Notation Must Die: The Battle For How We Read Music

[Bruno de Souza Lino]

 

[craigb]

"What's to know?"

    ~  Bapu probably.

 

?

 

[Notes_Norton]

I'm perfectly fine with reading music notation. It packs a lot of information in concise spaces. There are a few quirks that could be improved, but remember, it's backwards compatible for hundreds of years, so if they aren't all that annoying, why change.

I've played music with people who I cannot talk to, because we spoke different languages, but could play the music together with notation in front of us.

I can't see any better way for an orchestra to play a symphony than by reading notation and for the conductor to have the score in front of him/her.

Once you learn how to read a difficult piece of music, it's actually easier to read than something out of Scientific American magazine.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[John Maar]

2 hours ago, Notes_Norton said:

I'm perfectly fine with reading music notation. It packs a lot of information in concise spaces. There are a few quirks that could be improved, but remember, it's backwards compatible for hundreds of years, so if they aren't all that annoying, why change.

I've played music with people who I cannot talk to, because we spoke different languages, but could play the music together with notation in front of us.

I can't see any better way for an orchestra to play a symphony than by reading notation and for the conductor to have the score in front of him/her.

Once you learn how to read a difficult piece of music, it's actually easier to read than something out of Scientific American magazine.

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

I started learning music notation in parallel with learning to play the piano when I was 8 years old. By the time I reached 12, after studying with the soloist for the St. Louis Philharmonic for 3 years, I could read notation like it was a book written in English. I just knew what everything meant. But to this day, 60 years later, I still struggle with Bb and Eb instruments and how to score them. I don't do it often, and need to refresh every single time.

[craigb]

[Notes_Norton]

11 hours ago, John Maar said:

But to this day, 60 years later, I still struggle with Bb and Eb instruments and how to score them.

My main instrument is Bb Tenor Sax. It's notated a whole step above concert key. The same goes for the key signature.

Back in my jazz days, they would open The Real Book (in C) and I'd have to sightread the concert notation and play everything a whole step higher that what was on the page. I got fairly decent at that, and good at covering up my mistakes.

At the time the Bb book wasn't available, it was before Hal Leonard adopted it.

I'm glad I wasn't playing alto. I don't think I could sight-read up a 6th or down a minor 3rd at all.

Notes ♫

[Bruno de Souza Lino]

12 hours ago, John Maar said:

I started learning music notation in parallel with learning to play the piano when I was 8 years old. By the time I reached 12, after studying with the soloist for the St. Louis Philharmonic for 3 years, I could read notation like it was a book written in English. I just knew what everything meant. But to this day, 60 years later, I still struggle with Bb and Eb instruments and how to score them. I don't do it often, and need to refresh every single time.

I think the only time I sort of improved at sight reading was when I was playing Timpani and, for reasons, decided to only play using direct tuning (changing to the pitch you want at the same time you hit the drum).