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)

Procedures for Sight-Reading (PTSII)

PTS II is a computer program available only through your optometrist. It is installed in your home computer. There are 11 exercises to work on and you advance levels only if you meet the requirements. (I have been describing my experiences with each exercise on this blog)

PTSII procedures for sight-reading are:

-Speed of information processing;
-Perceptual span;
-Peripheral Vision;
-Visual attention;
-Visual memory;
-Ocular motility.

All 11 exercises enhance these skills.

How Musicians Process Information

In our everyday activities, all of us learn and process information either simultaneously or sequentially. This perceptual-cognitive theory was developed by Alexander Luria (1966) and later expanded by Das (1979) and Naglieri and Das (1997).
When musicians look at a triad they quickly recognize its shape and its inversion (spatial configuration). They see it as a whole, all at once. This is an example of processing information simultaneously. In order to spell such triad (and scales), musicians have to use their sequential processing skills (linear approach).
The speed of information processing skills is an essential component to learning and reading and can be improved by doing the appropriate exercises. “It can be shown that increases in processing speed are linked to increases in other cognitive domains, which include sight-reading” (PTS II Documentation and sight-reading).


According to the authors, the exercises presented on the PTS II program are designed to enhance Information Processing Skills, Temporal Visual Processing skills and Rapid Automatized Naming skills.

Information Processing Skills is the ability our brain has to recognize, understand, stores and responds to information collected by our five senses. (article)

Temporal Visual Processing (TVP) is the means by which musicians process brief short stimuli and rapid sequences of information during sight-reading. TVP is responsible for the manner musicians make choices and prioritize information. Such choices vary from identifying and individualizing single notes to perceiving large stimuli presented in sequences such as chords, scales, accompaniment styles, arpeggios, etc. TVP also controls the musician’s capacity to change fixations form note-to-note, beat-to-beat, and so on. Improvements on this area result in more fluency and better comprehension. Even a small deficit on TVP can compromise reading ability, can cause loss of place while reading, visual fatigue, slow reading speed, symbols overlapping, lack of comprehension and frustration. (PTS II)

Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN) is the ability to recognize and name harmony, notes, accompaniment patterns, sequences and rhythms in a fast an accurate way.

A Second "Look" at the Tachistoscopic Exercise and Reading Music

Tachistoscopic perception is the capacity to identify and reproduce a visual stimulus presented rapidly, usually faster than 1/25 of a second. It is used chiefly to assess visual perception, memory or to increase reading speed. Tachistoscopic perception requires Perceptual Speed, Visual Memory, Visualization and Temporal Visual Processing.
This exercises is recommended for reading fast music. It spans the visual field and problem solving. One has opportunity to group fast stimulus into chunks. It develops working memory by adding a distractor before you enter your answer. The purpose of the distractors is to retain certain information while simultaneously processing the other task.

Tachistoscopic Exercises for Musicians

Although tachistoscopic ability is a very important skill for all readers, exercising this ability alone does not guaranty improvements on your sight-reading. In fact, experiments with tach practice for musicians by using musical examples had unimpressive results.
I found a reasonable explanation for such results on an article called “Eye Movements in Reading: Facts and Fallacies” by Stanford E. Taylor. He reports:"No studies to date have shown that training to widen span has resulted in the ability to see in phrases during continuous reading. Feinberg's study (1949) suggested that physiological limitations of the eye will probably prevent readers from ever reaching this goal. It is rather startling to note that despite the findings of over a hundred studies of eye movements, writers of reading improvement texts have persisted in this misconception. Perhaps they have done so because they know a person can see 3 or 4 words when STARING at a print or when words are flashed TACHISTOSCOPICALLY. This is possible because the seeing situation is STATIC, allowing time to assimilate the less distinct impressions that occur in the periphery. The situation is in direct contrast to that encountered during reading, when retinal impressions are superimposed on preceding ones at the rate of 3 to 5 per second in a DYNAMIC act where the kinesthesia of the ocular activity and the sequence of impressions further reduce the already tenuous peripheral impressions. In addition, there is the demand for continuously ORGANIZING the MULTIPLE IDEAS presented in reading material. Consequently, the span of recognition in reading is distinctly smaller than that occurring and measured in STATIC seeing situations and may be thought of as "salvage" span. "


Musicians in order to improve their sight-reading abilities need more then just tach exercises because seeing a stationary target is different then seeing dynamic ones
K.L. Bean(1938)has researched and tested musicians doing tach exercises by using musical samples. His results are mentioned in detail on a paper called "A Cognitive Model of Musical Sight-Reading" by Thomas Wolf (1976). Here is the conclusion about musicians practicing tach alone: ” While there was some improvement, the results were generally unimpressive. Only 25% of the subjects improved significantly in both speed and accuracy of reading."
Wolf goes on reporting that “To get to the heart of this matter, we must worry less about what musicians see on the page and devote more attention to the cognitive processing which allows him to transfer the visual image into muscular act.”

This option by Wolf is what researchers call "information processing skills" or "problem solving". I wrote about problem solving on my previous entry.


The best tach exercise I found so far is the one on the PTS II program. I will describe them and post my results once again. I have not yet found a tach exercise for musicias. However, it really DOES NOT matter how you exercise this skill. Once your eyes learn a skill, they will apply it everywhere despite the target you are using. (This is the focus of a lecture I am giving for the MTNA Conference in March 2011 - Milwaukee).
Last night I reader e mailed me about suggesting some tach exercises. There is good exercise on a site called "Tachistoscope-Electronic Literature Collection"*
Another option is the PTS II which you need to acquire through a developmental optometrist. - If you know some tach exercises for musicians, we would love for you to share with us.
I am currently trying a program called EyeQ which although very good, has a brief and very simple tach exercise. There is a program called Eagle Eye available on the Luminosity.com site. I have not seeing it yet. But their exercises are usually great.
I will work and report on the Eagle Eye in the future.

Curiosity: Measuring perceptual span by using tach tests( performed by Weaver, 1943), produces an overestimate because musicians are able to guess some notes (Wolf,1997).

*I am sorry, for some reason, I failed to print the link for you