The art of sight-reading: Influence of practice, playing tempo, complexity and cognitive skills on the eye–hand span in pianists

Abstract

Sight-reading is a skill required by musicians when they perform sheet music unknown to them. It demands sequential anticipatory eye fixation of notes immediately followed by motor execution. The distance between eye (fixation of a note) and hand position (tapping the corresponding key) is called eye-hand span (EHS). The aim of our study was to investigate the influence of practice, playing tempo and complexity of the music on the size of the EHS, as well as its relation to performance and cognitive skills (shape recognition, working memory, and mental speed). We used a sight-reading paradigm where nine pianists accompanied a pre-recorded flute voice, which also served as a timekeeper. After a practice phase, a second measurement of the EHS with same tempo and a third and fourth measurement with a different playing tempo followed. We found that the practice phase only slightly affected the EHS but that the EHS significantly changed according to playing tempo and complexity of the music. Furthermore the EHS correlated with quality of performance after practice and mental speed skills. Hence we conclude that the EHS seems to be characteristic for each musician, is developed over years of practice and is relatively independent of a short practice phase.

Eye-Hand Span is not an Indicator of but a Strategy for Proficient Sight-Reading in Piano Performance

“…However, a question arises when comparing two studies that directly analysed the correlation between the EHS and sight-reading proficiency 9,10 . Interestingly, the two studies showed contrasting results.…”

“…The correlation between the EHS and sight-reading accuracy was strongly positive in the study conducted by Sloboda 9 but almost absent in the study conducted by Rosemann et al . 10 . What is the cause of this discrepancy?…”

Music Memory Following Short-term Practice and Its Relationship with the Sight-reading Abilities of Professional Pianists

“…Many previous studies on sight-reading measured eye movements while the pianists were sight-reading or while they read the score as they played (e.g., Goolsby, 1994 ; Waters et al, 1997 ; Drai-Zerbib et al, 2012 ; Rosemann et al, 2015 ). Goolsby (1994) reported that better sight-readers did not fixate on all the notes, but crossed lines and phrase boundaries, while less proficient sight-readers tended to fixate on individual notes.…”

“…However, the eye-hand span is affected by playing tempo and music complexity ( Sloboda, 1984 ; Rosemann et al, 2015 ). In addition, pianists estimate forthcoming notes by using their knowledge of common phrases and chord progression.…”

Learning on the job

“…Thus, musicians have to make sense of the complex symbolic system and select what to target their gaze at, as well as when and for how long, in order to perform successfully while operating within the given temporal framework. We know that musicians manage this by maintaining their gaze slightly ahead of the current point of performance, and with the help of this buffer (typically of perhaps around 1-2 seconds [Furneaux & Land, 1999;Penttinen, et al, 2015;Huovinen, Ylitalo, & Puurtinen, 2018;Rosemann, Altenmüller, & Fahle, 2016; see Video 1]), the performer prepares for the upcoming motoric responses. The gaze may typically tend to remain very close to the performed notes (Truitt et al, 1997;Penttinen, et al, 2015), but instead of a steady "looking ahead", at least for skilled music readers, the reading may also consist (mainly or in part) of rapid back and forth eye movements (Goolsby, 1994;cf.…”