The Effect of Concurrent Music Reading and Performance on the Ability to Detect Tempo Change

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of concurrent performance on the ability of three groups of musicians to detect tempo change. Ninety subjects were tested under two conditions: (a) listening for tempo changes in a series of metronomic “click tracks” and (b) listening for tempo changes while concurrently reading and performing music excerpts in synchronization with the click tracks. Results indicated that: (a) for all groups, the ability to detect tempo changes was inhibited by the playing task; (b) the detection ability of high school musicians who had previously practiced the music was less inhibited by the playing task than was the same ability of similar students who had not practiced the music; and (c) the detection ability of college and prof essional musicians who had not practiced the music was less inhibited by the playing task than was the detection ability of high school musicians who had not practiced the music.