The Relationships Among Instrumental Sight-Reading Ability and Seven Selected Predictor Variables

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among instrumental sight-reading ability and seven selected variables: (1) Technical Proficiency, (2) Rhythm Reading Ability, (3) Sight Singing Ability, (4) Cumulative Grade Point Average, (5) Cumulative Music Theory Grade Point Average, (6) Cumulative Performance Jury Grade Point Average, and (7) Major Instrument Grade Point Average. Thirty-two wind instrumentalists, selected at random from undergraduate music theory classes at the University of South Carolina, served as subjects. During the spring semester of 1980, the subjects took tests designed to measure their abilities in sight-reading, technical proficiency, sight singing, and rhythm reading. Data were collected from each student' s permanent record regarding each of the other variables. The following conclusions were drawn: (1) A strong positive relationship exists between wind instrumentalists' general sight-reading ability and the ability to sight-read rhythm patterns. (2) Rhythm-reading ability is the single best predictor of wind instrumentalists' sight-reading scores. (3) Rhythm-reading ability and performance jury scores combine to make the best predictors of wind instrumentalists' sight-reading performance scores.

The mental representation of music notation: Notational audiation.

“…Sight reading music notation is an extremely complicated task: Elliott (1982) delineated seven predictor variables of ability; Waters, Underwood, and Findlay (1997) showed there to be at least three different types of processing ability required; and Lee (2004) identified 20 component skills. In a more recent study, Kopiez, Weihs, Ligges, and Lee (2006) formulated three composite groupings of requisite skills engaged during sight reading, each with associate subskills; a total of 27 subskills were documented.…”

Testing the music reading skills of 10- to 14-year-old students

“…Correlation exists between reading of notes and reading of rhythm, and between reading abilities and the results of standardized music tests (Elliott, 1982). Luce (1965) found correlations between music reading abilities and the results of musical memory, IQ tests, reading and mathematical tests.…”

“…According to Elliott (1982) rhythm-reading ability is the single best predictor of instrumentalist students' general music reading performance. For testing students' performance we developed thirteen rhythm reading items, based on meter, rhythmic pattern discrimination, and auditory-visual discrimination.…”

“…This means that decoding ability and the motor response are important in music reading but the integration of these abilities may be the key to a successful execution of them. Studies on perception indicate that pitch and timing information are processed separately (Elliott, 1982).…”

“…According to Elliott (1982), rhythm reading is an important component of general music reading. He determines six predictors of music reading; technical proficiency, rhythm reading ability, sight-reading ability, cumulative grade point average, grade point average and major instrument grade point average.…”