Attention, communication and development of interpretation skills in chamber music pianists´education.

Abstract

Pianists performing chamber music require skills of conscious listening and non-verbal, body or visual communication to perfect coordination, synchrony and dynamic balance. This study hypothesize that pianists have perceptive-attentional and psychological skills that allow them to communicate with other musicians. These skills are hypothesized to be better in more experienced pianists. This survey was conducted with 278 graduate and under-graduate pianists from all parts of Spain, who reported that the attention and communication skills are important in chamber music performance. Women reported higher levels of multitask competencies pertaining to conscious listening, body language and visual efficiency. At the same time, participants who are more highly trained and experienced report higher levels of attention, communication and interpretation skills when compared to the participants with shorter training and experience. Future research and practice should focus on assessment and inclusion of these skills in the curriculum of future chamber music pianists.