The purpose of this study was to examine effects of ensemble size and repertoire difficulty on listeners’ perceptions of concert band performances. Undergraduate music majors (N = 210) viewed an audiovisual stimulus consisting of various images of large and small concert bands paired with identical audio performances of either an easy or difficult composition. Participants rated each ensemble’s tone quality/intonation, musicianship/expression, and rhythm/articulation using a 10-point Likert-type scale. Results indicated no main effects for ensemble size or order. There was a significant main effect for repertoire difficulty, with difficult repertoire being evaluated more positively than easier repertoire. We also found a significant Ensemble Size × Repertoire Difficulty × Order interaction, indicating that results were moderated based on order. Within the four orders, the largest mean difference in scores occurred in Order 3 (small/difficult, large/easy, small/easy, large/difficult), with the smallest mean differences occurring in Order 2 (large/difficult, small/easy, large/easy, small/difficult). The small/easy and large/easy videos and the small/difficult and large/difficult videos resulted in positive changes in ratings only when seen first and last, respectively. We recommend blind evaluation and the use of required “test pieces” in concert band festivals as ways to possibly mitigate effects of repertoire difficulty and ensemble size.

中文翻译：

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合奏规模和曲目难度对音乐会乐队表演评分的影响

本研究的目的是检查合奏规模和曲目难度对听众对音乐会乐队表演的看法的影响。本科音乐专业的学生 (N = 210) 观看了由大小音乐会乐队的各种图像组成的视听刺激，以及简单或困难作品的相同音频表演。参与者使用李克特 10 点量表对每个合奏的音质/语调、音乐能力/表达和节奏/发音进行评分。结果表明对整体大小或顺序没有主要影响。对曲目难度有显着的主效应，难曲目比容易曲目被评价得更积极。我们还发现了显着的合奏规模 × 曲目难度 × 顺序交互，表明结果是根据顺序进行调节的。在四个顺序中，分数的最大平均差异出现在顺序 3（小/困难、大/容易、小/容易、大/困难），最小的平均差异出现在顺序 2（大/困难、小/容易） ，大/容易，小/困难）。小/简单和大/容易视频以及小/困难和大/困难视频分别在第一个和最后一个看到时导致评分的积极变化。我们建议在音乐会乐队音乐节中进行盲评和使用所需的“测试作品”，以此作为可能减轻曲目难度和合奏规模影响的方法。小/简单和大/容易视频以及小/困难和大/困难视频分别在第一个和最后一个看到时导致评分的积极变化。我们建议在音乐会乐队音乐节中进行盲评和使用所需的“测试作品”，以此作为可能减轻曲目难度和合奏规模影响的方法。小/简单和大/容易视频以及小/困难和大/困难视频分别在第一个和最后一个看到时导致评分的积极变化。我们建议在音乐会乐队音乐节中进行盲评和使用所需的“测试作品”，以此作为可能减轻曲目难度和合奏规模影响的方法。