Do I Have to Learn to Read?

Some families starting Let's Play Music class with their preschoolers are refreshed to find out that we teach a bit of improvisation, ear training, and invention... not just the same old stuffy piano lessons.  You may go so far as to ask, is it necessary to learn to READ music to create great music and have fun?

Reading Music : Pop Stars Don’t Read Music

There are urban myths and fantastic tales about guys who ‘just pick up an instrument and play!’ and countless other threads to be found regarding famous musicians who ‘don’t read music’. There’s no doubt that it can be done. Most have simply dedicated their lives to being good at what they do.

 

And the following jazzers are all said to have limited music reading ability; trumpeter Chet Baker, guitarists Wes Montgomery and Joe Pass, and pianist Erroll Garner. They all played wonderfully yet each struggled with (music) reading during their lives and some (admittedly sadly) never mastered the skill of note and rhythm reading. Some of these stories are exaggerated. Erroll Garner may not have been able to sight read Chopin Ballades, but he could certainly explain the theory behind the chords and melodies.

Reading Music : Learn the Language

The bottom line is that some folks are gifted with great ears, musical minds, and the dogged determination to play their instrument at a very high level. Eventually they learn the ‘language’ and are able to ‘converse’ with fellow musicians to make great art.

Taking a shortcut to learning music is like trying to learn a language but never developing the skills to read or write, or building a house using only a screwdriver. The more knowledge you gain and the more tools you acquire, the more you can do with your instrument. This makes learning more fun and far less frustrating, especially for mortals like you and I.

With the correct approach there is no doubt that anyone and everyone can learn musical concepts and become musically ‘literate’. With that in mind, the question ‘Do I need to know how to read music?’ might be addressed in true Socratic fashion by any potential teacher like so; ‘How do you propose I teach you music?’.

 

Let's Play Music is a wonderfully balanced program focusing on whole musicianship- yes, we will teach students to read and play the sheet music, but also understand how to change it and stylize it and compose something new when they choose!

Excerpts taken from original post here.