The adjudication of six performances of a Chopin Etude: A study of expert knowledge

We illustrate a technique for eliciting and exploring the constructs involved in the adjudication of music performance. Five trained musicians with extensive experience in performance adjudication evaluated six expert performances of Chopin's Etude, Opus 25, No. 6. First, we elicited from each adjudicator the personal constructs that they used to evaluate performance expression. Next, adjudicators rated each performance on each of their constructs. Adjudicators also rated each performance for overall preference. Constructs most strongly associated with overall preference related to right-hand expression and phrasing. Other constructs, such as tempo, were important for distinguishing performances, but were not strongly associated with overall preference. We discuss benefits of the technique for researchers, adjudicators and performers.