The relation between synchronization skill and perceptual-psychomotor skills, background and expertise in piano performance of the accompanist in context of vocal performance with piano accompaniment

Timing is one of the most important aspects of an colloborative musical performance. Accompanists have an important role on helping the soloist perform the music in the way he/she intends. Having skills on timing affects the quality of the soloist?s performance, as well as the overall ensemble performance. Therefore the development of the timing skills of accompanists is a highly important matter. In this study, variables related to timing of an accompanist is investigated. These variables are specified in three categories : perceptual and psychomotor variables, variables on musical background and expertise in piano performance as a variable. Seven items about perceptual and psychomotor variables are measured. These are musical choice reaction time, access time on piano keyboard, speed trill, recognition of briefly presented chords, timing-content ratio of performance at a high tempo, variability on maintaining a constant tempo, adaptation time to a tempo change. The main purpose of this study was to explore the relation between these variables on synchronization skill of an accompanist. The participants of this study was 20 pianists who had piano education at a certain level and were in Ankara during the study, selected on a voluntary basis. Data is collected with forms, modules prepared on computer and by recording audio performances; analyzed by statistical methods such as Pearson correlation and t-test. Findings indicate that there is a significant relation between musical choice reaction time, speed trill, timing-content ratio of performance at a high tempo, adaptation time to a tempo change, some aspects of musical background, expertise level and synchronization skill of an accompanist.