Pitch error analysis of young piano students’ music reading performances

Abstract

This study analyzed the music reading performances of 6—13-year-old piano students ( N = 35) in their second year of piano study. The stimuli consisted of three piano pieces, systematically constructed to vary in terms of left-hand complexity and input simultaneity. The music reading performances were recorded digitally and a code of error analysis was constructed from the data. The effect of age on the types of errors made was investigated. The age differences found were in terms of error frequency, performance continuity, contour preservation, and stimulus complexity. The study sheds light on what may be typical music reading errors of piano students in their second year of study and suggests some trends of age-related development in music reading among piano students.