VR piano instruction: cultural moderation in Sino-US teens' skills

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v77.118048

Keywords:

adolescents, cultural moderating effect, fine motor skills, musical expressiveness, vr-assisted instruction

Abstract

Introduction: virtual reality has shown promise in sports skill training and art education, but cultural differences (collectivism in china vs. individualism in the us) may moderate adolescents' gains in "fine motor control" and "artistic expression"—a gap this study addressed.

Objective: this study aimed to explore the dual effects of vr-assisted piano instruction on adolescents' musical expressiveness and fine motor skills, and verify the moderating role of sino-us cultural differences, focusing on 13–17-year-olds from china and the us.

Methodology:a 2×2 cross-cultural quasi-experiment (teaching method: vr vs. traditional; cultural group: chinese vs. american adolescents) was used, with 240 participants. over 12 weeks, pre-test, mid-test, and post-test data were collected, analyzed via two-way anova and hierarchical regression.

Results: the findings filled gaps in existing research, which were siloed in single domains and unclear on cultural moderating mechanisms, supporting sports-art interdisciplinary "technology-empowered skill acquisition".

Discussion: The findings addressed limitations of existing research, which had remained siloed in single domains and unclear on cultural moderating mechanisms, providing support for interdisciplinary "technology-empowered skill acquisition" in sports and art.

Conclusions: this study confirmed vr-assisted piano instruction had dual improvement effects, with cultural orientation as a key moderator; it provides theoretical support and practical references for integrated music-motor teaching.

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Published

01-04-2026

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Original Research Article

How to Cite

Gao, Y., Phang, S. M., Ong, E. T., & Fu, K. (2026). VR piano instruction: cultural moderation in Sino-US teens’ skills. Retos, 77, 766-784. https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v77.118048