Pianodao’s weekly series of reflective blog posts
Written by ANDREW EALES
In his recently self-published book ‘No Book Beginners’ (2023), teacher and online influencer Tim Topham quotes marketing guru Seth Godin’s views on the relevance of music notation and the live performance of classical music in today’s world:
“Playing it as written was critical in 1920 because fidelity was the goal. These people are only going to hear this symphony once; play it as written. That is what the composer earned, the privilege of having you play it as written.
And in 1890, play it as written.But today, a company called Naxos has virtually every symphony you could ever want, and if you want it on CD it’s only $5; if you want it online, it’s free. So the value component of performing old works as written just fell away. The number of performances I need of a given symphony played as written is now ZERO. I don’t need any more.
If no one made a particular performance of a given symphony, NO ONE would miss it.”
It is quite disconcerting to see Godin’s polemic cited in a music education text, because for all his undisputed expertise in other fields, he would seem to have misunderstood the importance of music notation, overlooked the art of interpretation, and missed the reasons that so many continue to value the shared excitement of live performance.
Imagine if the only way to discover a symphony was to listen to the Naxos CD of it. No scores, fresh interpretations or performances. How bleak! But happily, recent research actually suggests that 84% of the general population would say yes to attending a symphony concert.
Consider the power of opera, ballet, and musicals. And what about choral, chamber, and instrumental music? All use notation. An ability to fluently read music opens up a unique, unparalleled world of musical opportunity.
Music literacy is equally a basic requirement for those operating in the commercial music space, from cruise ships to stadium tours, West End shows, TV and film scores, and recording sessions.
And in 2024, play it as written. Today’s composers, arrangers and producers have earned that too, “the privilege of having you play it as written”.
What about wider participation in amateur, domestic and educational music-making? There are many who find discovering, playing, and sharing notated music, classical or otherwise, simply life-enhancing.
And these are the music lovers who typically come to piano lessons, and who invest in the opportunity for their children to learn an instrument.
Let’s be clear: music is not a visual art, to be compared with drawing, painting and crafts. It’s a performing art akin to dance and drama. That’s why learning to understand and interpret our ever-growing repertoire is of decisive importance, and an educational priority.
Furthermore, immersion in well-crafted repertoire is a source of abiding inspiration for players when creating their own music. Through notation we absorb a richer, more diverse musical language.
As the author George R.R. Martin puts it,
“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.”
The ability to utilise notation should neither be denigrated nor needlessly postponed. Fluent music reading is no less important than audiation, piano technique, or creativity. And all of these are supercharged when taught in an holistic, multi-sensory and integrated way from the start.
As the great educationalist Zoltan Kodály put it,
“To teach a child an instrument without first giving him preparatory training, and without developing singing, reading and dictating to the highest level along with the playing is to build upon sand.”
