Musical activity in a subsample of the German National Cohort study.

Musical activities (MA) such as singing, playing instruments, and listening to music may be associated with health benefits. However, evidence from epidemiological studies is still limited. This study aims at describing the relation between MA and both sociodemographic and health-related factors in a cross-sectional approach. A total of 6717 adults (50.3% women, 49.7% men, median age: 51 years (IQR 43-60) were recruited from the study center Berlin-Mitte of the German National Cohort (NAKO), a population-based prospective study. This study is based on a sample randomly selected from the population registry of Berlin, Germany, aged 20 to 69 years. 53% of the participants had been musically active at least once in their life (56.1% women, 43.9% men). Playing keyboard instruments (30%) and singing (21%) were the most frequent MA. Participants listened to music in median 90 min per day (IQR 30.0-150.0). Musically active individuals were more likely to have a higher education, higher alcohol consumption, were less likely to be physically active, and had a lower BMI compared to musically inactive individuals. This large population-based study offers a comprehensive description of demographic, health, and lifestyle characteristics associated with MA. Our findings may aid in assessing long-term health consequences of MA.

Emotional cherry picking: the role of personality and goal orientation in selective emotion regulation for musical practice.

Introduction: Emotion regulation is an important part of optimising performance and successful goal pursuit in practice-based tasks such as making music. Musicians may regulate their own emotions during the course of their musical practice in order to improve their performance and ultimately attain their practice-related goals. The specific emotions they target may depend upon their personality traits but may also relate to the nature of their goal orientation, and the interaction between the two. This study investigates whether the emotions desired by musicians in their musical practice were dependent on their personality traits and Mastery goal orientation (the desire to master musical and technical skills). Methods: Via an online questionnaire, 421 musicians completed a personality scale and answered questions relating to their mastery practice goals. They also completed emotion scales indicating how strongly they desired to increase or decrease the intensity of specific emotions when practicing. Results: Overall, musicians preferred to up-regulate positive rather than negative emotions [paired t(420) = 58.13, p < 0.001]. Bayesian Mixed Effects models showed that personality traits affected musicians' desire to regulate specific emotions. For example, higher levels of Agreeableness predicted greater desire to increase positive but not negative emotions, whereas Extraversion predicted greater desire to increase anger [Est. = 0.05, SE = 0.03, Odds (Est. > 0) = 43.03] but not positive emotions. The inclusion of Mastery goal orientation either amplified or mitigated these effects in several cases, and also introduced new trait-emotion relationships. Findings confirm a general hedonic principle underlying the emotions musicians desired in their musical practice. However, predicted by personality traits, musicians also sometimes sought to increase the intensity of unpleasant emotions. Discussion: These findings complement existing research that suggests that some Mastery-oriented musicians may seek an emotional state consisting of both positive and negative emotions. This and future studies on this topic may contribute to a better understanding of individual differences in emotion regulation ability as a potential aspect of individualised musical practice strategies.

Expertise- and Tempo-Related Performance Differences in Unimanual Drumming.

BACKGROUND: High-speed drumming requires precise control over the timing, velocity, and magnitude of striking movements. AIM: To examine effects of tempo and expertise on unaccented repetitive drumming performance using 3D motion capture. METHODS: Expert and amateur drummers performed unimanual, unaccented, repetitive drum strikes, using their dominant right hand, at five different tempi. Performance was examined with regard to timing variability, striking velocity variability, the ability to match the prescribed tempo, and additional variables. RESULTS: Permutated multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) revealed significant main effects of tempo (p < .001) and expertise (p <.001) on timing variability and striking velocity variability; low timing variability and low striking velocity variability were associated with low/medium tempo as well as with increased expertise. Individually, improved precision appeared across an optimum tempo range. Precision was poorest at maximum tempo (400 hits per minute) for precision variables. CONCLUSIONS: Expert drummers demonstrated greater precision and consistency than amateurs. Findings indicate an optimum tempo range that extends with increased expertise.

Corrigendum: Expertise-Related Differences in Wrist Muscle Co-contraction in Drummers.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01360.].

Instrumental and Hedonic Motives for Emotion Regulation in Musical Practice.

Emotion regulation literature often emphasizes that individuals regulate their emotions for hedonic reasons. However, there is increasing support for an instrumental approach to emotion regulation. This approach suggests that emotions are regulated if they are believed to be beneficial to the pursuit of personally relevant goals. When pursuing a long-term goal, an individual may forego immediate, hedonic emotional reward in order to maximize the instrumental benefits of emotions. The current study investigates emotion regulation behaviour in the context of musical practice. We examine whether musicians adopt specific, regulated emotional stances which support their goal orientation, and which are in line with their beliefs regarding the functional impact of emotions. Via an online questionnaire, 421 musicians reported their goal-orientation, meta-emotion beliefs, and affect-regulation strategies. Participants then completed a scale assessing specific emotions they would regulate in order to support their musical practice. Data were analysed using PCA, MANOVA, subgroup analysis and categorical regression. Musicians reported using affect-improvement strategies more often than affect-worsening strategies in order to influence how they felt during musical practice. Greater reported use of affect-worsening strategies was associated with stronger meta-emotion beliefs supporting the possible instrumental benefits of unpleasant emotions (F = 30.33; p < 0.01; η p 2 = 0.06). Musicians who strongly endorsed this belief more strongly pursued mastery goals in contrast to enjoyment goals. In terms of specific targeted emotions, musicians generally sought to reduce unpleasant emotions, and increase pleasant, energizing emotions in order to support their musical practice. However, a subgroup of mastery- rather than enjoyment-oriented musicians may seek a mixed emotional state, increasing anger and nervousness in conjunction with a number of pleasant emotions (Wilks λ1,420 = 14.42; p < 0.01; η p 2 = 0.50). Musicians who pursue expert musical skills may be motivated to experience emotions that combine the instrumental and hedonic benefits of emotions. Musicians who practice for enjoyment may prioritize emotions that maximize only the hedonic benefits. Future research should aim to identify the regulated emotional states that best support specific musical practice outcomes in an individual. It will also be important to understand on all levels, including music performance quality as well as health and well-being, the outcomes that may be associated with the use of affect-worsening strategies and unpleasant emotions. Research in this field may equip musicians with novel skills for better pursuit of their goals, and may help to maximize health and well-being in musical practice.

Expertise-Related Differences in Cyclic Motion Patterns in Drummers: A Kinematic Analysis.

BACKGROUND: At present only little information is available concerning the acquisition of skilled movements in musicians. Although optimally a longitudinal study of changing movement patterns during the process of increasing expertise is required, long-term follow up over several years is difficult to manage. Therefore, in the present cross-sectional study a comparative kinematic analysis of skilled movements in drummers with different levels of expertise was carried out. AIMS: The aim of the investigation was (1) to analyze the kinematic differences between beginners, students and expert drummers, and (2) to deduce from the results general rules related to the acquisition of drumming expertise and (3) to discuss the implications for drum teaching. METHOD: Two highly skilled experts, eight professional drumming students and five beginners participated in the experiment. Fast repetitive drumming movements were assessed using an active infrared measurement setup (SELSPOT-System). Recording was obtained from LEDs positioned over the shoulder-, elbow-, wrist- and MCP-joints and close to the tip of the stick at a sampling rate of 300 Hz. Kinematic analysis included calculation of angles, velocities and accelerations and assessment of the relation between velocity and acceleration as phase diagrams. RESULTS: Temporal accuracy of the drumming movements was related to expertise. In contrast to beginners, experts and students revealed a high degree of self-similarity of movements and a predominant use of low-mass distal joints, resulting in a whiplash-like movement when hitting the pad. CONCLUSION: Intense training in students and experts results in economic utilization of forces. Percussion teachers can take advantage of the kinematic analysis and improve their instructions according to the student's observed motor pattern.

Expertise-Related Differences in Wrist Muscle Co-contraction in Drummers.

Background and Aim: Drumming requires excellent motor control and temporal coordination. Deploying specific muscle activation patterns may help achieve these requirements. Muscle activation patterns that involve reciprocal contraction of antagonist muscles are particularly favorable as they enable a high level of muscular economy while maintaining performance. In contrast, simultaneous contraction of antagonist muscles is an inefficient muscle activation pattern. In drumming, co-contraction can lead to increased movement variability and greater fatigue over time. In this study we examine how muscle activation patterns develop with increased drumming expertise. Methods: Eleven expert drummers (ED) and eleven amateur drummers (AD) were recorded using 3D motion capture while performing five different uni-manual and bi-manual repetitive drumming tasks across different tempi. Electromyography was used to record muscle activation of wrist flexor and extensor muscles. Results: Findings indicate that reduced co-contraction resulted in more even drumming performance. Co-contraction also increased in extremely slow and very high tempi. Furthermore, regardless of task or tempo, muscle co-contraction was decreased in participants with higher levels of expertise. In addition to anti-phasic activity of wrist flexor and extensor muscles, expert drummers exhibited a flexor dominance, suggesting more efficient usage of rebound. Conclusion: Taken together, we found that higher levels of drumming expertise go hand in hand with specific muscle activation patterns that can be linked to more precise and efficient drumming performance.

Central retinal venous pressure is higher than intraocular pressure during amateur trumpet playing.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown in the literature that the Valsalva manoeuvre influences ocular perfusion by changing intraocular pressure and central retinal venous pressure (CRVP). High-resistance wind instrument (HRWI) playing is a common situation resembling a Valsalva manoeuvre. The aim of this investigation was to explore the influence of amateur trumpet playing on CRVP. METHODS: The left eyes of 20 healthy non-professional trumpet players (median age 26, range 19-52 years; 17 males, 3 females) were included in this investigation. Subjects, sitting at a slit lamp, were asked to play the tone b' flat with their own mouthpiece on the same trumpet for at least 30 s with moderate loudness. The following data were obtained: intraocular pressure (IOP) by applanation tonometry before and during playing, CRVP by contact lens dynamometry before and during playing, airway pressure (AirP) using a pressure sensor during playing and blood pressure and heart rate using the common cuff method before and during playing. RESULTS: The results are presented as the medians before vs during playing: a calculated mean ophthalmic artery pressure of 66 vs 72 mmHg, heart rate of 76 vs 82 beats per minute, airway pressure of 0 vs 17 mmHg, IOP 12 vs 13 mmHg and CRVP of 24 vs 55 mmHg (Wilcoxon test: p = 0.00009), respectively. A correlation between the CRVP during playing and the height of the spontaneous CRVP is noted (Spearman rank correlation coefficient: ρ = 0.68). CONCLUSIONS: Amateur trumpet playing increases CRVP, airway pressure and IOP. The increase in CRVP is greater than that of the intraocular pressure. The increase in CRVP seems to be more important for retinal perfusion changes during trumpet playing than the increase of IOP. It can be hypothesised that high airway pressure during playing may cause a permanent increase in CRVP, at least in a subgroup of trumpet players.

[Musical Inactivity - A Risk Factor? A Short Questionnaire to Assess Musical Activity (MusA)]. / Musikalische Inaktivität ­ ein Risikofaktor? Vorstellung eines kurzen Fragebogens zur Erfassung der musikalischen Aktivität (MusA).

BACKGROUND: There is only a limited number of studies on associations between musical activity and health issues. It seems that musical activity has physiological and psychological benefits, as well as effects on the mental capacity, but this has been studied only in a few clinical and epidemiological studies. One reason might be that no appropriate survey instrument assessing musical activity is available. AIM OF THE STUDY: Here we provide an overview of survey instruments that assess musicality and musical activity. One focus is the presentation of a newly developed German questionnaire (MusA), which assesses musical activity (active music making and music reception) and was specifically developed for the "German National Cohort", a German health study. METHOD: Through literature research, questionnaires were identified that assess musicality and / or musical activity. A new German questionnaire was developed from a panel of experts and tested in a small study (n=121, women and men age 18-70 years). RESULTS: In the literature research, 3 questionnaires were identified which focus on musicality and musical activity with different aspects (Gold-MSI, MUSE, MEQ). All 3 instruments may be characterized as large psychometric scales, which especially assess aspects of musicality in the English language. The Gold-MSI is additionally available in German. None of the existing questionnaires covers musical activities in detail. A new short German questionnaire consisting of 9 questions with a maximum filling time of 3-5 min has been developed. CONCLUSION: There are few questionnaires available for assessing musicality and musical activity with different aspects. The newly developed MusA in the German language focuses on the assessment of musical activity and is intended to be used in larger, population-based as well as clinical studies, to examine music activities and listening to music as independent factors in connection with prevention and therapy of chronic diseases.

Personality profiles are different in musician's dystonia and other isolated focal dystonias.

Psychological abnormalities have been reported in patients with musician's dystonia. To further differentiate these abnormalities, we evaluated personality traits in musician's dystonia and compared them to those in other isolated focal dystonias. Therefore patients with musician's dystonia (n = 101) and other isolated focal dystonias (n = 85) underwent the Neuroticism Extraversion Openness Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Women with musician's dystonia had higher NEO-FFI neuroticism scores, and men significantly higher openness scores compared to women and men with other isolated focal dystonias, respectively. There were negative correlations in men with musician's dystonia between duration of dystonia and the NEO-FFI openness and extraversion scores and between age and extraversion scores. Women with other isolated focal dystonias showed correlations between age and agreeableness and conscientiousness scores. Patients with musician's dystonia are characterized by a specific personality profile with increased neuroticism and openness compared to other isolated focal dystonias. Whether this profile can be traced back to specific underlying disease mechanisms should be further investigated.

Functional Characterization of Rare RAB12 Variants and Their Role in Musician's and Other Dystonias.

Mutations in RAB (member of the Ras superfamily) genes are increasingly recognized as cause of a variety of disorders including neurological conditions. While musician's dystonia (MD) and writer's dystonia (WD) are task-specific movement disorders, other dystonias persistently affect postures as in cervical dystonia. Little is known about the underlying etiology. Next-generation sequencing revealed a rare missense variant (c.586A>G; p.Ile196Val) in RAB12 in two of three MD/WD families. Next, we tested 916 additional dystonia patients; 512 Parkinson's disease patients; and 461 healthy controls for RAB12 variants and identified 10 additional carriers of rare missense changes among dystonia patients (1.1%) but only one carrier in non-dystonic individuals (0.1%; p = 0.005). The detected variants among index patients comprised p.Ile196Val (n = 6); p.Ala174Thr (n = 3); p.Gly13Asp; p.Ala148Thr; and p.Arg181Gln in patients with MD; cervical dystonia; or WD. Two relatives of MD patients with WD also carried p.Ile196Val. The two variants identified in MD patients (p.Ile196Val; p.Gly13Asp) were characterized on endogenous levels in patient-derived fibroblasts and in two RAB12-overexpressing cell models. The ability to hydrolyze guanosine triphosphate (GTP), so called GTPase activity, was increased in mutants compared to wildtype. Furthermore, subcellular distribution of RAB12 in mutants was altered in fibroblasts. Soluble Transferrin receptor 1 levels were reduced in the blood of all three tested p.Ile196Val carriers. In conclusion, we demonstrate an enrichment of missense changes among dystonia patients. Functional characterization revealed altered enzyme activity and lysosomal distribution in mutants suggesting a contribution of RAB12 variants to MD and other dystonias.

The role of mutations in COL6A3 in isolated dystonia.

Specific mutations in COL6A3 have recently been reported as the cause of isolated recessive dystonia, which is a rare movement disorder. In all patients, at least one mutation was located in Exons 41 and 42. In an attempt to replicate these findings, we assessed by direct sequencing the frequency of rare variants in Exons 41 and 42 of COL6A3 in 955 patients with isolated or combined dystonia or with another movement disorder with dystonic features. We identified nine heterozygous carriers of rare variants including five different missense mutations and an extremely rare synonymous variant. In these nine patients, we sequenced the remaining 41 coding exons of COL6A3 to test for a second mutation in the compound heterozygous state. In only one of them, a second rare variant was identified (Thr732Met + Pro3082Arg). Of note, this patient had been diagnosed with Parkinson´s disease (with dystonic posturing) due to homozygous PINK1 mutations. The COL6A3 mutations clearly did not segregate with the disease in the four affected siblings of this family. Further, there was no indication for a disease-modifying effect of the COL6A3 mutations since disease severity or age at onset did not correlate with the number of COL6A3 mutated alleles in this family. In conjunction with the relatively high frequency of homozygous carriers of reported mutations in publically available databases, our data call a causal role for variants in COL6A3 in isolated dystonia into question.

Sensory trick phenomenon improves motor control in pianists with dystonia: prognostic value of glove-effect.

Musician's dystonia (MD) is a task-specific movement disorder that causes loss of voluntary motor control while playing the instrument. A subgroup of patients displays the so-called sensory trick: alteration of somatosensory input, e.g., by wearing a latex glove, may result in short-term improvement of motor control. In this study, the glove-effect in pianists with MD was quantified and its potential association with MD-severity and outcome after treatment was investigated. Thirty affected pianists were included in the study. Music instrument digital interface-based scale analysis was used for assessment of fine motor control. Therapeutic options included botulinum toxin, pedagogical retraining and anticholinergic medication (trihexyphenidyl). 19% of patients showed significant improvement of fine motor control through wearing a glove. After treatment, outcome was significantly better in patients with a significant pre-treatment sensory trick. We conclude that the sensory trick may have a prognostic value for the outcome after treatment in pianists with MD.

Biographic and behavioral factors are associated with music-related motor skills in children pianists.

This study aimed to identify biographical and behavioral factors associated with children pianists' motor skills using an objective assessment of a music-relevant motor task. Motor skills at the piano were assessed in 30 children pianists by measuring temporal unevenness in standardized scale playing using musical instrument digital interface (MIDI)-based scale analysis. Questionnaires were used to collect detailed information about the amount of time playing the piano, practice characteristics, attitudes toward music and practice, and the environment of music and practice. Associations between performance values and variables from the questionnaire were investigated using multivariable linear regression. A higher number of years playing the piano, more frequent parental involvement in the child's practice, more frequent practice of technical exercises, and greater enjoyment of practice and of the visual arts were associated with better motor performance. In addition to cumulative experience and aspects of practice, extrinsic motivational factors (e.g., parental interest) and intrinsic motivational factors (e.g., an artistic disposition) were associated with better performance on a musically-relevant motor task in children pianists.

Effects of variability of practice in music: a pilot study on fast goal-directed movements in pianists.

Variability of Practice (VOP) refers to the acquisition of a particular target movement by practicing a range of varying targets rather than by focusing on fixed repetitions of the target only. VOP has been demonstrated to have beneficial effects on transfer to a novel task and on skill consolidation. This study extends the line of research to musical practice. In a task resembling a barrier-knockdown paradigm, 36 music students trained to perform a wide left-hand interval leap on the piano. Performance at the target distance was tested before and after a 30-min standardized training session. The high-variability group (VAR) practiced four different intervals including the target. Another group (FIX) practiced the target interval only. A third group (SPA) performed spaced practice on the target only, interweaving with periods of not playing. Transfer was tested by introducing an interval novel to either group. After a 24-h period with no further exposure to the instrument, performance was retested. All groups performed at comparable error levels before training, after training, and after the retention (RET) interval. At transfer, however, the FIX group, unlike the other groups, committed significantly more errors than in the target task. After the RET period, the effect was washed out for the FIX group but then was present for VAR. Thus, the results provide only partial support for the VOP hypothesis for the given setting. Additional exploratory observations suggest tentative benefits of VOP regarding execution speed, loudness, and performance confidence. We derive specific hypotheses and specific recommendations regarding sample selection and intervention duration for future investigations. Furthermore, the proposed leap task measurement is shown to be (a) robust enough to serve as a standard framework for studies in the music domain, yet (b) versatile enough to allow for a wide range of designs not previously investigated for music on a standardized basis.

Playing beautifully when you have to be fast: spatial and temporal symmetries of movement patterns in skilled piano performance at different tempi.

Humans are capable of learning a variety of motor skills such as playing the piano. Performance of these skills is subject to multiple constraints, such as musical phrasing or speed requirements, and these constraints vary from one context to another. In order to understand how the brain controls highly skilled movements, we investigated pianists playing musical scales with their left or right hand at various speeds. Pianists showed systematic temporal deviations away from regularity. At slow tempi, pianists slowed down at the beginning and end of the movement (which we call phrasal template). At fast tempi, temporal deviation traces consisted of three peak delays caused by a thumb-under manoeuvre (which we call neuromuscular template). Intermediate tempi were a linear combination trade-off between these two. We introduce and cross-validate a simple four-parameter model that predicted the timing deviation of each individual note across tempi (R(2) = 0.70). The model can be fitted on the data of individual pianists, providing a novel quantification of expert performance. The present study shows that the motor system can generate complex movements through a dynamic combination of simple movement templates. This provides insight into how the motor system flexibly adapts to varying contextual constraints.

Genome-wide association study in musician's dystonia: a risk variant at the arylsulfatase G locus?

Musician's dystonia (MD) affects 1% to 2% of professional musicians and frequently terminates performance careers. It is characterized by loss of voluntary motor control when playing the instrument. Little is known about genetic risk factors, although MD or writer's dystonia (WD) occurs in relatives of 20% of MD patients. We conducted a 2-stage genome-wide association study in whites. Genotypes at 557,620 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) passed stringent quality control for 127 patients and 984 controls. Ten SNPs revealed P < 10(-5) and entered the replication phase including 116 MD patients and 125 healthy musicians. A genome-wide significant SNP (P < 5 × 10(-8) ) was also genotyped in 208 German or Dutch WD patients, 1,969 Caucasian, Spanish, and Japanese patients with other forms of focal or segmental dystonia as well as in 2,233 ethnically matched controls. Genome-wide significance with MD was observed for an intronic variant in the arylsulfatase G (ARSG) gene (rs11655081; P = 3.95 × 10(-9) ; odds ratio [OR], 4.33; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.66-7.05). rs11655081 was also associated with WD (P = 2.78 × 10(-2) ) but not with any other focal or segmental dystonia. The allele frequency of rs11655081 varies substantially between different populations. The population stratification in our sample was modest (λ = 1.07), but the effect size may be overestimated. Using a small but homogenous patient sample, we provide data for a possible association of ARSG with MD. The variant may also contribute to the risk of WD, a form of dystonia that is often found in relatives of MD patients.

Rating scales for musician's dystonia: the state of the art.

Musician's dystonia (MD) is a focal adult-onset dystonia most commonly involving the hand. It has much greater relative prevalence than non-musician's focal hand dystonias, exhibits task specificity at the level of specific musical passages, and is a particularly difficult form of dystonia to treat. For most MD patients, the diagnosis confirms the end of their music performance careers. Research on treatments and pathophysiology is contingent upon measures of motor function abnormalities. In this review, we comprehensively survey the literature to identify the rating scales used in MD and the distribution of their use. We also summarize the extent to which the scales have been evaluated for their clinical utility, including reliability, validity, sensitivity, specificity to MD, and practicality for a clinical setting. Out of 135 publications, almost half (62) included no quantitative measures of motor function. The remaining 73 studies used a variety of choices from among 10 major rating scales. Most used subjective scales involving either patient or clinician ratings. Only 25% (18) of the studies used objective scales. None of the scales has been completely and rigorously evaluated for clinical utility. Whether studies involved treatments or pathophysiologic assays, there was a heterogeneous choice of rating scales used with no clear standard. As a result, the collective interpretive value of those studies is limited because the results are confounded by measurement effects. We suggest that the development and widespread adoption of a new clinically useful rating scale is critical for accelerating basic and clinical research in MD.