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.