Is The Player More Influenced By The Auditory Than The Tactile Feedback From The Instrument?
What sensory feedback, tactile or auditory, is the more important for a musician when playing? In an attempt to answer this question, subjects were asked to play along with a metronome while the auditory feedback from their playing was manipulated. The preliminary results showed a tendency for matching sound with sound, i.e. players initiated strokes earlier as the delay increased. Increase in timing errors indicate a possible breakpoint around 55 ms. As the feedback was delayed even more subjects showed increased difficulties in maintaining a steady rhythm.