Assignment of Leadership Role Changes Performers' Gaze During Piano Duo Performances

This study investigated modulation of gaze and synchronization in piano duos under manipulation of the leader-follower relationship. Three pairs of pianists played under 3 conditions: reversed leader/follower roles and one where neither was leader or follower. The primo and second players could see one another through a glass window but could hear only the sounds of the pianos. We analyzed each performer's gaze toward the coperformer frame by frame and measured asynchrony between performers. The main findings are that (a) gaze was altered in the presence of leadership assignments-followers' and leaders' gaze durations lengthened and shortened, respectively; (b) mutual gaze just before tempo changes enhanced synchronization regardless of leadership condition; and (c) the asynchronies of tone onset at the moment of a tempo change under the leader/follower conditions did not significantly differ from that under the control condition.