Music Reading Research Articles

Coupling of anticipation and breathing in expert flute performance: the influence of musical structure and practice

IntroductionIn this study, we examined the cognitive processes and physiological responses involved in learning a flute piece by the composer Charles Koechlin among musicians of different expertise levels. Participants performed the piece four times consecutively, with a 2-min practice interval between the first and the second trial.MethodsUsing data obtained from an eye tracker, respiratory sensors, and an audio recorder we assessed short-term improvement and the effect of musical structure and practice on key variables identified through a multivariate approach: eye-hand span (EHS), time index of EHS, thoracic and abdominal amplitude (breathing patterns) and pupil dilation.ResultsThe analysis revealed two main dimensions: one associated with EHS; and the other with embodied responses to music, closely linked to breathing patterns and pupil dilation. We found an effect of musical structure on all the variables studied, while the EHS improved with practice. Expert musicians demonstrated enhanced EHS and adapted their breathing patterns more effectively to the music's structure.DiscussionThese insights support the hypothesis of a coupling between anticipation and breathing, emphasizing the role of perceptual and embodied components in music reading and learning.

Classifying musical reading expertise by eye-movement analysis using machine learning

Classifying musical reading expertise by eye-movement analysis using machine learning

Sight-singing in a group context: An eye-tracking study with experienced choral singers

Studies on music reading have provided insights into the cognitive processes in sight singing. However, there has been limited research on sight singing in a group setting. This study aims to assess how choral singers approach music reading as they perform previously unfamiliar choral scores together. We addressed (1) how singers’ gaze direction is distributed over staff systems, and (2) how their gaze behaviour is influenced by note density and repeated practice. Four quartets, a total of sixteen experienced singers, performed eight Baroque music excerpts three times, while the singers’ eye movements were recorded. Eye-movement measures were analysed in conjunction with the singers’ views regarding their music reading, obtained through questionnaires and group discussions. Results reveal that besides reading their own voice lines, singers typically inspected the neighbouring lines, seeking visual cues to coordinate the performance. The results of a generalised linear mixed model analysis underscore the substantial influence of note density on fixation durations on one’s own lines, but not on other voices’ lines. Practice, on the other hand, exhibited effects only on average fixation duration for one’s own lines, with no significant impact observed on other lines. The study provides evidence of coordination between an actual sight-reading process and a parallel information-gathering process that helps singers relate their parts to the overall musical structure.

Markers of musical expertise in a sight-reading task: An eye-tracking study.

Classical music pianists of five different conservatory levels, from undergraduate to professional, were tested on a sight-reading task with eye-movement recording. They had to sight read both tonal classical scores that followed the rules specific to Western tonal music, and atonal contemporary scores, which do not follow these rules. This study aimed at determining the extent to which eye movements and musical performance metrics can account for the level of sight-reading expertise. First, the results indicated that with the acquisition of expertise, musicians process visual information more rapidly (increasing their played tempo while decreasing average fixation duration and their number of fixations), more structurally (tending to increase their eye-hand span), and more accurately (increasing their sight-reading accuracy). Second, when they sight read contemporary scores compared to classical scores, musicians decreased their played tempo, tended to be less accurate, increased their number of fixations, and tended to decrease their eye-hand span. Finally, expertise effects were moderated by the type of score. These results suggest (a) that visual perception is progressively shaped through music reading expertise and through domain-specific knowledge acquisition, (b) that tonal-specific cues play a significant role to use an efficient eye-movement behavior and (c) that the benefit conferred by expert prior music-specific knowledge seems to be even greater for sight-reading tonal rather than atonal scores. Our findings are discussed in the light of expert memory theories (long-term working memory theory; Ericsson & Kintsch, 1995; template theory, Gobet & Simon, 1996). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

“Singing about the germination of the world” by Boris Filanovsky: Musical reading of Pavel Filonovʼs poem

“Singing about the germination of the world” by Boris Filanovsky: Musical reading of Pavel Filonovʼs poem

The effect of expertise in music reading: cross-modal competence

We hypothesize that the fundamental difference between expert and learner musicians isthe capacity to efficiently integrate cross-modal information. This capacity might be anindex of an expert memory using both auditory and visual cues built during many years oflearning and extensive practice. Investigating this issue through an eye-tracking experiment, two groups of musicians, experts and non-experts, were required to report whether afragment of classical music, successively displayed both auditorily and visually on a computer screen (cross-modal presentation) was same or different. An accent mark, associated on a particular note, was located in a congruent or incongruent way according to musical harmony rules, during the auditory and reading phases. The cross-modal competence of experts was demonstrated by shorter fixation durations and less errors. Accent mark appeared for non-experts as interferences and lead to incorrect judgments. Results are discussed in terms of amodal memory for expert musicians that can be supported within the theoretical framework of Long-Term Working Memory (Ericsson and Kintsch, 1995).

The Effectiveness of Musical and Non-Musical Choir Training Processes in Reading Sheet Music at the Student Activity Unit Vocalista Harmonic Choir, Indonesian Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta

This study explores the effectiveness of choir rehearsal processes in the Student Activity Unit Vocalista Harmonic Choir (VHC) at the Indonesian Institute of the Arts Yogyakarta, particularly in music reading for both musical and non-musical members, as well as their interactions with the conductor. The research methodology employed is qualitative with an observational approach. Through participatory observation, the researcher concludes that musical members tend to be more confident in music reading and assist non-musical members. Conversely, non-musical members require additional time and practice to catch up with the repertoire. However, during the Voice In December (VID) concert, non-musical members demonstrate mastery of the material and adapt well alongside musical members, indicating the effectiveness of the choir rehearsal process in unifying the vocal quality of its members. Data collection involved note-taking, audio recordings, and video recordings during rehearsals and the concert. The findings suggest that musical choir members tend to aid non-musical members in learning, while non-musical members require extra effort to catch up with the repertoire. The conductor plays a crucial role in providing guidance and vocal technique training. The rehearsal outcomes demonstrate that non-musical members are capable of mastering the repertoire and participating effectively in concerts.

The key role of the right posterior fusiform gyrus in music reading: an electrical neuroimaging study on 90 readers

IntroductionIn this study, we employed a combined electromagnetic recording technique, i.e., electroencephalogram (EEG)/event-related potentials (ERPs) plus standardized weighted low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (swLORETA), to investigate the neural mechanism subserving the orthographic processing of symbols in language and music. While much is known about word processing, the current literature remains inconclusive regarding music reading, as its mechanisms appear to be left lateralized in some cases (as suggested by music-alexia clinical case reports) and either right-sided or bilateral in others, depending on the study and the methodology used.MethodsIn this study, 90 right-handed participants with varying musical abilities and sexes performed an attentional selection task that involved the recognition of target letters and musical notes, while their EEG signals were recorded from 128 sites.ResultsThe occipito/temporal N170 component of ERPs (170–210 ms) was found strictly left-sided during letter selection and bilateral (with a right-hemispheric tendency) during note selection. Source reconstruction data indicated the preponderant engagement of the right posterior fusiform gyrus (BA19) for processing musical notes. Also involved were other brain regions belonging to the word reading circuit, including the left-sided visual word form area (VWFA) and frontal eye-fields (FEFs).DiscussionThis finding provides an explanation for the infrequent appearance of musical alexia cases (previously observed only in patients with left hemispheric lesions). It also suggests how musical literacy could be a rehabilitative and preventive factor for dyslexia, by promoting neuroplasticity and bilaterality in the reading areas.

Малые циклы песнопений во Всенощном бдении ор. 37 С. В. Рахманинова: образно-тематическое содержание и особенности композиции

The article is devoted to the problem of the organization of the structure of the choral cycle of the All-Night Vigil of Op. 37 S. V. Rachmaninov. As one of the most important elements of its compositional construction, the interaction of four small cycles is considered here, each of which is characterized by a common figurative-thematic content and means of composition. These are: 1. The cycle of Old Testament and New Testament Hymns of Vespers; 2. The Cycle of Theotokos Hymns; 3. The cycle of hymns of praise; 4. The cycle of Sunday Hymns. Small cycles include both alternate chants following each other, and interconnected at a distance.The purpose is to identify the features of the author's musical reading of the canonical text of the service, the placement of artistic accents emphasizing certain motives of the Holy Scripture. The methodology of the work is based on an interdisciplinary approach to the study of spiritual and musical works, using information from liturgics, religious philosophy, as well as scientific categories of Russian musicology.Conclusion. The organization of the structure of the choral cycle of the All-Night Vigil Op. 37 by S. V. Rachmaninov testifies to the versatility, versatility of this composition, located between the liturgical and extra-liturgical genre poles, and its architectonics is characterized by the interaction of the four small cycles included in it. Along with the generality of the figurative and thematic content, the formation of small cycles is due to the peculiarities of the composition at the level of melody, shaping, texture, ladoharmonic and tonal plan.

A Phenomenological Study of the Learning Issues and Teaching Strategies in Piano Teaching in China

In China, many young piano learners below the pre-college level would take graded examinations to validate their learning outcomes, however, scholars and pedagogues acknowledge there is an existing discrepancy between grade achievement and actual playing abilities. The current study scrutinizes the learning issues of the students in this context and the teaching strategies applied by the teachers. This study employed a qualitative approach, and a semi-structured interview was conducted with twelve piano teachers, and lesson observations were conducted during their lessons with one of their students. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was carried out based on the interview data and the content analysis was conducted towards the observation data. The findings demonstrated that the students suffered from five aspects of learning issues, namely music reading, skill acquisition, memorization, interpretation, and performance anxiety. To resolve those issues, the teacher participants addressed 13 common teaching strategies. However, after the data triangulation it was found that there was inconsistency in monitoring of students’ learning progress in accordance with the strategies presented by the teachers; under the context of the graded examination preparation, memorization, interpretation, and performance anxiety were among the critical issues.

“Why are there so many steps?”: Improving Access to Blind and Low Vision Music Learning through Personal Adaptations and Future Design Ideas

Music can be a catalyst for self-development, creative expression, and community building for blind or low vision (BLV) individuals. However, BLV music learners face complex obstacles in learning music. They are highly reliant on their learning environment and music teachers for accommodations and flexibility. Prior research identified the challenges faced by BLV musicians. Yet, limited research has addressed these challenges through the development of technology. Drawing upon the experience and suggestions of 40 BLV professional musicians, amateur musicians and music teachers (including sighted teachers with experience teaching blind students), we identified five themes: (1) Key Challenges of BLV Music Learning, (2) Personal Adaptations to Overcome Music Learning Challenges, (3) Perspectives on Current and Future Assistive Technologies, (4) Contention Between Braille Music and Auditory Learning, and (5) Role of Human Support for Music Learning. Together, these findings outline a path to make music learning more accessible to BLV people. To this end, we describe opportunities for enhanced audio cues for musical communication, recommend integrating vibrotactile feedback to aid music reading and design technology that supports independence and interdependence in music learning.

Music Reading for Students with Learning Disabilities

Music Reading for Students with Learning Disabilities

“Wedding” by Yakiv Yatsynevych: Peculiarities of Verbal Texts Musical Reading

The relevance of the research. Among the Ukrainian composers who, in the first third of the 20th century, turned to the musical design of the Sacrament of Marriage, is Yakiv Yatsynevych. In his work, the composer issued the structure of the cycle in a new way. There are no thorough studies of the music of "The Wedding" by Y. Yatsynevych. In the short analytical description of O. Zasadna, not all characteristics of the cycle are identified and commented on. Today there are no performances or audio recordings of "The Wedding". The reason for this is the lack of interest of choral groups in the sacramental music artists of this era. However, it is extremely necessary to research, revive and popularize high-quality Ukrainian music.
 Objective of the research – to investigate "The Wedding" songs by Y. Yatsynevych, to reveal the author's peculiarities of the verbal texts embodiment, to outline the musical characteristics of the work for the interest of performing choral groups. During the fulfillment of the mentioned tasks such methods of investigation were used: source study (search of documents in the archives of Kyiv), systematization (division and classification of found materials), history-chronological (arrangement and reconstruction of "The Wedding" creation), comparison (comparison and identification of musical features of "The Wedding" songs by Ukrainian composers of the first third of the 20th century), synthesis and generalization (joining of gained knowledge).
 Scientific novelty. For the first time in Ukrainian musicology, archival documents from the life of Y. Yatsynevych, archival manuscripts of individual sections of the composer's "The Wedding" songs have been published, the musical and performance features of the cycle have been analyzed in detail, and intonation original sources of the works have been found.
 Research results and perspectives. According to archival documents, the approximate date of "The Wedding" creation by Y. Yatsynevych was established - on the eve of 1927. Based on a comparison of the printed sheet music of the composer under the editorship of M. Hobdych with the work archival manuscript, a violation of the order of the chants was revealed. The structure of "The Wedding" was coordinated with the canonical liturgical sequence, and a separate numbering of the parts of the cycle was proposed: 1. "The Great Litany", 2. "Blessed are all", 3. "Prokymen", 4. "Isaiah, rejoice", 5. "For long years". Simplified versions of individual sections of the cycle were found and published for the first time – "Holy Martyrs" from "Isaiah, Rejoice", "To You, Lord" from "The Great Litany". The number of songs and their musical forms in Yatsynevich and his contemporaries (K. Stetsenko, O. Koshyts, P. Kozytskyi, Y. Kyshakevych) were compared. The peculiarity of the structure of "The Wedding" by Y. Yatsynevych was revealed – for the first time, the canonical texts of the two parts of the sacrament of Marriage (Engagement and Wedding) were voiced. The study of the musical features of "The Wedding" by Y. Yatsynevych leads to certain conclusions. In the compositions of the cycle, the author relied on the characteristic features of various stylistic sources – canto, folk song stylistics, techniques of church vocabulary in all the canticles of the cycle. Appeals to the concert genre (broad chants, contrast of choral tutti and solo parts in the long "Prokymen "), everyday chants (sound imitation in the short "Prokymen" of the pre-initial psalm "Bless my soul, God" of the Greek chant) were revealed. Important factors in ensuring the integrity of the cycle became intonation connections in the form of related melodic turns (wave-like development of the melody, broad chants). The citation of musical fragments in the work "Blessed are all" from "In Your Kingdom" from "Liturgy" by Y. Yatsynevych was found and illustrated. As an experienced conductor of professional and amateur choral ensembles, the composer took into consideration the performance capabilities of the singers and offered various versions of individual parts of the cycle - both virtuosic and simplified, which was not known before.
 Significance. The proposed research testifies to Y. Yatsynevych's professional implementation of the canonical texts of the ceremonial wedding service and it should encourage singers to perform the work not only in the church, but also in concerts.

The effect of practice and musical structure on pianists' eye-hand span and visual monitoring.

This study examines short-term improvement of music performances and oculomotor behaviour during four successive executions of a brief musical piece composed by Bartók, "Slovak Boys' Dance". Pianists (n=22) were allowed to practice for two minutes between each trial. Eye-tracking data were collected as well as MIDI information from pianists' performances. Cognitive skills were assessed by a spatial memory test and a reading span test. Principal component analysis (PCA) enabled us to distinguish two axes, one associated with anticipation and the other with dependence/independence on written code. The effect of musical structure, determined by the emergence of different sections in the score, was observed in all the dependent variables selected from the PCA; we also observed the effect of practice on the number of fixations, the number of glances at the keyboard (GAK) and the awareness span. Pianist expertise was associated with fewer fixations and GAK, better anticipation capacities and more effective strategies for visual monitoring of motor movements. The significant correlations observed between the reading span test and GAK duration highlight the challenge of working memory involvement during music reading.

기억술을 활용한 교양 음악 수업 방안

Objectives The purposes of this study is to explore how mnemonic methods can be applied to liberal arts music classes by exploring the various mnemonic methods and their applicability. Methods To this end, based on past studies on mnemonics, possible ways to apply such methods to composition activities in introductory music classes were explored by identifying different categories and methods that could be adapted. Results Composition activities using mnemonics were into two steps: preparing the score (remembering the order of preparing the score, writing clefs, writing key signatures, and writing time signatures) and the basic composition process (memorizing composition rules based on the 3 major chords, memorizing notes and beats, memorizing note names, memorizing tempo, and memorizing ellipsis). To this end, a total of eight mnemonic methods (story method, acrostics, categorical clustering, key word method, gesture, acronyms, rhyme, and peg word method) were used. Conclusions This study can be meaningful in that by making it easy to memorize the contents that are difficult to remember in the basic music learning process through the use of mnemonics, It can be additionally meaningful in that it can increase the use of various mnemonic methods to help in sheet music reading skills which can allow composition activities.

Influences of Music Reading on Auditory Chord Discrimination: A Novel Test Bed for Nonconscious Processing of Irrelevant Prime Meaning

Abstract The question whether nonconscious processing could involve higher-level, semantic representations is of broad interest. Here, we demonstrate semantic processing of task-relevant and task-irrelevant features of nonconscious primes within a novel, empirical test bed. In two experiments, musicians were visually primed with musical note triads varying in mode (i.e., major vs minor) and position (i.e., the arrangement of notes within a triad). The task required to discriminate only the mode in the following auditory target chord. In two experimental blocks, primes were either consciously visible or masked, respectively. Response times for auditory discrimination of the modes (relevant dimension) of heard triads were measured. Crucially, the targets also varied with respect to mode and position, creating different grades of congruency with the visual primes. Based on the Theory of Event Coding, we expected and found interactions between relevant and irrelevant semantic characteristics of masked primes, illustrating that even irrelevant prime meaning was processed. Moreover, our results indicated that both task-relevant and task-irrelevant prime characteristics are processed in nonconscious conditions only, and that practice in ignoring uninformative conscious primes can be transferred to a subsequent block. In conclusion, this study demonstrates cross-modal, automatic semantic processing using a novel approach to study such effects.

Musicians’ views on the role of reading music in learning, performance, and understanding

Reading music notation is not an easy skill to acquire and can take years of training to master. In addition, it is not strictly necessary to be able to read music to make music. Nevertheless, music teaching and learning in the West has traditionally centered around the skill of reading music. This study explored participants’ reasons for learning to read music and the reported benefits of this skill for musical activities. We developed an online questionnaire with open-ended questions to gather the views of 64 people, both music readers and non-readers, on their musical activities using or not using notated scores. Their responses were analyzed thematically. The analysis showed that participants believe that learning and engaging with music notation adds to their multisensory experience of music involving vision, sound, and action; that, compared to learning by ear, the visual aspects of notation support the quick learning and improved theoretical understanding of a musical work: and that the skill of reading music is valuable in the context of group music making. They also believe, however, that notation can inhibit expressive performance or improvisation, and non-readers believe that sound technologies can be used as an alternative to notation. Finally, reading music was seen by readers, but not non-readers, as integral to playing an instrument. This may reflect differences between the practices and genres of music favored by the two groups.

Cognitive Mechanisms in Temporally Controlled Rhythm Reading

Music-reading research has not yet fully grasped the variety and roles of different cognitive mechanisms that underlie visual processing of music notation; instead, studies have often explored one factor at a time. Based on prior research, we identified three possible cognitive mechanisms regarding visual processing during music reading: symbol comprehension, visual anticipation, and symbol performance demands. We also summed up the eye-movement indicators of each mechanism. We then asked which of the three cognitive mechanisms were needed to explain how note symbols are visually processed during temporally controlled rhythm reading. In our eye-tracking study, twenty-nine participants performed simple rhythm-tapping tasks, in which the relative complexity of consecutive rhythm symbols was systematically varied. Eye-time span (i.e., “looking ahead”) and first-pass fixation time at target symbols were analyzed with linear mixed-effects modeling. As a result, the mechanisms symbol comprehension and visual anticipation found support in our empirical data, whereas evidence for symbol performance demands was more ambiguous. Future studies could continue from here by exploring the interplay of these and other possible mechanisms; in general, we argue that music-reading research should begin to emphasize the systematic creating and testing of cognitive models of eye movements in music reading.

Role of line junctions in expert object recognition: The case of musical notation.

Line junctions are well-known to be important for real-world object recognition, and sensitivity to line junctions is enhanced with perceptual experience with an object category. However, it remains unclear whether these very simple visual features are involved in expert object representations at the neural level, and if yes, at what level(s) they are involved. In this EEG study, 31 music reading experts and 31 novices performed a one-back task with intact musical notation, musical notation with line junctions removed and pseudo-letters. We observed more separable neural representations of musical notation from pseudo-letter for experts than for novices when line junctions were present and during 180-280 ms after stimulus onset. Also, the presence of line junctions was better decoded in experts than in novices during 320-580 ms, and the decoding accuracy in this time window predicted the behavioral recognition advantage of musical notation when line junctions were present. These suggest that, with perceptual expertise, line junctions are more involved in category selective representation of objects, and are more explicitly represented in later stages of processing to support expert recognition performance.

ОТ ОПЕР И КОНЦЕРТОВ К «ПОСЛОВИЦАМ» И «ФРАГМЕНТАМ»: ЖАНРОВЫЕ ЭКСПЕРИМЕНТЫ РОДИОНА ЩЕДРИНА В XXI ВЕКЕ

The article is devoted to Rodion Shchedrin's genre experiments in the last two decades. During this time, the composer has created a large number of works covering many typical genres, mixed compositions and new, original musical genres. Among them are operas (4), concerts (5), a concert symphony, piano cycles (4), a vocal cycle, a sonatina, variations, numerous program orchestral and chamber-instrumental compositions, choral miniatures and cycles. At the same time, none of these areas of creativity looks traditional in the catalog of Shchedrin's opuses of recent decades. The article examines the author's versions of the concert genre, interesting varieties of opera genres from the composer's viewpoint, unusual interpretation of the vocal cycle genre and mass, musical interpretation of the Russian folk proverbs, as well as genre modulations; it emphasizes original varieties of symphonic program music, such as a symphonic or dramatic fragment, symphonic etudes, symphonic fresco. In exploring Shchedrin's innovations in the genre sphere, the author analyzes genres or genre varieties that were created by him and have not previously appeared in the works of composers. These are the genres of musical hagiography (choral opera "Boyarynya Morozova"), musical reading ("Adventures of a Monkey"), musical proverb (choral cycle "Proverbs"). As a result of the study, it is concluded that Shchedrin's mobile genre system can only be considered in terms of the mobile interaction of intersecting genre signs.