Improving Music Sight Reading

The purpose of this study was to investigate theeffectiveness oficonic-based rhythmic instruction on middle schoolinstrumentalists' ability to read rhythms at sight inthe preparationof music for sight-reading. One hundred thirty-onemiddle schoolstudents from 12 randomly assigned bands in theMidwesternUnited States provided data for a pretest-posttestcontrol-groupdesign.Results from an analysis of covariance revealed thatno groupobtained a significant difference on the posttestmean scores fromthe rhythmic performance test after a nine-weekperiod. Becauseresults from individual schools showed considerablevariation, othervariables were observed to see if they weresignificant. It wasindicated that a significant interaction between theindividual schooland the pretest to posttest measurement exists. Inlight of thesefindings, it is speculated that the key to improvinga student'srhythm-reading ability may be dependent not only onthe method,but also on the quality of instructional delivery.

Autorentext

Anthony Pursell, D.A. is the Assistant Director of Bands at Kansas State University. He received the Doctor of Arts degree from Ball State University (Indiana) and the Master and Bachelor of Music Education degrees from Loyola University (New Orleans, LA).

Klappentext
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of iconic-based rhythmic instruction on middle school instrumentalists' ability to read rhythms at sight in the preparation of music for sight-reading. One hundred thirty-one middle school students from 12 randomly assigned bands in the Midwestern United States provided data for a pretest-posttest control-group design. Results from an analysis of covariance revealed that no group obtained a significant difference on the posttest mean scores from the rhythmic performance test after a nine-week period. Because results from individual schools showed considerable variation, other variables were observed to see if they were significant. It was indicated that a significant interaction between the individual school and the pretest to posttest measurement exists. In light of these findings, it is speculated that the key to improving a student's rhythm-reading ability may be dependent not only on the method, but also on the quality of instructional delivery.