Steadiness in instrumental performance: A study of tapping, tempo, and grade

The purpose of this study was to investigate musicians' steady performance ability at two speeds. The study used a counterbalanced design in which nin ety subjects (30 seventh-, 30 tenth-, and 30 collegiate-instrumentalists) p erformed one melody in four permutations (slow/with a foot-tap; slow/withou t a foot-tap; moderate/with a foot-tap; moderate/without a foot-tap). Skill development was, therefore, compared within each individual for foot-tappi ng (two levels) in two tempi, and between individuals for grade (three leve ls). Data collected from the ninety subjects were analyzed using a repeated -measures analysis of variance. Results showed that the main effect of grad e was significant at both tempi; students in the seventh-grade were signifi cantly different in their steady performance ability from either the tenth- grade students or the college-level musicians. The main effect for tapping was significant at the slower tempo, but not at the faster tempo. There was no significant interaction between tapping and grade.