Motor performance in violin bowing: Effects of attentional focus on acoustical, physiological and physical parameters of a sound-producing action

Violin bowing is a specialised sound-producing action, which may be affected by psychological performance techniques. In sport, attentional focus impacts motor performance, but limited evidence for this exists in music. We investigated the effects of attentional focus on acoustical, physiological, and physical parameters of violin bowing in experienced and novice violinists. Attentional focus significantly affected spectral centroid, bow contact point consistency, shoulder muscle activity, and novices’ violin sway. Performance was most improved when focusing on tactile sensations through the bow (somatic focus), compared to sound (external focus) or arm movement (internal focus). Implications for motor performance theory and pedagogy are discussed.

小提琴运弓（violin bowing）是一类专业化的发声动作，其表现或受到演奏心理技巧的影响。在运动领域中，注意焦点（attentional focus）会对运动表现产生影响，但音乐领域中相关实证证据较为匮乏。本研究探讨了注意焦点对资深与新手小提琴家小提琴运弓的声学、生理及物理参数的影响。注意焦点对频谱质心（spectral centroid）、弓接触点一致性、肩部肌肉活动以及新手小提琴家的琴身摆动均产生了显著影响。相较于关注声音（外部注意焦点（external focus））或手臂动作（内部注意焦点（internal focus）），当演奏者将注意力集中于通过琴弓传递的触觉感受（躯体注意焦点（somatic focus））时，演奏表现提升最为显著。本研究还探讨了该发现对运动表现理论与音乐教学法的启示。