Multiple-Percussion Notation: The Effectiveness of Three Types of Staff Notation on Sight -Reading Ability

In a pilot study conducted with twenty-two undergraduate and graduate music majors specializing in percussion at a large midwestern university, results provide evidence that varying notation systems affect sight-reading accuracy primarily on large multiple-percussion setups. Subjects performed excerpts three times in each of the three systems of staff notation on two setups---one medium (seven instruments) and one large (thirteen instruments). Of the three main effects (setup, notation, and attempt), only setup is significant (F(1,20) = 55.622, p < 0.01). Furthermore, two statistically significant interactions occur: setup - notation (F(2,40) = 5.747, p < 0.01) and setup x notation x attempt (X(4,80) = 2.648, p < 0.05). All three systems---five-line, composite-system, and timbre-staff---result in roughly the same sight-reading accuracy on the medium setup (M = 12.79, M = 13.63, M = 12.54, respectively with a range of possible scores from 0--20); however, timbre-staff produced significantly higher accuracy on the large setup (M = 9.46) than five-line or composite-system notation (M = 3.92 and M = 5.51, respectively). Future research, guided by the current pilot study, may ultimately lead to suggestions for multiple-percussion notation based on setup size, configuration, and performance techniques; however, the variability of instruments in multiple-percussion setups require that such guidelines be flexible and generalized.

Name thesis:degree_name

D.M.A.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Music

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2015

Author dc:creator

• Kamstra, Darin J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Moersch, William

• Music

Language dc:language

eng

Identifier

(MiAaPQ)AAI3242889

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/85775