David Huron and Jonathan Berec
Society for Music Perception and Cognition Conference, 1995.
Nine sets of measures pertaining to breathing, embouchure, tonguing, and fingering were collected from two trumpet performers. On the basis of this information, a kinematic model of performance difficulty for the Bb valve trumpet was constructed and implemented as a computer program. The resulting model generates several numerical estimates reflecting the technical difficulty for a given musical passage. A crude validation of the model was carried out by testing it against technical etudes from published conservatory graded trumpet curriculum.
Using this model, several works composed by both trumpet virtuosi (Arnold, Balay, Clarke) and non-trumpet players (Debussy, Hindemith) were studied. Idiomatic features of the compositions are clearly evident in the analyses. For example, the choice of keys and tempi approach optimal values for the virtuoso works but approach chance levels in those works composed by non-trumpet players.
A conceptual distinction is made between measures of performance "difficulty" (how hard it is to play a particular passage) and measures of performance "idiomaticism" (how well suited a passage is to a specific instrumental resource). Methods for calculating both values are presented. In general, the overall approach of this paper demonstrates that empirical methods can be used to help identify features of musical organization that are influenced by performance physiology.