Review of Objective Measurement of Instrumental Performance

Abstract

Reviews the book, Objective Measurement of Instrumental Performance by John Goodrich Watkins (1942). Dr. Watkins painstakingly seeks for a measuring device to be used for the evaluation of playing ability on a musical instrument. The extremely methodical approach is no doubt due to the institutional requirements of the doctoral thesis which the book represents. He calls attention to the general acceptance of the consideration of musical ability as an innate capacity and deplores the lack of criteria for achievement other than teachers' marks which are known to be quite unreliable. The few sporadic attempts in the construction of achievement tests were found limited to sight-singing and vocal performance, and the evidence indicates that no group test of musical achievement has as yet been constructed with the degree of reliability necessary for individual differentiation. The study has two major objectives: (1) To determine the possibility of measuring objectively achievement on a musical instrument. (2) To find out, in a group of performers on this instrument, the relation existing between sight-reading ability and technical skill after various periods of study. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)