your question:
05/02/2024 Noo
It always surprises me how many professional musicians don’t read/write music. It feels akin to living in another country and not learning the language because you can get by in broken English.
As a trained musician who steps into many different musical worlds, I’m curious about your perspective on this - if indeed you’ve ever given it consideration?
And if so, can you help me understand why some are resistant to learning the language of their passion, profession and art?
my answer:
I don’t agree with your analogy about speaking in broken English. There is a lot of innovation that comes out of not knowing the theoretical side of things. The written note is just part of the music. Yes, it often makes things easier and quicker to get to, but it’s not really until you’re off the page that the real music starts to happen. The written note is a guide. I’ve worked with many musicians who don’t read/write and they are approaching music from an entirely different perspective, perhaps akin to “outsider art”, which to me, has great value. With the written note come restrictions and it’s easier to think outside the box without having the box there in the first place. The written note can be a distraction, becoming more important to the player than what the auditory result actually is. I’m not necessarily a dogmatic thinker. I believe in the value of a lot of different kinds of approaches. The more the merrier.
Fantômas was an eye opening experience for me in this regard because I was the odd man out, being the only one who did read. That position forced me to think differently, and I learned from that. I don’t believe that musicians are necessarily “resistant” to reading. I think it’s more about how they initially learned. For a lot of players, there’s really no reason to learn, and yes, like a foreign language, it’s a lot easier to learn at an earlier age than trying to jump in at adulthood.
I always encourage my students to learn how to read. It has been nothing but helpful for me and saved my ass on many occasions. It opens up a lot of doors. But not everyone needs or wants to go through all those doors. Keep in mind, the language of music is aural, and to be honest, there are many aspects of music that cannot be written down.