Sight Reading

Mechanism

During a sight reading performance, visual information extracted from the score is transformed to motor response sequences, while it is constantly informed by the auditory feedback produced. The cognitive complexity of the task led researchers to seek an explanation by analogy with inner speech; brain imaging studies provided evidence for sight reading following a procedure similar to silent speech production. Musicians show the same patterns of cortical activity when music is read as when it is played. The process, however, is different according to the level of musical expertise: Expert musicians appear to be able to extract multimodal information from the written score faster and more efficiently compared to nonexperts. While expert musicians instantly translate music notation into kinesthetic and aural cues, thus anticipating the auditory result, nonexperts appear to rely more heavily on auditory feedback, “discovering” the music as they perform it.

Another factor affecting sight reading efficiency is working memory capacity, which is the ability of [Page 1000]short-term memory storage to keep task-relevant information readily available. During sight reading, musicians are required to look ahead in the score so that they prepare the upcoming music for performance while monitoring the auditory result of their current performance. Although some researchers advocate the definitive importance of efficient and prolonged practice over any inherent cognitive characteristic or talent in order to achieve excellence, working memory capacity has had a significantly positive correlation with sight reading performance in several studies investigating pianists' sight reading. Strong visual memory for music notation is widely acknowledged in the literature as a crucial requirement for sight reading excellence.

Sight Reading Performance Predictors

Several empirical studies have revealed verbal reading comprehension, spatial-temporal reasoning, and aural discrimination of tonal and rhythmic patterns to be the best predictors for sight reading, reflecting to an extent the cognitive processes thought to take place during sight reading. Efficient rhythm reading consistently appears across the literature as an indispensable trait of sight reading excellence. Regardless of the general performance skill level, the ability to accurately perform rhythmic patterns when reading from musical notation seems to constitute a key factor in producing accurate sight reading performances.

Pitch and aural skills, including audiation, playing by ear, and tonal pattern recognition skills, as well as the development of verbal and symbolic associations for pitch appear useful both to instrumentalists and singers. Although naturally more indispensable to vocalists, the ability to form anticipatory aural images of notation is considered by most instrumental pedagogues and performers a valuable tool, which facilitates sight reading as well as music reading in general. General technical proficiency on an instrument or voice, although connected to sight reading achievement, does not guarantee excellence. However, expert sight readers are more likely to make good performers.

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