The purpose of the present study was to explore the use of tactile finger placement markers (FPMs) for beginning string players. Of particular interest was finding a tool or strategy that would reduce the number of muscle memory errors acquired, and to minimize the amount of time it takes students to reach proficiency, while simultaneously developing accurate aural and physical skills. Research questions were as follows: (1) Is beginning violin and viola students’ intonation affected by tactile markers? (2) Is beginning violin and viola students’ posture affected by tactile markers? (3) Does intonation improvement occur prior to the addition of tactile markers, during treatment, or afterwards? (4) Does improvement in posture occur during the tactile marker treatment or afterwards? (5) Does the removal of tactile markers affect beginning violin and viola students’ intonation? (6) Does the removal of tactile markers affect beginning violin and viola students’ posture? The present study used a modified multiple baseline design across individual participants over thirteen weeks of instruction as a way to measure individual progress towards intonation accuracy: each participant served as their own control. Participants (N = 14) for this study were seventh (n = 9) and eighth grade (n = 5) middle school violinists (n = 7) and violists (n = 7) from one beginning orchestra class in the southeast region of the United States. The only stipulations for participation were: (1) having no prior experience playing a string instrument, and (2) selecting violin or viola as the chosen instrument. After all open strings were tuned by the research assistant, participants performed the ascending portion of the D major tetrachord to measure the students’ intonation and posture. Throughout the thirteen-week study, participants were recorded individually. Once participants began the tactile FPM treatment, one of the three recordings each week was completed on an instrument free of all FPMs as a technique to gauge when FPMs should be faded. The beginning of the thirteenth week, the tactile FPM treatment was withdrawn from every participant to examine if the treatment had a lasting effect. At the conclusion of the study, participants completed a short post-treatment questionnaire, which was analyzed to compare participants’ perceptions with the actual intonation and posture data. Audio recordings of participants were analyzed acoustically for intonation accuracy, measured by cents deviated from equal temperament tuning. Analysis was completed once the pitch was stabilized. The three notes analyzed were the fingered notes on the D-string in first position: E, F-sharp, and G. Video recordings of participants were measured using the ratings of three outside experienced string orchestra directors from different regions of the United States. Posture ratings were calculated using the researcher-designed detailed rubric. Participants’ posture ratings were examined through descriptive methods. Data suggests the tactile FPM treatment had a positive effect on improving intonation accuracy for all participants and reduced variability when compared to baseline. All participants demonstrated improved overall posture ratings when comparing the post-test (withdrawal phase video) to the pre-test (baseline). Despite the positive results and given the limitations of this study, generalization of findings should be done with caution. Implications, and future research are discussed. Keywords: beginning strings, instruction, finger placement markers, kinesthetic, tactile cues, motor control, music performance, intonation, posture
