This paper evaluates three teaching approaches to improving sight-reading skills against a control in a large-scale study of advanced pianists. One hundred pianists in four equal groups participated in newly developed training programmes (accompanying, rhythm, musical style and control), with pre- and post-sight-reading tests analysed using…

The purpose of this meta-analysis was to determine the extent of the overall relationship between previously tested variables and sight-reading. An exhaustive survey of the available research literature was conducted resulting in 92 research studies that reported correlations between sight-reading and another variable. Variables ("n" =…

With more than 850,000 apps currently on the market, there are multiple apps that can be used to help all students in music education, particularly those with special needs. This article lists low-budget apps useful for the elementary or secondary general music classroom.

Choral directors will always be assessed by the quality of their choral performances. The concepts presented in this article are designed to strengthen and improve choral performance. If choral directors can design an individualized assessment plan and implement some of these ideas during each grading period, grades will be more equitably…

Language and music literacy share a similar process of understanding that progresses from sensory experience to symbolic representation. The author identifies Bruner’s modes of understanding as they relate to using narrative in the music classroom to enhance music reading at iconic and symbolic levels. Two sound stories are included for…

Among the elements required to develop a comprehensive understanding of music is students' ability to perceive, recognize, and label the harmonies they hear. Harmonic dictation is among the strategies that teachers have traditionally chosen to help students develop harmonic awareness. However, the highly idiosyncratic ways that students approach…

Music teachers often encounter obstructions in teaching beginners in music reading. Conventional notational symbols require beginners to spend significant amount of time in memorizing, which discourages learning at early stage. This article proposes a newly-developed color music notation system that may improve the recognition of the staff and the…

Musical sight-reading, or sight-playing, is defined as "the ability to play music from a printed score or part for the first time without benefit of practice." While this is the most strict definition of the term, also known as "prima vista" (at first sight), some use the term "sight-reading" even if some rehearsal…

This study sought to ascertain the specific assessment strategies used by middle- and high-school choral directors in Georgia to evaluate sight-singing. Data was further gathered to determine which assessment practices choral directors considered to be the most effective. Although there had been previous studies that attempted to determine the…

In the present study, education majors minoring in music education (n = 24) and music performance majors (n =14) read and performed the original version and melodically altered versions of a simple melody in a given tempo. Eye movements during music reading and piano performances were recorded. Errorless trials were analyzed to explore the…

The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore whether there is a relationship between the age at which music lessons begin and language reading proficiency as an adult. Such a relationship may indicate that transfer of learning takes place between the processes of learning to read language and learning to read music. One hundred forty-seven…

This study explored the rationale for sight-singing instructional choices of chorus teachers at the middle school level and sought to determine teachers' commitment to teaching music literacy. Three research questions formed the basis of the study: (1) what is the prevalence of sight-singing instruction in choral music classes, (2) what is…

It is often said that experienced musicians are capable of hearing what they read (and vice versa). This suggests that they are able to process and to integrate multimodal information. The present study investigates this issue with an eye-tracking technique. Two groups of musicians chosen on the basis of their level of expertise (experts,…

The principles of Hungarian music educator Zoltan Kodaly can be particularly useful not only in teaching children how to read music notation but also in creating curiosity and enjoyment for reading music. Many of Kodaly's ideas pertaining to music literacy have been echoed by educators such as Jerome Bruner and Edwin Gordon, as well as current…

This study was designed to determine a pitch skill hierarchy for string sight-reading, to determine the effects of key on string sight-reading achievement, and to determine the validity of a tonal pattern system as a measurement of melodic sight-reading skill for string players. High school string students (n = 94) obtained a mean score of 27.28…