Learn to Read Music 

    Louis Prima, the great jazz musician and performer once said, when asked if he read music that he did, but “not enough to hurt me none”. Many very famous songwriters and popular performers have never learned to read music. Most all early blues and folk musicians could not read a note. Some of the most heartfelt, joyous and magical music

has been created without any formal knowledge of music.Why then, should you learn to read music if all of these famous people (Lennon and Mc Cartney for example) never learned enough to read chopsticks on the piano? The list Is endless. How does this relate to you as a modern musician?

What does it mean to me?

   I started at about 11 years old learning to play the guitar from tablature. That was ok, but coming from a musical family, I was very curious as to what all of those notes meant and how I could understand them.

So, I did gradually learn. It has benefited me in so many ways and I want to encourage anyone who is reading this and is not sure if they want to learn, to make sure and start right now because the road is worth it.

How Does it Benefit Me?

 There are so many ways. The most obvious is to be able to learn a song straight away without having to replay the tape or cd a million times or learn from someone else. Anyone who has played a recording of any kind over and over and over can appreciate this. The simple, brutal truth is that you will never be able to participate in any kind of group setting where written music is a part if you cannot read.Everyone must literally be “on the same page” and by the way, where do you suppose that phrase came from?Well,that is fine you say, but I play in a band and none of my friends read so what’s the big deal? Let me point out some of the more often overlooked and most pleasing aspects of being able to read music.

Discovery

When you are able to read music you discover new music along the way. Music you would have never heard anywhere else or ever be exposed to in any way. Let me explain. I love to buy songbooks of many kinds. My favorite artists, be they Elvis (am I dating myself?) or the Beatles or classical guitar or blues. In these books there are many songs that I have never heard before and I would have never been exposed to if I was not able to read through the melody, pick it out enough to understand it and fall in love with a hidden treasure of music. I have done this many times.

It is such a joy to find a piece of music this way. This alone is worth the effort it takes to learn, believe me. In the same way you can learn more about your favorite songs that you have heard other artists perform for years, not knowing the way the author of those songs meant for them to sound. I have come across songs along the way that I was surprised when I found the original music to find that a certain phrase was written differently by the author than performed in the popular culture. This is not unusual at all. It really helps to perform songs with your own interpretation, after you are informed by the original.

So, if you want to get the most out of your musical life, learn new and interesting music, discover new worlds and expand your horizons; learn to read music!!