Ensemble Hand-Clapping Experiments under the Influence of Delay and Various Acoustic Environments

Abstract

Hand-clapping experiments were performed to increase the knowledge about distributed musical performance with an intermusician sound delay of up to 68 ms in virtual reverberant and anechoic environments as well as in real reverberant environments. Four reactions to increasing delay were studied: tempo decrease, imprecision, leader-follower strategy, and ensemble performance quality as judged by the subjects. The results suggest that the behavior changes at two different delays, at about 20 and 35-50 ms. The influence of the acoustical environment was ambiguous and needs further study.