Hand asymmetry: A study of young string players' finger dexterity

The present study seeks to discover whether or not young string players increase their finger dexterity, as measured by the 9-Hole Pegboard Test, with age and playing experience, shedding more insight on the question of whether or not finger dexterity is an underlying motor ability in string performance. A total of 43 participants, all right-handed string players, was randomly selected from a weeklong Suzuki summer camp and a community music school to participate in this study. The participants were placed in three groups. Group 1 (n=14) consisted of 7-9-year-olds, group 2 (n=10), 10-12-year-olds, and group 3 (n-19), 13-15-year-olds. Results indicate that statistically significant differences were found between the right and left hands (p≤.01) across all three groups, between some groups (p≤.01), and between some years of musical experience, p≤.02 for the right hand and p≤.01 for the left hand.