A synchrony between tactile and auditory feedback (action-sound latency) when playing a musical instrument is widely recognized as disruptive to musical performance. In this paper we present a study that assesses the effects of delayed auditory feedback on the timing accuracy and judgments of instrument quality for two groups of participants: professional percussionists and non-percussionist amateur musicians. The amounts of delay tested in this study are relatively small in comparison to similar studies of auditory delays in a musical context (0 ms, 10 ms, 10 ms ± 3 ms, 20 ms). We found that both groups rated the zero latency condition as higher quality for a series of quality measures in comparison to 10 ms ± 3 ms and 20 ms latency, but did not show a significant difference in rating between 10 ms latency and zero latency. Professional percussionists were more aware of the latency conditions and showed less variation of timing under the latency conditions, although this ability decreased as the temporal demands of the task increased. We compare our findings from each group and discuss them in relation to latency in interactive digital systems more generally and experimentally similar work on sensorimotor control and rhythmic performance.

when finger taps are synchronized with an isochronous click, it is known that tap-click asynchrony and its variability increase with the interonset interval (IOI). It remains unclear whether these results are due to the IOI or the intertap interval (ITI) duration. The present study examines how these two factors influence tapping performance by altering the tap-click ratio (i.e., 1: n tapping). It has been shown that holding the ITI constant while decreasing the IOI—so that extra clicks subdivide each tap—results in a reduction of tapping variability, described as a subdivision benefit (Repp, 2003). Two questions remain: Does asynchrony and variability increase with the ITI while holding the IOI constant? Does asynchrony decrease with the IOI while holding ITI constant? Using linear regression, both asynchrony and variability decreased with the IOI, with little additional effect of ITI. In contrast, when using ITI as a predictor, the contribution of IOI was significant, suggesting that IOI is the main determinant of tapping performance. In addition, an ANOVA revealed a disadvantage for 1:3 tapping, supporting a categorical distinction between duple and triple meters since 1: n tapping can engender the subjective feel of different metric structures.

the present study examined the synchronization error (SE) of drum kit playing by professional drummers with an auditory metronome, focusing on the effects of motor effectors and tempi. Fifteen professional drummers attempted to synchronize a basic drumming pattern with a metronome as precisely as possible at tempi of 60, 120, and 200 beats per minute (bpm). In the 60 and 120 bpm conditions, the right hand (high-hat cymbals) showed small mean SE (∼2 ms), whereas the left hand (snare drum) and right foot (bass drum) preceded the metronome by about 10 ms. In the 200 bpm condition, the right hand was delayed by about 10 ms relative to the metronome, whereas the left hand and right foot showed small SE (∼1 ms). The absolute values of SE were smaller than those reported in previous tapping studies. In addition, the time series of SE were significantly correlated across the motor effectors, suggesting that each limb synchronized in relation to the other limbs rather than independently with the metronome.