The kinetics and acoustics of fingering and note transitions on the flute

TL;DR

This study measures the timing and coordination of finger movements on the flute across skill levels, revealing differences in transition safety and timing that impact performance quality.

Contribution

It provides detailed measurements of key motion timings and analyzes safe versus unsafe note transitions, highlighting skill-related differences in fingering coordination.

Findings

Professionals have smaller finger delay times than amateurs.

Safe transitions are more common among players, especially professionals.

Transition timings influence note stability and performance quality.

Abstract

Motion of the keys was measured in a transverse flute while beginner, amateur and professional flutists played a range of exercises. The time taken for a key to open or close is typically 10 ms when pushed by a finger or 16 ms when moved by a spring. Delays between the motion of the fingers were typically tens of ms, with longer delays as more fingers are involved. Because the opening and closing of keys will never be exactly simultaneous, transitions between notes that involve the movement of multiple fingers can occur via several possible pathways with different intermediate fingerings. A transition is classified as `safe' if it is possible to be slurred from the initial to final note with little perceptible change in pitch or volume. Some transitions are `unsafe' and possibly involve a transient change in pitch or a decrease in volume. In transitions with multiple fingers, players, on average, used safe transitions more frequently than unsafe transitions. Professionals exhibited smaller average delays between the motion of fingers than did amateurs.