The "Tsumari" Phenomenon in Performance of Beat
Hiromichi Mito · 1997
The purpose of this study was to investigate the phenomenon that often appears in the division of beats performed by beginners. Tsumari is the phenomenon in which the first note in a sequence of two eighth-notes is performed shorter than the second. A previous study indicated possible causes of tsumari after investigating the beating patterns of children. The present study investigated whether the tsumari phenomenon would occur in keyboard playing. In addition, the experiment was designed to clarify the cause of tsumari by examining whether the degree of tsumari varies according to (a) musical experience and (b) among different melody patterns. The results indicated that the beginner group always showed severe tsumari compared to the other three groups (musician, music learner, and children). In addition, severe tsumari occurred in certain melody patterns such as a sequence of two eight-notes located just before an accented note. These findings strongly indicate that music structure seems to have an important role in the tsumari phenomenon.