MUSICAL NOTATION FOR THE KEYBOARD - AN EXAMINATION OF STIMULUS-RESPONSE COMPATIBILITY

A recent stimulus-response compatibility model was used to provide a p erformance evaluation of an experimental notation for the keyboard in which pitch varies horizontally in visual space. One hundred and twent y subjects performed a choice reaction time task using either the hori zontal notation or a more traditional vertical notation. Half the subj ects in each notation group received white noise and half received pit ch-varying feedback with responses. A horizontal display advantage was revealed when rules of the model were applied to data analyses. Furth er, the horizontal display advantage was not dependent on the nature o f the feedback. In a second experiment, performance of musicians and n on-musicians was compared using the horizontal and vertical notations. Musicians' performance was uniformly better than that of non-musician s, and did not differ with notation orientation. The findings support the use of non-traditional horizontal notations for novice performance on a keyboard instrument.