EyeQ - Reading and Processing Information - How it helped my Sight-Reading

My optometrist suggested that I try the EyeQ (vision therapy) program since it has been some time since I finished working on PTSII. I decided to spend a couple of months working on it and stop the practice of sight-reading just to see if I would be able to transfer the therapy alone to my sight-reading. As you know, while I worked on PTSII, I practiced sight-reading everyday.
At first, I didn't think EyeQ was going to help me because it is much more focused on text reading. However, to my surprise, I again experienced incredible improvements even without my daily practice. The exercises are not half as interesting as the ones on PTSII, but I benefited a lot from the fast pace: it improved my reaction time and information processing, expanded my peripheral vision, and I benefited a lot from the exercises where the eyes have to follow objects horizontally, vertically, and diagonally.
EyeQ trains your eyes and brain to work together more effectively. According to other people who went through this program, improving eye-brain processing showed improvements not only on text reading, but sports, music, and typing abilities.
The program was developed by Dr. Akihiro Kowamura in the 80s. Today, it is widely used in Japanese schools. According to the manual, our reading abilities are impaired by narrow field of vision, sub-vocalization* and weak eye muscles. (EyeQ exercises six sets of eye muscles).
There are 12 exercise sessions (7 minutes long) and three levels according to your age. Each session starts and ends with a reading speed test. Typically, there are 3 stages: warm up exercises which are designed to strength the muscles and expand you visual field, super fast exercises, and finally the speed of the exercises drops to a moderate pace.

There is a Personal Training Center where you can design your own therapy which includes:
- Eye Exercises: horizontal, vertical, and diagonal saccades and expanding circles and squares to improve peripheral vision.
- Maze Games: your eyes have to solve mazes in order to activate the right brain and scanning abilities.
- Number Finding Games: improves scanning abilities. (After a lot of training, I was able to see the whole page at once. It is remarkable.)
- Two Point Training: it is supposed to be one of the most effective ways to improve reading. In this exercise, each line begins and ends with a square and you have to move your eyes as fast as possible from the left square to the right without reading the words. I would like to hear form a person who has succeeded in doing this exercise. To me, it remains impossible to achieve the goal unless you have bionic eyes.
- Comprehension Test: you can choose a short piece to read and be tested by answering 10 questions about the text.

Tracking Progress:
Your progress is automatically recorded in a chart.

A poster with a case report about my results after vision therapy is going to be presented by Dr Jeniffer Simonson at the 2011 COVD meeting this coming October.

*I confess I am still not able to break the sub-vocalization habits.

Sight-Reading and Rhythm - Intermediate Repertoire

"I have benefited a lot from your suggestions of repertoire. Could you please suggest some SR material (intermediate)that explores diversity in rhythms?"

Upon receiving the e-mail above, the first thing that came to my mind was a rarely performed set of 10 pieces by Villa-Lobos: Francette et Pia. This set was written in 1929 for the piano class of the celebrated Marguerite Long. This suite mixes Brazilian and French songs and tells the story of a little Brazilian Indian boy (Pia)* and a French girl (Francette). I can't help imagining a recital alternating a boy and a girl performing these solo pieces and at the end, the two kids closing the recital with the final piece called "Francette and Pia Play Together Forever" (it is a duet - 4 hands).
Mixed with the Brazilian folk and indigenous melodies, you will recognize the French national anthem (Marseillaise - #8), Au Clair de la Lune (#1), Le Bon Roi Dogobert (#2) and Malbrouk S'en Va-t-en Guerre (#6).
As expected, Villa-Lobos writes challenging rhythms, but the repetitive patterns through the compositions make this set a good source for sight-reading (there are lots of opportunities for self-correction). Each piece is rich in tempo, meter and key signature changes.

1 - Pia Came to France.. (it opens with an Indian theme).
2 - Pia Saw Francette...
3 - Pia Spoke to Francette...
4 - Pia and Francette Play Together...
5 - Francette is Angry... (the edition I have translates this piece as Francette is sorry, however, the right translation is Francette is angry).
6 - Pia Went to War... (the composer writes "to make kids used to syncopation and exaggerated accents").
7 - Francette is Sad... (it opens with a Brazilian March followed by a French theme).
8 - Pia Returns Form the War...
9 - Francette is Happy... (the composer brings back a variation of previous themes).
10- Francette and Pia Play Together Forever... Four-Hand Duet

Villa-Lobos dedicated a lot of time writing pedagogical music exploring Brazilian children's folk tunes. My favorite set is the Cirandinhas (it is extraordinary!). There is also Guia Pratico (11 sets of 6 pieces in each), Carnaval das Criancas Brasileiras, The 3 Marias, Petizada, The Broken Little Music Box, and The Toy Wheel.

* Pia means a little boy of Indian descent. In Tupi-Guarany, it is an expression of affection like "dear boy". Today in Rio Grande do Sul (south Brazil), we call all boys "pia".
Guarany is an indigenous language in South America.

The Role of Cognitive Skills and Sight-Reading

A few months ago, I bumped into an article that explored my main concerns about research on sight-reading. The author Ji In Lee opens the article stating that there is no feasible theory behind sight-reading and that until now, no one has explained differences between individuals in SR achievements.
The article “The Role of Working Memory and Short-Term Memory in Sight Reading” (Ji In Lee, 2003) focuses on the information processing elements needed for sight-reading. That is, Lee studies the role of working memory (WM), short-term memory (STM) and mental speed and how these 3 elements could be valuable predictors of sight-reading. If you have been following this blog, you are going to find such elements familiar to you. The vision therapy exercises I have been analyzing (PTSII) work on the oculomotor skills* as well as information processing. After you see an image, information is sent directly to your brain in order to be processed, hence the eye’s nickname, “the outside brain.”
The conclusions of this study are that "sight-reading skills should be explained within the framework of general cognitive skills and that WM** and speed of processing*** are significant predictors for sight-reading achievements.”
STM however did not show a high significance in explaining sight-reading differences. It makes sense for WM to have a more important role since while musicians read, they have to store information seeing ahead as well as process it in terms of how to finger it, chunk it, phrase it, etc. During the mechanical output of a passage seeing in the recent past, we are already working (processing) on what is coming ahead.

There is very little research done on the role of information processing and sight-reading:
- Lee (2003) has demonstrated that SR should be explained within the framework of general cognitive skills. WM, STM and mental speed are significant predictors for SR achievement.
- Berz (1995) designed the first model of WM based on Baddeley’s (1990) model, which include a music memory loop.
- Kopiez and Lee (2006) have studied general cognitive skills (WM), elementary cognitive skill (RT), expertise-related skills (experience and ear training/auditory expectancy).
- Engle (2002). http://cdp.sagepub.com/content/11/1/19.short (abstract)
- Lehmann and Ericsson (1993) have tested STM in good and poor sight-readers

* Ocular Motility: Visual Search, Visual Sequencing, Visual Sequential Processing and Visual Scan.
** WM: Tachistoscope Exercise, Visual Span,Visual-Visual Integration.
STM: Visual Concentration.
***All PTSII exercises focus on developing Information Processing, Temporal Vision Processing and Rapid Automatized Naming.

Can I Have Your Divided Attention? Attention and Sight-Reading

According to the book Cognitive Psychology by Sternberg, divided attention is the attempt to handle more than one task at once. Sounds familiar? Sight-reading music requires all musicians to handle several tasks all the time. Pianists suffer even more with the fact that they have to read two different clefs.

Example:


During performance, we attend to more than one automatized task at one time. This is supposed to be easier than attending to more than one controlled task at a time which is the case when sight-reading. While sigh-reading there is a great deal of decision making, problem solving, comprehension and muscle control. The good news is "...with practice, individuals appear to be capable of handling more than one controlled task at a time, even engaging in tasks requiring comprehension and decision making". (Sternberg)
When sight-reading piano, besides reading two distinct clefs, we also have to execute two distinct articulation, phrasing and dynamics. If you are sight-reading a fugue, for example, you can face more than that. Add pedal markings to that, and you might need a drink.

Example:


Marlos Nobre "Caboclinha"


Attention is all the information an individual manipulates. Because our working memory has limited capacity (7 +2/-2 items or chunks), attention allows us to use our cognition resources judiciously to respond fast and accurately to interesting stimuli and to remember salient information. Consciousness, on the other hand, is only the narrow range of information that the individual is aware of manipulating. It allow us to monitor our interactions with the environment to link experiences and expectations while planning future actions.(Sternberg)
One can see how both attention and consciousness play an important role in sight-reading. Attention relates to our first encounter with a musical passage and to how we select salient information to be played. While consciousness, takes this information selected and infers our previous experiences and expectations in order to plan our final output.

Typography and Sight-Reading Music

Example I: observe how large the space between treble and bass clef on the same staff are; how close the treble and bass clefs from different staffs are; how one and a half beats are connected and how beats are not connected.



Example II Big Note Score: lots of glare; difficult to read globally (by chunks)


Example III: look how badly the rests are written.



"Typography is the style and appearance of printed matter."

From the point of view of visual research, "comprehension and information processing derived from the printed word can be greatly influenced be typographical presentation. Legibility research is concerned with the efficiency of information transmissibility of the printed word." (The Ergonomics of Reading - Long,R. Garzia, Wingert ,S. Garzia - 1996) One can say the same thing is true for the printed music. How often have you bumped into a confusing edition or "disorganized" printing that only makes sight-reading frustrating and stressful?
Research has been measuring eye movement patterns to determine variations in reading speed from one typographical style to another.(Tinker, 1949) Such variations range from the duration and number of fixations to number of regressions. According to Ralph Garzia, an increase in any of these parameters strongly suggests that the reader is experiencing difficulty. Garzia also explains why (text reading) serif typefaces have superior results in terms of word legibility. He states "Serifs link the letters together to form word units...They help to maintain adequate spacing between letters and emphasize the separation between words...They help to avoid confusion by enhancing letter differentiation." If you read what he states carefully, you can easily relate it to music. Musicians often struggle to read vocal lines because the beats are not connect in units or when the spacing between beats are disproportional.
In cognitive psychology, this is called "context effect." It occurs when the surrounding environment influences perception of patterns and forms. "The strength of the context plays a role in the object recognition."(Bar, 2004)
One context effect theory called "Configurational-Superiority Effect" (Bar, 2004 and Pomerantz, 1981) establishes that objects presented in certain configurations are easier to recognize than objects presented in isolation, even if the objects in the configurations are more complex than those in isolation. People perceive differences faster when objects are integrated configurations comprising multiple lines than they do isolated lines.
Example I
The amount of space between lines is also an issue.
Example II
The type size is an inverse U-shaped curve. "Smaller and larger type sizes cause reductions in reading rate."
I have observed this problem with students every time I used those "BIG NOTES" scores. Even I feel perplexed by the exaggerated sizes and spaces between lines. Garzia states that too much space is also undesirable for legibility because the added white spaces are a glare source and the oculomotor control system may add difficulty finding the beginning of the next line resulting in rereading and skipping lines.
The Global Precedent Effect Theory* (Navon, 1977)shows that people can respond and identify small letters positioned close together in a "global" way (chunks) faster then in a local way. When letters are more widely spaced, the Local-Precedent Effect Theory* leads people to identify letters in a local way (note by note) faster than globally. In another words, it is quicker to id local features when letters are widely spaced (note-by-note) and quicker to globally (chunks)id notes when they are close together.
Example III

I strongly recommend that you read this article "The ergonomics of reading". It has a lot of information about types of ink, paper, color X black ink, margin sizes and even reading mathematical symbols.

Curiosity: "Italic type slows reading by 15 words per minute. This was found to be consistent with the subjective impressions of 96% of readers studied." (Garzia)

*Global features are features that give a form its overall shape.(Sternberg, Cognitive Psychology)
*Local features are small scale or detailed aspects of a pattern.(Sternberg, Cognitive Psychology)

Sight-Reading Robert Starer - Game With Names, Notes and Numbers

Game With Names, Notes and Numbers (1979)

These wonderful 12 pieces are perfect for beginner students to sight-read. They are very descriptive, game-like pieces that facilitate sight-reading and information processing.
Starer writes: "These pieces move from the easy to more complex. They are, like all games, quite serious. Each of them can be studied by itself."
All these pieces are carefully fingered, phrased (a rare quality for beginner pieces), pedaled and provide rich articulations as well as dynamic markings.

1- ABE, GABE, ADA, FAE and ED "is a game with names. All the notes in this piece (the letter-names of the notes) make up the five names in the title". (Starer)

2- In the Mirror "what each hand plays is a mirror image of the other". (Starer)

3- Echo Chamber "if the sustaining pedal is kept down as indicated, the resonating effect should come by itself". (Starer) Good way to work on ties.

4- Turn-me-Around "is a game for the eyes, a game for people who like puzzles. 'Madam I'm Adam' can be read backwards; this piece can be played upside down as well". (Starer)
This is one of my favorites. It has a great effect as a recital piece. The student is not required to play it by memory. I usually have them performing it twice where the second time around, they turn the score upside down. Very cool! The audience love it.
I also like how the hands are not locked on a particular hand-position and they only move a step at a time.

5- Countdown "as the numbers are called out, each bar has one beat less then the one before". (Starer) The first measure has nine beats, the second has eight, and the student plays all the way down to one beat. The phrasing is unique. The first measure has 3/3/2/1 note-phrase, the second has 2/2/2/2 note-phrase, then 3/2/2, 2/2/2/, 2/2/2/, 23/2/, 2/2/, 3, 2 1. There are 3 optional endings.

6- Evens and Odds "refers to the number of beats per measure in 3, 4, 5 and 6 times". (Starer) It has a cool pop-sounding rhythm. Students like it a lot.

7- Up and Down, Right and Left, Over and Across "asks you to find fingers on the same notes and to cross hands". (Starer) It is a reasonable way to sight-read repeated notes and it is also good for "interval reading".

8- Darkness and Light "is a game with sounds. It contrasts low with high, threatening sounds with pleasing sounds, dissonance with consonance". (Starer) It is a good opportunity to point out musical sequences to students.

9- Adding and Taking Away "notes are added to form 'clusters' and then taken away, one by one, to return to a single note". (Starer) This is done with both hands.

10- Walking With Two Fingers "is for people who enjoys walking with 2 fingers on table-tops or desks". (Starer) The fingers are always 2 and 3. I like it because it explores a wide range of the keyboard. The rhythm is fun and the two fingers chosen, play harmonic seconds as well as melodic seconds throughout the piece.

11- Sliding into the Keys "takes a tune, or a chord, to many different keys without what is called modulation." (Starer) It has rich dynamic markings. the 6/8 measure and the rhythm resembles. the "Pop-Time" form "At Home Alone".

12- Twelve Notes Twelve Times "presents 12 different ways of presenting all the 12 notes: in 4ths, 5ths, the chromatic and the whole-tone scale, and in chords". (Starer) The 12 ways are numbered in order to make it more clear to the students. Every thing on this piece is explored: dynamics, phrasing, imagination, pedal. In the middle of this piece, there is a cool sequence of "jazzy" chords.

Next, I will write about At Home Alone, Sketches in Colors I and II, Four Seasonal Pieces, and Seven Vignettes.
All these pieces and more can be found on the book Piano Solos-Robert Starer-Album for Piano (MCA Music Publishing.-Hal Leonard)