Neurocognitive Bases of Music Reading

Reading music notation and transforming it into complex musical execution involves highly sophisticated brain functions, comparable yet distinct from reading alphabetic text. Musicians rapidly interpret symbols into precise motor actions and acoustic cues, a phenomenon demanding extensive research to unravel the complex cognitive and neural mechanisms involved. Unlike lexical processing, reading music entails unique spatial analyses and motoric translations underpinned by both shared and distinct neural pathways, such as the visual word form area (VWFA) and its right hemisphere counterparts. This complex ability opens numerous questions about cognitive processes, neural bases, and pedagogical approaches in music education.

This Research Topic aims to thoroughly examine the psychological and neuroscientific foundations of music reading. The goal is to understand critical variables like age and pedagogical methods that influence musical notation learning, the existence and rarity of music dyslexia compared to language dyslexia, and the overarching impact of music reading on neurodevelopment and rehabilitative practices.

To gather further insights across the specified boundaries, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:

- Solfeggio and sight-reading techniques
- Neuropsychology of hemispheric lateralization in music reading
- The impact of eye movements and motor preparation in musical performance
- Role of visual and motor areas in reading music and its correlation with linguistic abilities
- Development and effects of assistive technologies for music reading

We are interested in empirical research, reviews, and meta-analyses from diverse approaches within neuroscience, psychology, musicology, and cognitive science, featuring various methodologies such as neuroimaging, genetic studies, and clinical assessments on both healthy subjects and those with neurological conditions. Investigations could also extend to the influence of individual differences, including age, expertise, and instrument specifics, on music reading proficiency.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Registered Report
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: Music, notes, VWFA, musicians, occipito/temporal, reading, symbols, N170, literacy, dyslexia, pentagram, Notation

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.