Elżbieta Waszkiewicz1, Artur Kruszewski2

1 Państwowa Szkoła Muzyczna I i II Stopnia, Suwałki, Poland
2 Department of Individual Sports, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland

Author for correspondence: Artur Kruszewski; Department of Individual Sports, Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Poland: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Waszkiewicz Elżbieta: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7613-9736

Abstract

Background and Study Aim: The foundation of effective musical instrument playing lies not only in a keen ear but also in high-quality motor skills. This seemingly obvious fact is not reflected in the core criteria for the training of instrumental music teachers. Meanwhile, the paradigm of human motor skills research is dominated by movement patterns from the world of sport. Therefore, the implementation of this knowledge into the field of music education requires an innovative approach from both music educators and experts in human motor skills. The scientific expertise of the collaborating experts is a key factor in resolving this multifaceted problem, which is intriguing both cognitively and in terms of its practical application. The aim of the empirical research undertaken was to adapx to the field of music education those ‘movement characteristics’ which are primarily used to assess the motor skills of athletes or the motor skills of children and adults for the purposes of physical education, health promotion, physiotherapy and rehabilitation.

Material and Methods: The Delphi method was employed. In the first stage, five experienced string instrument teachers were asked to identify which of the 9 ‘movement characteristics’ defined by Günter Schnabel could be applied to the assessment of the motor components of musical tasks performed during standard sessions (lessons). The reference framework for the assessment of ‘movement characteristics’ is the artistic effect, traditionally evaluated on a 25-point scale. Three people participated in the second and third stages of the Delphi method: an expert in violin teaching with over thirty years’ experience who is also a certified fitness instructor, and two experts in human motor skills (kinesiology) with academic qualifications in medical and health sciences, specialising in sport science (professor and PhD), who are also amateur musicians.

Results: Music teachers described their own interpretations of Schnabel’s definition using metaphorical language that bore no relation to kinesiological terminology and was, moreover, internally inconsistent. Nevertheless, these teachers unanimously identified ‘rhythm’, ‘tempo’and ‘force’ as elements of a musician’s motor skills that could be assessed by an expert, but their descripxions of these phenomena were completely inconsistent (more intuitive and emotional). When a violin teaching expert with basic motor fitness competencies posed the same question to researchers specialising in various aspects of human motor skills (drawing on their own instrumental experience), they jointly identified 5 ‘movement characteristics’: accuracy, rhythm, range, force, tempo.

Conclusion: The most challenging stage in adapxing the methodological principles of kinesiology to instrumental music teaching will be the development of criteria for identifying specific ‘movement characteristics’ that are accepxed and understood by teachers of a particular instrument. The difficulty is all the greater because the basis for such identification is the artistic effect (the arrangement of notes, and often a phrase with a single sound). This concerns the competence to professionally apply mixed assessments: motor-artistic. This entails drawing on praxeological knowledge, and the problem as a whole points to the necessity of using complementary research methodologies.

Keywords: complementary research methodology, dispositional feasibility, motivation, praxeology, situational actionability


AMA
Waszkiewicz E, Kruszewski A. Key characteristics of movement in an instrumentalist’s motor skills – the example of playing the violin. Arch Budo J Innov Agon. 2026;22.
APA
Waszkiewicz, E., & Kruszewski, A. (2026). Key characteristics of movement in an instrumentalist’s motor skills – the example of playing the violin. Arch Budo Journal of Innovation Agonology, 22.
Chicago
Waszkiewicz, Elżbieta, and Artur Kruszewski. 2026. “Key Characteristics of Movement in an Instrumentalist’s Motor Skills – The Example of Playing the Violin.” Arch Budo Journal of Innovation Agonology 22.
Harvard
Waszkiewicz, E. & Kruszewski, A. (2026). Key characteristics of movement in an instrumentalist’s motor skills – the example of playing the violin. Arch Budo Journal of Innovation Agonology, 22.
MLA
Waszkiewicz, Elżbieta, and Artur Kruszewski. “Key Characteristics of Movement in an Instrumentalist’s Motor Skills – The Example of Playing the Violin.” Arch Budo Journal of Innovation Agonology, vol. 22, 2026.
Vancouver
Waszkiewicz E, Kruszewski A. Key characteristics of movement in an instrumentalist’s motor skills – the example of playing the violin. Arch Budo J Innov Agon. 2026;22.