Effects of auditory feedback on a musical performance task

Two experiments examined the effects of various feedback conditions on performance by 12 Ss on an electronic organ. Playing time scores showed complete absence of auditory feedback to have little or no detrimental effect; in fact, some Ss played fastest under this condition. Delayed auditory feedback (DAF), as expected, caused considerable performance decrement when compared with immediate auditory feedback (IAF). Extraneous prerecorded input as a distractor in the absence of auditory feedback ranked between mixed DAF-with-IAF, and pure DAF, which showed the greatest disruption. The possible role of auditory imagery in musical performance was discussed, together with four components which perhaps contribute to the standard DAF effect: distraction, error repetition, conflict with expectancies and auditory imagery, and presentation of two competing and conflicting signals (IAF and DAF).