The Effects of Error-Detection Practice on Keyboard Sight-Reading Achievement of Undergraduate Music Majors

Abstract

This investigation compared three methods of teaching keyboard sight-reading to undergraduate music majors. Sixty-nine students enrolled in six piano classes were randomly divided among three conditions: (1) error-detection practice plus “shadowing” (silently playing the notes on top of the keys), (2) shadowing only, and (3) unguided independent practice (contact control). A pretest-posttest design was used to assess subjects' achievement on five selected sight-reading assignments during the course of one academic semester (15 weeks). Individual pretest and posttest performances were tape-recorded and evaluated across three error categories: rhythm, notes, and hesitations. Results indicated that, while no significant differences were found in overall sight-reading improvement among groups, the EDS (error-detection plus shadowing) subjects achieved modest overall gains, and rhythm was the most improved category, followed by notes and hesitations.

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