The Effect of Pitch and Rhythm Difficulty on High School String Sight-Reading Performance

Reading music at sight is a complex skill, requiring the musician to perform pitch and rhythm simultaneously. Previous research has identified difficulty levels for pitch and rhythm skills for strings individually but not in combination. In this study, we sought to study possible relationships between pitch and rhythm tasks occurring concurrently. High school string players (N = 88) performed melodies with varying combinations of pitch and rhythm difficulty. Results indicated that pitch and rhythm skills retained their relative difficulty levels, regardless of the presence of other factors. Rhythmic success was related to pitch success. Rhythm accuracy without pitch success occurred least frequently. Pitch accuracy without rhythm success occurred most frequently. String players appeared to give priority to pitch over rhythm, performing pitch correctly at the expense of rhythmic accuracy. Implications for teaching include the necessity of emphasizing rhythmic continuity. Future research should explore the pitch and rhythm reading capabilities for other instrumentalists and string players with a vocal background, as well as exploring the ability to sight-read additional musical elements in conjunction with rhythm and pitch.