For the LOVE of Music!
Let's explore the variety of ways that an expert musician might perceive and conceive of a piece of music... Hint: Before fussing over the details, the expert understands everything in the context of the big picture. In other words, the expert zooms out before zooming in! Using the first four bars of Bach’s immortal Minuet in G … Continue reading How to Read Music: The Musical Way
Let's pretend that our teacher puts the following music in front of us and asks us to play... Being an eager and trusting student who doesn't know any better, I take the following approach... because it is how I was taught since I was a puppy: "Hmmmm. Let's see (eyes fixed firmly on the first … Continue reading How to Read Music: The UN-Musical Way
Expert music readers read music like you are reading these words... ... in meaningful chunks called words, phrases, and sentences. Expert music readers do not have some super human ability to process meaningless, unrelated information. Expert music readers are experienced observers of meaningful musical patterns. Expert music readers do not read music one-note-at-a-time any more … Continue reading How to Read Music: Music as Language
Unfortunately, most people start and end their musical lives by being taught the abstract, left-brain subject of music notation... ... without ever experiencing the concrete right-brain reality of music-making. While it is possible to become very skilled at translating music symbols into correct answers on tests and digital gymnastics at the piano, it is possible to … Continue reading How to Read Music: Playing by Number
Why learn to read music? The answer is simple... Learn to read musicso you can read to learn music! Those who learn to read music, in other words, those who become musically literate, will be richly rewarded in at least three ways: They will gain access to an incredibly rich library of composed music and … Continue reading How to Read Music: Why Learn to Read?
Welcome to a series of lessons that will open your eyes to what it means to read and comprehend written music like a musician, not a robot... Why Learn to Read? Playing by Number Music as Language The UN-Musical Way to Read Music The Musical Way to Read Music