Abstract
This study investigated the effects of sound volume and striking tempo on control of upper extremity movements in expert pianists (N=8) when they performed repetitive octave keystrokes. It was found that at all levels of sound volume and striking tempo, the upper limb angles at the moment of finger-key contact were invariant. The effects of sound volume and striking tempo on limb movements were revealed differently. The proximal segments contributed more to the movement of the limb for the production of larger sound, whereas they contributed less for increasing striking tempo. We propose that sound volume control is achieved by an “impulse strategy», whereas striking tempo control is made by a “moment of inertia strategy”. To control sound volume and striking tempo simultaneously, pianists selected an intermediate way of these two strategies where movements at the elbow joint played a major role in keystroke.
