Effects of instructed timing on electric guitar and bass sound in groove performance

This paper reports on two experiments that investigated the expressive means through which musicians well versed in groove-based music signal the intended timing of a rhythmic event. Data were collected from 21 expert electric guitarists and 21 bassists, who were instructed to perform a simple rhythmic pattern in three different timing styles—“laid-back,” “on-the-beat,” and “pushed”—in tandem with a metronome. As expected, onset and peak timing locations corresponded to the instructed timing styles for both instruments. Regarding sound, results for guitarists revealed systematic differences across participants in the duration and brightness [spectral centroid (SC)] of the guitar strokes played using these different timing styles. In general, laid-back strokes were played with a longer duration and a lower SC relative to on-the-beat and pushed strokes. Results for the bassists indicated systematic differences in intensity (sound-pressure level): pushed strokes were played with higher intensity than on-the-beat and laid-back strokes. These results lend further credence to the hypothesis that both temporal and sound-related features are important indications of the intended timing of a rhythmic event, and together these features offer deeper insight into the ways in which musicians communicate at the microrhythmic level in groove-based music.This paper reports on two experiments that investigated the expressive means through which musicians well versed in groove-based music signal the intended timing of a rhythmic event. Data were collected from 21 expert electric guitarists and 21 bassists, who were instructed to perform a simple rhythmic pattern in three different timing styles—“laid-back,” “on-the-beat,” and “pushed”—in tandem with a metronome. As expected, onset and peak timing locations corresponded to the instructed timing styles for both instruments. Regarding sound, results for guitarists revealed systematic differences across participants in the duration and brightness [spectral centroid (SC)] of the guitar strokes played using these different timing styles. In general, laid-back strokes were played with a longer duration and a lower SC relative to on-the-beat and pushed strokes. Results for the bassists indicated systematic differences in intensity (sound-pressure level): pushed strokes were played with higher intensity than on-the-...