Abstract
Sensory feedback is important when learning a new musical instrument, such as the piano. The contribution of different sources of sensory feedback to piano sequence learning has been extensively studied in experienced pianists, with limited research targeting novice piano learning. Our study investigated sensory feedback use in piano sequence learning in individuals with (experienced) and without (novice) previous piano learning experience. Novice (N = 17, 10F) and experienced (N= 10, 7F) piano players performed piano sequences across three different sensory feedback conditions: audiovisual, auditory-only, visual-only. On day one, participants performed a pre-test, an acquisition period, and an immediate retention test. During the pre-test, participants performed three sequences and received audiovisual feedback. During acquisition, participants practiced each sequence, whereby each sequence was randomly assigned to a sensory feedback condition (audiovisual, visual-only, auditory-only). During acquisition, participants were provided with feedback about their sequence accuracy (i.e., correct or incorrect) and sequence asynchrony (i.e. accuracy of timing between stimulus and response). The post-test assessed immediate retention by having participants perform each sequence with audiovisual feedback. Participants then performed a 24-hour delayed retention test, identical to the pre-and post-test. Analysis of the data revealed that all participants (novice and experienced) significantly improved from the pre-test to the post- and retention tests across all sensory conditions. We found no significant differences in asynchrony or accuracy across the sensory conditions for both groups. These findings suggest that learning can occur in the absence of auditory or visual feedback.
