Page 66 - How to Shine on Stage

Contemporary research studies on when to introduce a learner to
music notation confirm the insights advocated by Suzuki, Willems, and
Kodaly, namely that it is better to have the child play by ear first, by
imitation, and to introduce them to notation later (Mills & McPher-
son, 2006; Zhukov & Ginsborg, 2021). Early learning of musical nota-
tion can cause negative experiences, a lack of understanding of musical
concepts, and a decrease in creativity and the ability to memorize mu-
64 sic (Zhukov & Ginsborg, 2021). To develop musical notation reading flu-
ency, the eyes, ears, and hands need to be coordinated. Yi Ting Tan et
al. (2009) observed that beginners find many basic aspects of musical
notation incomprehensible and even confusing. Bonnie S. Jacobi (2012)
claims that it is important for children to hear the sound before reading
How to Shine on Stage the notation reading, such as singing simple melodies, recognizing high
it in form of notation. She suggests various activities that can precede

and low tones, using hands to show the melodic contour, and placing in-
dividual music-related pictures on the stand before using full notation.
McPherson and Gabrielsson (2002) suggest that the students first begin
to read the notation of the pieces which they already know by ear. Yi-
Ting Kuo and Chuang (2013) developed a colour-based music notation
system, where the 12 primary colours represent the 12 pitches, and var-
ious shapes are used for the duration of the notes. Colour notation is not
new, it has been used in many countries since the 1970s, reaping benefits,
including in the teaching of music to children with disabilities (Ruoko-
nen et al., 2012).
Reading a vista involves a combination of reading and motor activ-
ity. A good a vista reader is a fast reader and good at translating the pat-
terns read into motor activity. The first condition for a successful a vista
reading is definitely the mastery of instrumental technique. This read-
ing is more efficient if we know the piece or if it clearly conforms to a mu-
sical style, allowing us to anticipate the succession of musical patterns. It
is also very important that the piece is printed clearly.
These facts were demonstrated in research conducted in the late
1930s (Gabrielsson, 2012). To conduct research, Bean (1938) used short
tachistoscopic presentations of music which had to be performed after-
wards. Professional musicians performed the presented samples most
successfully. They managed to perform an average of five notes.
Introspective accounts of good a vista readers indicate that they use
a pattern-reading strategy (note grouping) in their reading, and often
guess the next steps. Good a vista reading requires rapid eye-hand in-
teraction and a good tactile sense of the instrument. If a performer can