Reading music with illumination that is too intense as is experienced with florescent or typical halogen bulbs creates a tremendous amount of excessive reflected light that is directed back into the eye of the reader.  The iris closes in order to limit the light being reflected.  The closing of the iris defeats the original intention of the illumination…..to light the music print to be easily visible.  What happens next is that the eye and brain work in a continuous strained relationship in attempting to interpret the information in print.  Most of the process is not conscious since most people have lived with the type of circumstances described for many years.  Add the just described set of circumstances to the fact that the illumination of the page is not consistent from top to bottom, left to right.  This effect only exacerbates the already strained relationship of the eye and brain in the constant adjustment process that takes place as the eye scans the page make multiple and numerous corrections for light variances.  Obviously, after years of experiencing the described set of circumstances, a toll is exercised on the eyes as well as other stress related effects.  Proper illumination of the printed page is critical over the long term for everyone.  However,  the musician faces a much more critical situation in stress related conditions since not only is the musician reading printed material, but performing physical tasks as well at the same time.  Therefore, imagine, if you will, what would happen to your music performance or talent development if most of these  distractions between the eye and the brain caused by poor illumination conditions were eliminated.  The result would be more focus on the result of the performance that presents that unique part of who you are!

_________________________________