The ability to act precisely before and after warming up educational sessions with adolescent violinists – pilot profiles

Abstract

Although the ability to perform precise actions determines the effectiveness of many human activities, it is not sufficiently emphasized in motor skills research. In the case of musicians, the degree of this motor skills should be correlated with the artistic effects of musical art. However, basic knowledge regarding whether this hypothesis has been sufficiently empirically verified is lacking. The fundamental dilemma concerns the tools that can be used to relatively universally measure the ability to perform precise actions under various circumstances, including those involving physical exertion, often combined with mental stress. The aim of this pilot study is the profiles of four young violinists (11-12 years old), who differ in years of practice and achievements in national and international competitions for beginner violinists. During four months of observation of standard violin lessons at a state primary music school in Poland, one session each month was arranged, preceded by a very simple yet emotionally attractive warm-up. However, before and after a five-minute, quite intense warm-up, the students attempted to throw five rehabilitation bags into a container within 10 seconds, initially from a distance of 2 meters (during the first two sessions) and from a distance of 1.5 meters during the remaining sessions. Effectiveness is measured by the proportion of successful throws, separately with the right and left hands. The analytical calculations also included the overall effectiveness (%) of 80 throws performed by the individual, the time taken for each series of throws (accurate to one hundredth of a second), and the correlations between these indicators for each student separately. Ann, an 11-year-old second-year music student, leads in overall throw effectiveness (47.25%), while Gabi (a 12-year-old sixth-grade student, i.e., with the longest experience and no significant artistic achievements) has 41.25%. Winners of numerous violin competitions: Eve 47.5%, Lucy 46.25%, respectively. Differentiating the calculated indicators when all students are taught by the same expert excludes the influence of the quality of teaching on the results of artistic achievements and innovative use of motor tasks in seemingly disparate physical activities. Therefore, this direction of complementary research seems to be an appropriate recommendation for the search for universal indicators for measuring the ability to act precisely in various states of arousal due to physical exertion combined with the influence of mental stress factors.

Keywords: Artistic Effect, Complementary Research Methodology, Coordination Skills, Mental Stress

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007817