Upper Body Kinematic Analysis in Piano Playing Tasks

Abstract The piano is one of the most popular instruments to learn among young musicians due to its versatility. As with any other physical activity, fluid piano performance requires practice to improve technique and reduce the injury risk in long playing sessions. One expert and one intermediate piano player performed three piano playing tasks at three different tempos while body kinematics data were collected with multiple inertial measurement units (IMUs). The maximum and minimum angular displacement of upper body joints and joint displacement were observed as a function of time. For all tempos, healthy joint angular displacements were observed. Across all tempos, more joint angular displacement was observed for the expert performer, showing better motor control and performance. The greater angular displacement in the hip joint for the experienced player shows a contrast in force production compared to the intermediate player. Less experienced players then have more forearm activity to keep tempo and loudness. We did not observe significant differences in joint displacement between the 100 and 130 BPM tasks. Generally, multi-joint motion is desired in piano playing to reduce biomechanical demands. Similar and future studies could benefit pedagogy, injury prevention, and rehabilitation processes.