the effectiveness of person-oriented music pedagogy. The research methods are: monitoring the process of training professional personnel and their activities after the completion of education; surveying students and young performers; comparison. The results of this study shed light on the problem of an individual approach to the development of musical performance as a whole multifaceted system -- one of the modern pedagogical models consisting of several blocks: stages of training based on an individual approach; its components; principles. The prospects of research include the development of a modernized training programme oriented to student's personality. This is determined by the need to create an individual method of mastering the profession of a performer in the current conditions, which contributes to the development of students' unique abilities and serves as the basis for their successful realization as an artist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The texture of piano keys made of traditional materials is too rough, resulting in poor feel and sound quality when playing. In this article, the performance of piano keys is improved by adding functional nano-silica composites. Functional nano-silica composites were prepared by water glass method and gas phase method. It is found that the functional nano-silica composites have good mechanical strength, oxidation resistance, and wear resistance. In this article, the acoustic test of functional nano-silica composites and traditional plastic keys is carried out. It is found that the longer the delay time, the better the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finger technique is a crucial aspect of piano learning, and hand exoskeleton mechanisms effectively assist novice piano players in maintaining correct finger technique consistently. Addressing current issues with exoskeleton robots, such as the inability to provide continuous correction of finger technique and their considerable weight, a novel hand exoskeleton robot has been developed to enhance finger technique through continuous correction and reduced weight. Initial data are gathered using finger joint angle sensors to analyze movements during piano playing, focusing on the trajectory and angular velocity of key strikes. This analysis informs the design of a 6-bar double-closed-loop mechanism with an end equivalent sliding pair, using analytical methods to establish the relationship between motor extension and input rod rotation. Simulation studies assess the exoskeleton's motion space and dynamics, confirming its capability to meet structural and functional demands for accurate key striking. Prototype testing validates the exoskeleton's ability to maintain correct finger positioning and mimic natural strike speeds, thus improving playing technique while ensuring comfort and safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arte, Individuo y Sociedad is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Aim: Timbre in piano performance plays a critical role in enhancing musical expression. However, timbre control in current piano performance education relies mostly on descriptive characterization, which involves large variations of interpretation. The current study aimed to mitigate the limitations by identifying quantitative indices with adequate precision to characterize piano timbre. Methods: A total of 24 sounds of G6 were recorded from 3 grand pianos, by 2 performers, and with 4 repetitions. The sounds were processed and analyzed with audio software for the frequencies and volumes of harmonic series in the spectrum curves. Ten quantitative timbre indices were calculated. Precision validation with statistical gage R&R analysis was conducted to gage the repeatability (between repetitions) and reproducibility (between performers) of the indices. The resultant percentage study variation (%SV) of an index must be ≤10% to be considered acceptable for characterizing piano timbre with enough precision. Results: Out of the 10 indices, 4 indices had acceptable precision in characterizing piano timbre with %SV ≤10%, including the square sum of relative volume (4.40%), the frequency-weighted arithmetic mean of relative volume (4.29%), the sum of relative volume (3.11%), and the frequency-weighted sum of relative volume (2.09%). The novel indices identified in the current research will provide valuable tools to advance the measurement and communication of timbre and advance music performance education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People with Parkinson's disease often show deficits in dexterity, which, in turn, can lead to limitations in performing activities of daily life. Previous studies have suggested that training in playing the piano may improve or prevent a decline in dexterity in this population. In this pilot study, we tested three participants on a six-week, custom, piano-based training protocol, and quantified dexterity before and after the intervention using a sensor-enabled version of the nine-hole peg test, the box and block test, a test of finger synergies using unidimensional force sensors, and the Quantitative Digitography test using a digital piano, as well as selected relevant items from the motor parts of the MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS) and the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39) quality of life questionnaire. The participants showed improved dexterity following the training program in several of the measures used. This pilot study proposes measures that can track changes in dexterity as a result of practice in people with Parkinson's disease and describes a potential protocol that needs to be tested in a larger cohort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study investigated how different hearing profiles influenced melodic contour identification (MCI) in a real-world concert setting with a live band including drums, bass, and a lead instrument. We aimed to determine the impact of various auditory assistive technologies on music perception in an ecologically valid environment. Methods: The study involved 43 participants with varying hearing capabilities: normal hearing, bilateral hearing aids, bimodal hearing, single-sided cochlear implants, and bilateral cochlear implants. Participants were exposed to melodies played on a piano or accordion, with and without an electric bass as a masker, accompanied by a basic drum rhythm. Bayesian logistic mixed-effects models were utilized to analyze the data. Results: The introduction of an electric bass as a masker did not significantly affect MCI performance for any hearing group when melodies were played on the piano, contrary to its effect on accordion melodies and previous studies. Greater challenges were observed with accordion melodies, especially when accompanied by an electric bass. Conclusions: MCI performance among hearing aid users was comparable to other hearing-impaired profiles, challenging the hypothesis that they would outperform cochlear implant users. A cohort of short melodies inspired by Western music styles was developed for future contour identification tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feature extraction is a crucial component in the analysis of piano music signals. This article introduced three methods for feature extraction based on frequency domain analysis, namely short-time Fourier transform (STFT), linear predictive cepstral coefficient (LPCC), and Mel-frequency cepstral coefficient (MFCC). An improvement was then made to the MFCC. The inverse MFCC (IMFCC) was combined with mid-frequency MFCC (MidMFCC). The Fisher criterion was used to select the 12-order parameters with the maximum Fisher ratio, which were combined into the F-MFCC feature for recognizing 88 single piano notes through a support vector machine. The results indicated that when compared with the STFT and LPCC, the MFCC exhibited superior performance in recognizing piano music signals, with an accuracy rate of 78.03 % and an F1 value of 85.92 %. Nevertheless, the proposed F-MFCC achieved a remarkable accuracy rate of 90.91 %, representing a substantial improvement by 12.88 % over the MFCC alone. These findings provide evidence for the effectiveness of the designed F-MFCC feature for piano music signal recognition as well as its potential application in practical music signal analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals can learn the art of playing a musical instrument not only in the classroom but also remotely. The main purpose of the paper is to identify the possibilities of an educational online piano course for Chinese students. In the work, it was determined which of the online applications are the most popular in the world for learning. The results showed that the most common are Udemy (25%), Google Class (22%), and Skillshare (17%), which are used not only for music learning. Based on the data obtained, the work developed an online course for piano training, which included three blocks – learning theoretical material with the help of the program goodEar Pro; developing technical playing skills with the help of Skillshare and Xiaoyezi AI Piano Tutor; improving the skills obtained by using The One Music Group. Survey data from 104 respondents determined that the Xiaoyezi AI Piano Tutor mobile app (29%) was more effective among the others because it focused on polyphony skills, which allows the combination of technical piano playing skills and thinking. With a digitally enabled learning program, students were able to achieve better results when working on a playing technique (5.3) and polyphony (5.1). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The majority of foreign observers recognize that the most important aspect of Chinese pianism is its technical perfection, which can be explained in two ways: first, by social factors (the close resemblance between the traditional Confucian conception of education and the foundations of learning to play the piano, parents' interest in their children's success as pianists, the competitive nature of Chinese society), and second, by the classical setting of children's piano education to develop strict finger technique. Though it was unable to gain traction at all levels of Chinese piano teaching, the image of "singing on the piano" was also important for the development of Chinese pianism. The monosyllabic nature of the contributes language, as well as the dynamic brokenness and temporal syncopation of its intonation contribute to the specificity of the "singing on the piano" tradition in Chinese music culture. In general, the performing image of the piano in China is comparable to the image of the "salon piano," just as the current piano boom in China is comparable to the "golden age" of the piano in Europe and America at the close of the 19th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Muscle synergy has been widely acknowledged as a possible strategy of neuromotor control, but current research has ignored the potential inhibitory components in muscle synergies. Our study aims to identify and characterize the inhibitory components within motor modules derived from electromyography (EMG), investigate the impact of aging and motor expertise on these components, and better understand the nervous system's adaptions to varying task demands. We utilized a rectified latent variable model (RLVM) to factorize motor modules with inhibitory components from EMG signals recorded from ten expert pianists when they played scales and pieces at different tempo–force combinations. We found that older participants showed a higher proportion of inhibitory components compared with the younger group. Senior experts had a higher proportion of inhibitory components on the left hand, and most inhibitory components became less negative with increased tempo or decreased force. Our results demonstrated that the inhibitory components in muscle synergies could be shaped by aging and expertise, and also took part in motor control for adapting to different conditions in complex tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A consistency fuzzy set is composed of mean values and consistency degrees of fuzzy sequences in the transformation process of a fuzzy multiset (FM), but lacks confidence intervals in relation to a confidence level of fuzzy sequences, which shows its deficiency. To solve this deficiency, this paper aims to propose an improved transformation approach from FM to a confidence consistency fuzzy cubic set (CCFCS) and to develop an exponential similarity measure of CCFCSs for modeling piano performance evaluation (PPE) in a FM scenario. Consequently, this study includes the following context. First, a transformation approach from FM to CCFCS is proposed in terms of mean values, consistency degrees (the complement of standard deviation), and confidence intervals of fuzzy sequences subject to a confidence level and normal distribution. Second, the exponential similarity measure of CCFCSs is proposed in the scenario of FMs. Third, a PPE model is developed based on the proposed similarity measure of CCFCSs in the FM scenario. Finally, the developed model is applied to a piano performance competition organized by Shaoxing University in China as an actual evaluation example, and then the rationality and validity of the proposed model in the scenario of FMs are verified through sensitivity and comparison analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of skills, such as learning to play a musical instrument, involves various phases that make specific demands on the learner. Knowledge of the cognitive and motor contributions during learning phases can be helpful in developing effective and targeted interventions for healthy aging. Eighty-six healthy older participants underwent an extensive cognitive, motoric, and musical test battery. Within one session, one piano-related and one music-independent movement sequence were both learned. We tested the associations between skill performance and cognito-motor abilities with Bayesian mixed models accounting for individual learning rates. Results showed that performance was positively associated with all cognito-motor abilities. Learning a piano-related task was characterized by relatively strong initial associations between performance and abilities. These associations then weakened considerably before increasing exponentially from the second trial onwards, approaching a plateau. Similar performance–ability relationships were detected in the course of learning a music-unrelated motor task. Positive performance–ability associations emphasize the potential of learning new skills to produce positive cognitive and motor transfer effects. Consistent high-performance tasks that demand maximum effort from the participants could be very effective. However, interventions should be sufficiently long so that the transfer potential can be fully exploited. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective The thalamus is the integrative hub of the brain with reciprocal connections throughout the cortex. This case report describes a right-handed 81-year-old male patient who experienced sudden onset cognitive impairment following a focal left anterior thalamic infarct. Methods With consent/assent, the patient was seen for a short neuropsychological assessment 6 weeks post stroke. Neuropsychological assessment included review of medical history, collateral intake, the Toronto Cognitive Assessment, Frontal Systems Behavior Scale-Family Rating Form, the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire, and piano performance. Results The assessment revealed impaired performance on measures of orientation, memory, executive function, and language, as well as symptoms including hallucinations, apathy, and hypersomnolence, consistent with thalamic dementia. Remarkably, in this context, the patient maintained an ability to play piano and read music. Conclusions The case has implications for understanding the complex integrative functions of the thalamus, including how profound impairment can simultaneously present with cognitive strengths that may not be captured by performance on neuropsychological testing. This case also suggests that magnetic resonance imaging may be indicated in cases presenting with vascular risk factors and sudden onset cognitive impairment, given that computed tomography may not be sensitive to small subcortical infarcts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is very little academic work on music in television series, and none on music in French television series. This article focuses on one of the most successful French television series, the eight-season-long Engrenages/Spiral (Canal+, 2005–2020). It identifies the similarities and differences between music for films and music for television series before focusing on the music composed by Stéphane Zidi for Engrenages. This combines the unusual use of gamelan instruments as musical cues with more melodic piano themes. Arguing that television series music, which might have been even more 'unheard' than film music, functions to shape audience perception of the characters, the article focuses on the specificities of gamelan cues and piano themes. The piano themes migrate from one character to another across the eight seasons of the series, and the article shows how this affects the narrative arc of the main character, Laure Berthaud, emphasising her rejection of (both) the conflicting roles of mother and leader. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines how to design social robots to support self-regulated learning skills for piano practice. More specifically, a social robot is used to provide feedback to children and initiate self-assessment. To assess the impact of this approach on children's motivation and performance, we conducted an experiment in a music school where 50 children practiced with both a self-assessment and a non-evaluative robot. Results showed that when the children interacted with the self-assessment robot they had higher motivation and better performance than when they interacted with the non-evaluative robot. Furthermore, interaction effects were found between the robot conditions, the children's learning stages, and their gender regarding their motivation and rhythm performance. Overall, the study demonstrates a positive influence of robot-initiated self-assessment on children's musical instrument practice and provided insights for personalized child-robot interaction design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations in dynamics are an essential component of musical performance in most instruments. To study the factors that contribute to dynamic variations, we used a model approaching, allowing for determination of the individual contribution of different musical features. Thirty monophonic melodies from 3 stylistic eras with all expressive markings removed were performed by 20 pianists on a Disklavier piano. The results indicated a relatively high agreement among the pianists (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88). The overall average dynamics (across pianists) could be predicted quite well using support vector regression (R2 = 66%) from a set of 48 score-related features. The highest contribution was from pitch-related features (37.3%), followed by phrasing (12.3%), timing (2.8%), and meter (0.7%). The highest single contribution was from the high-loud principle, whereby higher notes were played louder, as corroborated by the written feedback of many of the pianists. There were also differences between the styles. The highest contribution from phrasing, for example, was obtained from the Romantic examples, while the highest contribution from meter came from the Baroque examples. An analysis of each individual pianist revealed some fundamental differences in approach to the performance of dynamics. All participants were undergraduate-standard pianists or above; however, varied levels of consistency and predictability highlighted challenges in acquiring a reliable group in terms of expertise and preparation, as well as certain pianistic challenges posed by the task. Nevertheless, the method proved useful in disentangling some underlying principles of musical performance and their relation to structural features of the score, with the potential for productive adaptation to a wider range of expressive and instrumental contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article elucidates the principles and methods of developing melodic intonation for teaching piano students in the music school setting. The training of the student-pianist in the music school will be focused not only on the formation and development of technical musical-interpretive skills, but also on the perception and penetration of the intonation and semantic content of the performed music. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A generalised song is a means of drawing parallels between words and music. The parallels are encoded in a mathematical structure, which is interpreted in a verbal structure and a musical structure. Here we develop a number of new techniques for drawing such parallels, in giving two examples of generalised songs, 'Relation', and 'Merge/Split'. The first five partials of a note played on a piano are roughly 0, 12, 19, 24, 28 semitones above the fundamental.'Relation' is a generalised song, whose musical part is played on a piano, constructed from the mathematical relation 4.28 = 3.12 + 4.19. 'Merge/Split' is a generalised song whose mathematical part consists of the mathematical operations of merging and splitting, the braid relation, and coassociativity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the piano network teaching system, in order to ensure the teaching effect, it is necessary to monitor and evaluate the piano performance of students. In order to provide a better online piano teaching experience, it is necessary to combine machine learning and language activity detection algorithms. The machine learning algorithm can build an accurate language activity detection model by analyzing a large number of piano performance data and corresponding language activity data. As a non-contact monitoring method, light image detection can effectively detect students' piano performance while protecting their privacy. This paper presents an optical image detection method based on language activity detection algorithm. By analyzing the relationship between image features and language activities in light images, a model between light images and language activities is established. Then the model is used to detect and recognize the light image to judge whether the students are playing the piano. The experimental results show that the light image detection method based on language activity detection algorithm can accurately detect students' piano playing activities, and maintain good monitoring effect while protecting students' privacy. This method provides a new optical monitoring scheme for the simulation of piano network teaching system, which has high practicability and feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper explains the role played by the practice of analogical reasoning in piano lessons, especially at the beginner level. The first stage of piano studies is the most important one in raising musicians. In order to develop a young student’s understanding and appreciation of music and piano playing, teachers use interesting and logically connected stories with plenty of entertaining characters, colorful illustrations and imaginative scenes. Comprehensive analogies with images of characters and their adventures used to introduce and expand on musical concepts in working with beginners make complicated playing techniques understandable and acceptable to them. It is very important to invoke students’ imagination and creativity using fantasy, as well as analogies from everyday life, in order to help them to envisage musical images and express them through physical movements. By making progress in piano playing, students also improve their problem-solving skills in the arts, sciences, natural environment and social life.

The length of time it takes to experimentally make one-sided choppers, as found in the fossil record, bears a linear relationship to the knapping process of fabricating them. In addition, this temporal frame appears to be related to human heart rates measured as beats per minute, which act as a physiological metronome. We achieved these observations, assuming that any paleolithic one-sided chopper has the information needed to estimate, quantitatively, the number of strikes on it. The experimental data allow us to establish the total timing needed for the standard fabricating of any one-sided chopper. We discuss issues derived from these experimental results, showing the evolution of human neurological abilities from 2.4 million years ago to the Modern period via the duration of time needed for making one chopper to that needed to play a 19th-century music score on a piano. Given that the neuronal and physiological distance between both actions differs by a factor of 6, we propose the concept of “technome” to measure human evolution by using methodological homogeneous metrics applied to these two human technologic objects: the chopper and the piano.

The article applies the knowledge of the physiological structure of finger movement in piano playing and the DH parameter method to construct a kinematic model of finger keystroke in piano playing. The Leap Motion-based gesture recognition algorithm is used for piano playing gesture movement extraction, gesture movement sub-framing, and velocity direction encoding, and the judgment HMM algorithm and the Viterbi improvement algorithm based on the a priori knowledge of fingering are utilized to automatically standardize piano fingering. After comparing the recognition performance of the piano playing training model in this paper, it is discussed how it can be used and how it can improve the user’s piano playing skills. In comparison to other piano gesture recognition models, the recognition accuracy and gesture dynamic information description of this paper’s training model demonstrate optimal performance. After the actual playing training experiments, the experimental group achieved significant improvements, while the control group experienced negligible improvements. After the experiment, the difference between the two groups increased, and the experimental group was superior to the control group in all aspects of piano playing. The training model for piano playing in this paper is effective in enhancing the user’s piano playing level.

In the evolving domain of artificial intelligence and deep learning, the pedagogical applications of piano performance— specifically its artistic instruction and emotional expressiveness—have garnered increasing scholarly attention. This research leverages MIDI music file formats to mine necessary data, engaging in a detailed examination of the structural and characteristic elements of MIDI files. To optimize the precision of mathematical models applied in this study, MIDI music data underwent preliminary preprocessing steps, including hexadecimal encoding and feature filtering, which facilitated the transformation of MIDI features into vectors representing emotional attributes. The study introduced the development of a BiLSTM_BLS model tailored to articulate the nuances of piano performance and emotional expression. This model synthesis integrates features reflective of emotional states induced by piano playing. A mathematically derived loss function was utilized to gauge the model’s fidelity, thereby enabling an assessment of its efficacy in the realms of artistic instruction and emotional conveyance in piano performance. Findings indicate a proximity between the emotional states of Anger (0.392) and Stress (0.385), with Depressed (0.422) presenting a slightly elevated distance from these states. Moreover, the BiLSTM_BLS model achieved a performance score of 3.214 in the evaluation of artistic expression, which corresponds to 64.28 on a standardized 100-point scale. This investigation contributes to the enhancement of musical skills and theoretical knowledge among pianists, promotes cognitive development, augments emotional expression, and nurtures creativity.

This paper proposes two primary pathways for online teaching and virtual music classrooms constructed using virtual reality technology and establishes a corresponding technical framework. In the online teaching mode, an online teaching platform is built, and an improved genetic algorithm is proposed for the intelligent grouping problem, which introduces the individual similarity elimination operation and incorporates simulated annealing to solve the problem of insufficient search capability. Meanwhile, in order to build a virtual music classroom, a dynamic light projection algorithm is proposed to reconstruct a three-dimensional model of human movement, and a multi-feature fusion algorithm is used to match the weights assigned to the human body's action gestures. In the evaluation of the teaching effect of the application of the technology framework, the piano art students are taken as the research object, and the experimental class and the control class are set up to carry out the teaching practice. In the evaluation of the learning effect, the completion degree of music and artistic performance of students in the experimental class was 83.65 and 82.66, which was significantly better than that of the control class (P

Piano performance represents a refined artistic expression characterized by its expressive and emotive qualities. This study focuses on research papers related to piano performance indexed in the Chinese literature database, utilizing the CiteSpace visualization tool to conduct an analysis. Employing the tool’s capabilities for word frequency, thematic, and cluster analysis, we investigate the temporal and spatial distributions, key terms, research trends, and emergent themes in the literature on piano performance. This multifaceted approach enables a deeper understanding of the developmental stages and overarching trends in the field. Our findings reveal significant shifts in thematic focus and research intensity, with notable increases in themes related to the transformation of piano performance and theoretical exploration post-2017.50, achieving an impact score exceeding 0.425. Prominent emergent keywords include “piano art” (4.9948), “piano certificate” (3.8833), “style” (3.4721), “accompaniment” (3.3155), “piano technique” (2.8888), “piano teaching” (2.6997), “emotional expression” (2.6129), and “intelligence” (2.2193). These findings indicate a trend towards the integration of modern technology and intellectual approaches in piano performance. This study provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution and current trends in piano performance research, offering insights into its future trajectory.

As computer science advances, it intersects intriguingly with the realm of music acoustics, particularly in enhancing piano performance through technological means. This paper delves into an innovative approach to piano learning and creation, focusing on emotional expression’s nuances. We have devised a system capable of precise musical tone recognition and sound quality evaluation by adopting Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) for the nuanced extraction of piano sounds and integrating dynamic fuzzy neural networks. Our findings show an impressive accuracy rate, with musical tone misidentification below 2.58% and sound quality assessment errors within a 5% margin. This work not only sets a new benchmark in piano performance analysis but also paves the way for revolutionary teaching methods in music education, with profound implications for artistic instruction and emotional expression.