Music notation software as a means to facilitate the study of singing musical scores

Introduction. Learning to read music is a complex task which becomes more difficult if it involves students who have different levels of music knowledge. The cognitive load theory maintains that acquiring new knowledge or the development of new abilities imposes a cognitive effort which depends on: a) instructional design; b) complexity of the task and c) previous knowledge. Method. In the present study eleven students varying in previous musical studies participated in a comparative assessment of music reading exercises using two different kinds of help: usual music instrument and music notation software. Load Cognitive Theory was used as a conceptual framework to determine which interface…