Theta activity and accuracy while performing melodic-rhythmic passages between students and graduated guitar players

Music is conceived as a production of temporal changes of sounds in melodic, harmonic, and rhythmic fashion. The neurophysiological bases of music are still under investigation. Our objective in this study was to compare theta relative power (TRP) during performance of three melodic-rhythmic cells (MRC), between apprentice and graduated guitar players and to score their accuracy during the execution of guitar playing. We compared ten guitar students in a propaedeutic course with ten guitarists with a college degree in music performance. We performed electroencephalographic recordings while they carried-out: arpeggiated, articulated, and legato MRC. The TRP and accuracy of the execution were compared between groups. The propaeduetic group had higher TRP than the graduated group at several EEG sites during the of all three MRC, which was related to hemispheric lateralization. The propaedeutic group also had more entrances during the MRC tasks than the experienced players. In conclusion, our results suggest more cortical effort related to hemispheric lateralization and higher entrances movements in guitar students during learning to play MRC than graduated guitarists.