DOI: 10.5061/dryad.95x69p8z3
title: Data and code from: Motor origins of timbre in piano performance

description: Creativity in the arts, such as painting and musical performance, hinges
 on the ability to produce a wide spectrum of perceptual experiences. In
 music, it has long been believed that the timbre of tones can be altered
 by nuanced movements of performers. Previous studies have described
 relationships between fundamental elements of auditory perceptions (e.g.,
 loudness, tempo) and physical movements (e.g., force, speed), but it
 remains unknown whether and how delicate features of perceptual
 experiences, such as tone timbre, are manipulated through dexterous motor
 skills. Here, we bridge this gap using a two-fold experimental approach.
 First, our listening test revealed that the timbral qualities pianists
 intended to express in piano playing were perceived as intended by both
 pianists and musically untrained individuals, with pianists showing a
 greater perceptual sensitivity to different timbres. Second, through a
 motor behavioral experiment using a non-contact, high-resolution sensing
 system, we identified five specific movement features in piano touch that
 were intricately linked to three categories of perceived timbre: weight,
 clarity, and brightness. Furthermore, the direct manipulation of a
 specific key movement feature resulted in systematic changes in perceived
 timbre, providing evidence for a causal relationship. The result indicates
 that pianists share common motor skills to modify perceived tone timbre by
 manipulating specific movement features. Our findings underscore the
 pivotal roles of subtle physical gestures in creating the rich timbral
 palette of piano tones, advancing our understanding of the intersection
 between motor control and artistic expression.
description: # Data and code from: Motor origins of timbre in piano performance Dataset
 DOI: [10.5061/dryad.95x69p8z3](10.5061/dryad.95x69p8z3) ## Description of
 the data and file structure The datasets were collected as part of two
 experimental studies investigating the relationship between piano
 performance and perceptual experiences. Study 1: Pianists played a short
 excerpt from No. 1 of "Hanon the Virtuoso Pianist in 60
 Exercises" under multiple expression conditions. For each
 performance, features of the key movements were recorded, and evaluation
 scores were obtained from the listening experiment. The data
 (data_study1.mat) provide information linking performers, condition,
 expression, movement features, and perceptual ratings. Study 2:
 Participants completed a discrimination task in which they compared two
 sound sources (LargeAcc vs. SmallAcc). The dataset contains trial-level
 information, including whether SmallAcc was presented first, and whether
 the participant judged the first-presented sound as “lighter/clearer.”
 Associated JSON files store the measured key position data corresponding
 to the stimuli. ### Files and variables #### File: Code_Data.zip
 **Description:**  create_figure_4, 5, and 6: These functions generate
 Figures 4, 5, and 6 using the experimental data from Study 1, stored in
 data_study1.mat. data_study1.mat: T is a table that stores, for each
 performer and each perceptual concept under each condition, the following
 information: ・values of keyboard movement features (vel_escapement,
 acc_escapement, vel_mute, acc_mute, onset_noise, bottom_noise,
 offset_noise, overlap,IKI, d_vel_escapement, d_escapement_timing, and
 d_overlap) ・Score: the average evaluation score for that performance
 ・Group: the evaluator’s group label ・ID: performer ID ・Condition:
 performance condition (small:0, large:1, mechanical: 2) ・Concept: which
 concept was performed create_figure_7: This function generates Figure 7
 using the experimental data from Study 2, which are stored in
 data_study2.mat, core_output_hackkey_note_largeACC.json, and
 core_output_hackkey_note_smallACC.json. data_study2.mat: T is a table
 containing: ・ID: participant ID ・Concept: which concept condition was
 performed ・which: whether the SmallAcc sound source was presented in the
 first or second trial (0: first trial, 1: second trial) ・answer: whether
 the participant judged the first trial as “lighter or clearer” (1 if the
 first trial was chosen, 0 if the second trial was chosen) ・correct:
 whether the participant judged SmallAcc as “lighter or clearer”
 (true/false) JSON files: The files core_output_hackkey_note_largeACC.json
 and core_output_hackkey_note_smallACC.json contain the measured key
 position data. ## Code/software MATLAB is required to run create_figure_4,
 5, 6, and 7; the script was created using version R2024b. #### File:
 error_ellipse.zip Tool for drawing ellipsoids (used in Figure 4). ####
 File: hex2rgb.zip Tool for converting a hexadecimal color code (HEX) to
 its corresponding RGB values. #### File:
 povilaskarvelis-DataViz-3.2.7.0.zip Tool for creating box plots with
 individual data points shown as dots.