Musicians’ views on the role of reading music in learning, performance, and understanding

Bibliographic Data

ID20407455
AuthorsYuko Arthurs (0000-0003-0790-1891, Bath Spa University, corresponding author), Karin Petrini (0000-0001-5354-5600, University of Bath)
Year2024
Volume28
Issue1
Pages3-17
Publication date2024-03-01
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueMusicae Scientiae (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1029-8649 • E-ISSN: 2045-4147
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/10298649221149110
OpenAlexW4319230458
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited31

Reading music notation is not an easy skill to acquire and can take years of training to master. In addition, it is not strictly necessary to be able to read music to make music. Nevertheless, music teaching and learning in the West has traditionally centered around the skill of reading music. This study explored participants’ reasons for learning to read music and the reported benefits of this skill for musical activities. We developed an online questionnaire with open-ended questions to gather the views of 64 people, both music readers and non-readers, on their musical activities using or not using notated scores. Their responses were analyzed thematically. The analysis showed that participants believe that learning and engaging with music notation adds to their multisensory experience of music involving vision, sound, and action; that, compared to learning by ear, the visual aspects of notation support the quick learning and improved theoretical understanding of a musical work: and that the skill of reading music is valuable in the context of group music making. They also believe, however, that notation can inhibit expressive performance or improvisation, and non-readers believe that sound technologies can be used as an alternative to notation. Finally, reading music was seen by readers, but not non-readers, as integral to playing an instrument. This may reflect differences between the practices and genres of music favored by the two groups

Art · Cognitive psychology · Improvisation · Linguistics · Music and emotion · Music education · Music psychology · Musical · Musical composition · Musical notation · Musicality · Notation · Pedagogy · Visual arts · Diverse Music Education Insights · Music · Music Technology and Sound Studies · Neuroscience and Music Perception · Psychology

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