Visual Confusion in Piano Notation

This series of Reaction Time experiments investigates how quickly notes can be read from a screen and immediately executed on a MIDI keyboard. This makes it possible to study pitch reading and motor coordination in considerable detail away from the customary confounds of rhythm reading or pulse entrainment. The first experiment found that reaction times were slower in extreme keys (3#, 4#, 3b, 4b), even for very experienced sightreaders, a large effect of clef in most individuals, and other results suggesting that, in this simple paradigm at least, reading notation presents more of a difficulty to execution than motor coordination. A second experiment found, in addition, an effect of order in which the notes were presented. A clarified form of notation was devised that disambiguates visual confusion across key signatures, and to some extent across clefs. Initial results from an experiment to contrast traditional noteheads with the clearer ones found substantial improvements in both Reaction Time and accuracy for the clarified notation. The possible applications of improved notation to the wider field of piano playing are discussed.