The Role of Visual Cues in Musical Synchronization

Group music-making is a human activity that involves complex cooperation and coordination, in which visual information plays a significant role. This study investigates how synchronization among popular musicians is influenced by two independent variables: the availability of visual cues (with or without visual contact), and the duration of silent passages. To assess the effects of these variables, we examined three dependent measures: the asynchrony between the first onset of each guitarist in the duo following silence (onset), the time required to stabilize synchronization after the first onset, and the estimated tempo during performance relative to a suggested tempo. Forty popular music guitarists performed in duos under systematically varied conditions, playing elementary musical material that included predefined silent passages. The results showed that both the absence of visual cues and the increased duration of silent passages significantly affected the first onset synchrony and stabilization time but had less impact on tempo. Further, these effects were modulated by the participants’ level of experience. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying musical synchronization and highlight the role of visual information in the coordination of popular musicians.