Music Majors' Evaluations and Comfort Level When Assessing String Orchestra Performances

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of presentation condition, adjudicators' performing experience on string instruments, and music stimulus tempo on music majors' evaluations of string orchestra performances. Participants (N = 96) were randomly assigned to one of the four presentation conditions. Musical stimuli varied by quality of performance (good vs. poor) and presentation condition: audio only of good and poor performances, video only of good and poor performances, video of a good performance with audio of good or poor performances, and video of a poor performance with audio of good or poor performances. Participants assigned ratings to 12 evaluative statements (six for general musical performance and six for string instrument specific aspects) and also rated the overall performance. Participants also indicated their level of comfort with assigning ratings in each presentation condition. Repeated-measures ANOVA tests revealed that the ratings assigned to the 12 evaluation statements and to the overall performance were significantly more favorable for audio presentations of good performances compared to performances of poor performances. For 12 of the 13 evaluation scales, video presentations of good performances paired with audio presentations of good and poor performances received more favorable ratings than performances in the other presentation conditions. Results indicate that good visual presentations of performances can influence ratings for audio presentations of poor performances. Participants' comfort levels with assigning ratings to the string specific scales increased with string instrument playing experience.