Reciprocal Modulation of Cognitive and Emotional Aspects in Pianistic Performances

BackgroundHigh level piano performance requires complex integration of perceptual, motor, cognitive and emotive skills. Observations in psychology and neuroscience studies have suggested reciprocal inhibitory modulation of the cognition by emotion and emotion by cognition. However, it is still unclear how cognitive states may influence the pianistic performance. The aim of the present study is to verify the influence of cognitive and affective attention in the piano performances. Methods and FindingsNine pianists were instructed to play the same piece of music, firstly focusing only on cognitive aspects of musical structure (cognitive performances), and secondly, paying attention solely on affective aspects (affective performances). Audio files from pianistic performances were examined using a computational model that retrieves nine specific musical features (descriptors) – loudness, articulation, brightness, harmonic complexity, event detection, key clarity, mode detection, pulse clarity and repetition. In addition, the number of volunteers' errors in the recording sessions was counted. Comments from pianists about their thoughts during performances were also evaluated. The analyses of audio files throughout musical descriptors indicated that the affective performances have more: agogics, legatos, pianos phrasing, and less perception of event density when compared to the cognitive ones. Error analysis demonstrated that volunteers misplayed more left hand notes in the cognitive performances than in the affective ones. Volunteers also played more wrong notes in affective than in cognitive performances. These results correspond to the volunteers' comments that in the affective performances, the cognitive aspects of piano execution are inhibited, whereas in the cognitive performances, the expressiveness is inhibited. ConclusionsTherefore, the present results indicate that attention to the emotional aspects of performance enhances expressiveness, but constrains cognitive and motor skills in the piano execution. In contrast, attention to the cognitive aspects may constrain the expressivity and automatism of piano performances.研究背景：高水平钢琴演奏需要感知、动作、认知与情感技能的复杂整合。心理学与神经科学领域的观测研究表明，情感对认知、认知对情感存在双向抑制性调节。但目前仍不明确认知状态如何影响钢琴演奏表现。本研究旨在验证认知与情感注意力对钢琴演奏表现的影响。 研究方法与结果：招募9名钢琴演奏者演奏同一首乐曲，首先仅关注音乐结构的认知层面（认知型演奏），随后仅关注情感层面（情感型演奏）。使用可提取9项特定音乐特征（描述符）的计算模型分析演奏音频文件，这些特征包括响度、奏法、明亮度、和声复杂度、事件检测、调性清晰度、调式检测、节拍清晰度与重复度。此外，统计录制过程中演奏者的失误次数，并评估演奏者对演奏过程中所思所想的自述内容。基于音乐描述符的音频分析结果显示，与认知型演奏相比，情感型演奏的速度变化、连奏处理与轻柔乐句表达更为丰富，而事件密度感知更低。失误分析结果表明，演奏者在认知型演奏中左手错音次数多于情感型演奏，而在情感型演奏中的错音总次数则多于认知型演奏。该结果与演奏者的自述相符：在情感型演奏中，钢琴演奏的认知层面受到抑制；而在认知型演奏中，演奏表现力受到抑制。 研究结论：综上，本研究结果表明，关注演奏的情感层面可提升表现力，但会限制钢琴演奏中的认知与动作技能；反之，关注认知层面则会限制钢琴演奏的表现力与自动化水平。