In this paper, we present the results of a study designed to discover how players internalize the dynamic behavior of a new musical instrument. 10 experienced musicians played a series of short melodies on a virtual Theremin capable of haptic as well as auditory feedback. Participants were assigned to one of two force conditions, viscous damper or spring.
Results indicate that the viscous damper took players longer to learn.
In the end, however, players in both conditions performed equally well, indicating that they had learned to compensate for differences in the dynamics of the instrument. Moreover, when all force feedback was removed, players exhibited inverse behavior showing that they had indeed internalized the instrument's dynamics. All Rights Reserved.