You don't need to be able to read music in order to be a great musician. From Hendrix to Zimmer, these famous faces will make you question just how much musical education is needed to achieve greatness. You'd think to be a famous musician... you'd need to be able to read music?
You can be a great musician without being able to read sheet music but.. it really depends on YOU. How you internalize music, how you learn, how you visualize information, and what kind of learning style you have will determine which method works best for you.
The requirement to read different types of music notation, improvise and/or "play by ear" varies according to the type of recording session and the genres of music being performed. Classical musicians and many jazz and popular music musicians are expected to read music notation and do sight-reading.
The research on this isn't clear. Some studies suggest the same issues that make reading difficult also make learning to read musical notation hard. Kids with dyslexia have trouble isolating sounds in words and then mapping them back to letters. This weakness may also impact their ability to process sounds in music.
Dyslexia is difficult to diagnose, but it is thought to occur in up to 10% of the population. In 2000, Neil Gordon, a retired pediatric neurologist, proposed the idea of musical dyslexia (dysmusia), based on growing evidence that the areas of the brain involved in reading music and text differed.
The term musical dyslexia was coined in 2000 by Neil Gordon, a retired pediatric neurologist. Since then, not a lot of research has been done into the existence of musical dyslexia, but there is growing evidence that this type of learning disability exists.
While it is true that some professional musicians forge successful careers without being able to read a note of score, they will usually still have a good working knowledge of music theory, and how it practically applies to their instrument.
New students and parents of aspiring guitar players often have the expectation that reading music (also called standard notation) is required to play the guitar. In fact, you absolutely do not need to know how to read music to play guitar.
20 – 30 Hours/Week (3-4 Hours/Day)
3-4 hours a day is pretty significant and is usually practiced by musicians who are serious about becoming virtuosic players or making a living with their craft. At this point, you will be making sacrifices for your instrument, and so again, having a goal is very important.
Paul McCartney became one of the most successful musicians of all time without the ability to read or write music. He's not alone in this — many popular artists can't read or write music, including his Beatles bandmates. Unlike some of them, though, McCartney took music lessons growing up.
Vocal ability largely comes down to largely comes down to being able to control the pitch of the sound and the main reason why some people appear to be poor singers comes down to lacking the right motor control. “You can think of music production and singing in particular as a physical skill,” Hutchins explains.
Some research has been done into what is referred to as musical dyslexia, a learning ability that occurs as a result of the brain being unable to process musical symbols, even when the person has had proper training in reading music.
You may have a condition called musical dyslexia (also known as dysmusia) This is a similar condition to dyslexia but involves difficulty with processing music notes rather than words.
Musicians often listen to their own music because it helps them remember the songwriting process (especially if they're no longer working on the track).
In conclusion, yes, many musicians do listen to their own music. A lot do simply because they enjoy it, while many also do it to learn and get better. You shouldn't feel embarrassed listing to your own songs, if you want other people to listen to it, you should be able to as well.
Absolutely anyone can learn to read music with the right approach and some practice. Learning to read music is not hard – anyone who can read the alphabet of everyday language or read numbers already has the tools to learn how to read music.
You don't need to read music to play drums. In fact, there are many professional (and legendary) drummers who don't read music, but who have made a career in music. If you can learn by listening and by 'feeling' the rhythm, reading music is just the cherry on top.
He played guitar, bass and piano, and often toyed with instruments like the drums, accordion and ukulele. While he couldn't read or write music and had no formal lessons, he was a natural musician and played everything by ear. He could often hear a song, pick up an instrument, and play.
Learning to read music has many benefits.
If you're a visual learner, reading notation is an excellent way to access and learn the piece faster, and potentially memorize it quickly. You can learn standard repertoire (pieces everyone knows) very quickly by knowing how to read notation.
None of The Beatles could either read or write conventional musical notation — what Paul McCartney sometimes refers to as 'dots on a page'. This was largely through choice and was not unusual in guitar based pop music. They were what Hollywood composers called 'hummers' — as in 'you hum the tune and I'll play it.
A significant number of successful musicians today have ADHD. Many of these artists have discussed their condition in a public setting. Musicians with ADHD often offer a unique perspective to their art, bringing a level of hyperfocus that breeds intense creativity and an ability to think outside of the box.
Studies claim that genes may determine about 40-50% of a person's musical abilities. There could be many genes that control musical abilities. However, not all of them have been identified. One particular gene associated with musical ability based on a genome-wide study was UDP Glycosyltransferase 8 (UGT8).
However, it was not until 2000 that a clear concept of musical dyslexia, or 'dysmusia', was first introduced by the neurologist Neil Gordon [1]. Gordon was responding to research that suggested different areas of the brain were involved with comprehending music notation and written language.