Selected Topics in the Perception and Interpretation of Musical Tempo Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Randolph Burge Johnson, M.A. Graduate Program in Music The Ohio State University 2010 Dissertation Committee: David Huron, Advisor Lora Gingerich Dobos David Clampitt Copyright by Randolph Burge Johnson 2010 Abstract Two studies examined the influence of mental imagery type and instruments’ tone-decay times on tempo fluctuations between repeated rehearsals and performances of musical works. The first experimental study tested the predictions that 1) motor imagery—in contrast to non-motor imagery—would lead to smaller discrepancies between imagined and performed tempos; and 2) musical works having high note density would tend to be slowed down when imagined, whereas works having low note density would tend to be sped up when imagined. The second correlational study tested the prediction that the same work would exhibit significant changes of average tempo when performed on instruments having different tone-decay times. In the first study, musicians performed slow and fast musical excerpts either vocally or on their major instrument. These excerpts were recorded. Then, each participant repeatedly attempted to mentally replicate their excerpts’ tempos by using motor or non-motor imagery. Excerpt beginnings were signaled by three-second prompts from the recordings of each excerpt, and participants indicated excerpt endings by ringing a call bell. Excerpt duration discrepancies were calculated by subtracting the performed excerpt length from the imagined excerpt length. The results did not yield support for either of our hypotheses. There was no significant difference of tempo discrepancies ii when using motor versus non-motor imagery; and there was no significant main effect of variable note density on tempo discrepancies. Post hoc analyses suggested that successive mental rehearsals might lead to smaller and less variable tempo discrepancies across musicians of diverse skill levels. Other post hoc analyses suggested that repeated practice attempts might improve or at least maintain tempo accuracy, except in music exhibiting low note density—below approximately 1.5 notes-per-second. However, musicians do not seem to have immediate conscious access to the gains or losses of tempo accuracy in mental practice. The second part of the study analyzed the effect of instrument tone-decay time on average-tempo differences among repeated recorded performances of North-American Folk music and Western-Classical music. Recordings were paired in such a way that each piece was represented by performances on two (banjo and guitar) or three similar instruments (harpsichord, fortepiano, and piano). Varying tone-decay time comprised one salient difference within each instrument group. The results failed to support our prediction regarding tone-decay length and tempo differences. There was no significant difference of a work’s average tempo when it was performed on different instruments. Post hoc analyses of the folk songs showed that rhythmic speed was higher in performances on banjo than on guitar. This suggests that works not having a definitive version, as in a musical score, might exhibit faster rhythms when performed on instruments with shorter tone-decay times. iii Dedication This document is dedicated to my wife, Lia. iv Acknowledgments I would like to thank my advisor, David Huron, for his guidance with this and other lines of research. I also am very appreciative for the support from my other committee members: Lora Dobos and David Clampitt—many thanks to all of you, and to the whole Music Department at Ohio State. v Vita 2004................................................................B.S.O.F. Music Performance; Psychology, Indiana University 2007................................................................M.A. Music Theory, Ohio State University 2005-09 .........................................................Graduate Teaching Associate, Department of Music, Ohio State University Publications Huron, D., Dahl, S., & Johnson, R. (2009). Facial expression and vocal pitch height: Evidence of an intermodal association. Empirical Musicology Review 4(3): 93- 100. Fields of Study Major Field: Music vi Table of Contents Abstract............................................................................................................................... ii List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... xi List of Figures..................................................................................................................xiii Study One – Musical Tempo Stability in Mental Practice: A Comparison of Motor and Non-Motor Imagery Techniques......................................................................................... 1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 2 Considerations of Tempo............................................................................................. 3 Background ..................................................................................................................... 6 Hypotheses .................................................................................................................... 11 Method .......................................................................................................................... 16 Participants ................................................................................................................ 16 Materials and Procedure ............................................................................................ 16 Results ........................................................................................................................... 23 Tests of Hypothesis One – “Mental Practice Type”.................................................. 29 Tests of Hypothesis Two – “Tempo Flux”................................................................ 35 vii Post Hoc Hypotheses................................................................................................. 37 Summary of Results .................................................................................................. 43 Discussion ..................................................................................................................... 46 Conclusion..................................................................................................................... 52 Summary.................................................................................................................... 52 Future Directions ....................................................................................................... 54 Study Two – The Effect of Tone-Decay Time on Tempo: Two Comparative Studies of Banjo/Guitar and Fortepiano/Harpsichord/Piano ............................................................. 61 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 62 Background ................................................................................................................... 65 Theories of the Effects of Hall-Decay Time on Tempo ............................................ 65 Evidence from Live Performances: A Re-Analysis of Winckel (1962).................... 68 Laboratory Evidence.................................................................................................. 74 Instrument-Related Tempo Effects............................................................................ 75 Study Overview ......................................................................................................... 77 Method Overview...................................................................................................... 77 Analytic Sample Overview........................................................................................ 78 Part 1 – Banjo and Guitar.............................................................................................. 79 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 79 viii Population.................................................................................................................. 81 Sampling.................................................................................................................... 81 Tempo Data Collection.............................................................................................. 83 Results ....................................................................................................................... 84 Discussion.................................................................................................................. 87 Part II – Banjo/Guitar Post Hoc Hypothesis ................................................................. 88 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 88 Sampling.................................................................................................................... 88 Method......................................................................................................................