Why learn to read music?
To play new music and expand your repertoire
When you learn how to read music you will be able to pick up a piece of sheet music, or download a song from the internet, and be able to play it instantly.
To write your own music
Not only will you be able to immortalise your own compositions by writing them down in a universally understood language, you will also be confident that you are writing better music. Once music is written down, it is easier to see where more lines can be added and which harmonies will work where. Your compositions will quickly become more intricate and rich. Learning how to read music is vital for people wanting to write their own music.
To improve your playing
In learning how to read music you are also learning how music works. You will learn how chords are built up; what chord progressions sound good; how to add your own notes on top of chords; which keys to modulate to and from; how to fit difficult rhythms over the beat; how to swing between different tempos; which chords you can lay on top of each other to create new sounds, and much more. You will also learn new scales, such as the Mixolydian scale, the Arabic scale, or the Ahava Rabboh scale. All this new understanding of music will improve your playing and improvising dramatically.
To join bands, choirs or orchestras
If you can read music, you can feel confident turning up to any band practise as you’ll be able to instantly join in. There’s nothing quite so amazing as complete strangers coming together for the first time with their instruments, being given a piece of sheet music which they’ve never seen before, and then sitting down together to instantly produce the most beautiful music. If someone hadn’t invented a way of putting music down on paper, the great works of Beethoven and Tchaikovsky would have been lost forever.
To understand music
Once you can read music, you will look at the way music is written in a different and more knowledgeable way. When you look at a piece of music you will immediately know which key it is in, what kind of beat it has, what structure or form the piece takes, the rhythm and pitch of the melody, the harmonies it uses, the modulations it employs... in short, you will understand it. As a result, learning how to play a new piece of music becomes very easy.
To pass Associated Board Music Theory Exams
If you're a classical musician, then you'll be aware that you have to pass a Grade 5 Music Theory exam before you can advance on to the Grade 6 practical exam on your instrument.
I can teach you all you need to know for Grade 5 Music Theory and beyond. We'll do sample questions and past exam papers, so that when you take your test you are fully prepared.
