Evaluation of audio-based feedback technologies for bow learning technique in violin beginners

Abstract

We present a study of the effects of feedback technologies on the learning process of novice violin students. Twenty-one subjects participated in our experiment, divided into two groups: Beginners (participants with no prior violin playing experience, N=14), and experts (participants with more than 6 years of violin playing experience, N=7). The beginners group was further divided into two: a group of beginners learning with Youtube videos (N=7), and a group of beginners with additional feedback related to the quality of their performance (N=7). Participants were asked to perform a violin exercise during 21 trials while their audio was recorded and analyzed. Three different audio descriptors were extracted from each audio in order to evaluate the quality of the performance: Dynamic stability, pitch stability and aperiodicity. Beginners showed a significant improvement during the session(i.e. by comparing the beginning and the end of the session)in the quality of the sound recorded, while experts maintained their results. However, only the beginner group with feedback showed significant improvement between the middle and late part of the session, while the group without feedback remained stable.