The Effect of Sight-Reading Instruction on Performance Achievement of Wind Players in a High School Band

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sight-reading instruction on the performance achievement of instrumentalists. Participants (N = 30) were high school band students divided into treatment (n = 16) and control (n = 14) groups. Participants engaged in pretest and posttest assessments for sight-reading accuracy using the Watkins-Farnum Performance Scale and for performance achievement using the Winds Brass Percussion Solo Evaluation Form. The treatment group members received instruction in sight-reading using The Sight-Reading Book for Band, Volume 4 for a portion of 20 consecutive band rehearsals before posttest assessments. Performance achievement of participants in the treatment group declined, while performance of the control group members improved. I found statistical significance in the between subjects effects for performance and grade level (F = 7.38, df = 3, p \u3c .001). Ninthgrade students made significant gains in performance scores, consistent with previous researchers who found greatest gains in performance in younger grades. While there was modest improvement in the sight-reading scores of the participants in both groups, the control group members scored higher than the treatment group members, although the gains were not statistically significan