Music-related motor skills in pianists: Predictors of skill acquisition in childhood and of maintenance in adulthood

Background and Study Aims: Previous research on musical performance achievement has focused on the overall musical performance and on musical subskills. Two studies were conducted to identify predictors of motor skill acquisition in children pianists and of long-term development of motor skills in expert pianists in a relevant musical context. Methods: Motor skills at the piano were assessed in standardized C major scale playing. For each participant, overall temporal unevenness of note onsets was calculated as the median of the mean standard deviations of inter-onset intervals of both hands and playing directions. Study 1: Motor performance was tested in 30 piano playing children. Information regarding (a) practice strategies, (b) participants’ enjoyment of music, practice, and various subjects in school and (c) parental supervision of participants’ practicing was collected using questionnaires. Study 2: Motor performance of 19 expert pianists was assessed twice within an average time interval of 27 months. Practice quantity and practice strategies were assessed by means of retrospective questionnaires. Results: Study 1: Multiple regression analysis revealed a model predicting 68 % of the variance of performance values in children pianists, with the following parameters as predictors: duration of piano education, enjoyment of practice, frequency of technical exercise, enjoyment of the subject ‘art’ at school, frequency of parentally supervised practice, and enjoyment of music. Study 2: Stepwise linear regression revealed a model predicting 43 % of the variance of the motor skill development in expert pianists, with the practice time accumulated during follow-up as the only predictor. Conclusions: Predictors of motor skill acquisition in children pianists are according to factors previously found to influence musical performance achievement. In expert pianists, maintenance of motor skills was strongly influenced by amount of practice.