Should Musicians be Able to Read Music?

(cottonbro studio / Pexels)

Ah, yes… the controversy. You might’ve heard it before. Some musicians believe that notation reading skill is essential, while other musicians take pride in their ability to play without reading notations. This is usually related to their style of music. Classical musicians are often very good at reading notation, while some jazz players ditch music sheets because improvisation is the nature of the genre. But is reading music essential for musicians? Let me tell you what I think.

The reason artists write their music down is the same as why we write things down. We do it so we don’t forget, to document things, and to make things easier to find and share. It’s not meant to replace the sound, because obviously, music is meant to be heard not read. Let’s use podcasts as an example. Podcasts are meant to be listened to, however, many podcast producers also provide transcripts of their episodes. Why? Because having things written down can serve different purposes. If you want to find a specific point in a podcast, it is easier to search from the transcript rather than scrolling the time bar. If you want to quote something from the podcast, you can just copy from the transcript and you will have the accurate quote. It’s the same with music. Having a visual representation of what we create can help people learn more about our music.

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Imagine if Mozart didn’t write his music down. His masterpieces won’t last for centuries, and none of us would have ever heard of his name. Of course back then he didn’t have the technology to record music, so notating was the only way to document his work. But that doesn’t mean that musical notation is not important for today’s musicians. For example, you might want to learn how to play a song exactly like the original artist. Music sheets can help you with that. Even though you have excellent ears and you can copy whatever you hear, sometimes it takes multiple listens to get every single note. It would be easier and quicker to just read the notation.

Another benefit of musical notation is to help you collaborate with other musicians. During the pandemic I did a lot of long-distance collaborations with my friends from different countries. And it can all be done easily because we had things written down ahead of time. Everyone knows what to play, and our notes won’t clash with each other’s because we refer to the music sheet when we record our parts. 

(cottonbro studio / Pexels)

So, should musicians be able to read music? I say, yes. You don’t have to be an expert on it, but it’s not a bad skill to have. And the ability to read music could open a lot of opportunities as a musician. Also nowadays, there are different ways of notating music, including lead sheets, chord charts, and guitar tabs. You can always choose the method that fits you best. So, keep rockin’ that music and readin’ those notations. You won’t be sorry, I promise.

This article was published on Evolution website, November 14, 2023