Research factors

In this section will be discussed some of the factors, or variables, that could be used to structure evaluations.  These include

 

Students are going to learn in different ways and one of the differencing factors of learning is age.  This is why one can find music self-instruction books aimed at school-age children and others aimed at adults.  Thus, there may be Alternative Notations that work well for one age group but not others.  Some suggested age groups to consider include: kids, young adults, older adults, retirees. However, there are ethical considerations when involving non-adults.


Another factor is the previous experience students have had in reading Traditional Notation sheet music.  The range of experiences could range from

Omitted for the above list is “Can read music without significant difficulty” because it should not be a priority to study students learning a 2nd notation if they already are proficient in Traditional Notation.

 

A separate factor from reading music is playing music.  Some students may already be able to play music by ear.  Therefore, teaching and learning methodologies may need to be different from total beginners since they do not need to learn the techniques of playing an instrument at the same time.

 

Another factor to consider is the students’ aspirations and motivations for playing an instrument.  Here is a range to consider:

The music professionals are those who want to perform on stage, to be an instructor, or an academic (professor).  These require the highest level of commitment.  Avid amateurs may also want to perform but in a non-professional capacity, such as in church settings or informal gatherings, or just to play for friends and family.  Dilletante can sound somewhat dismissive, but in this context it just means folks who just want to play for their own enjoyment.  This would include late starting retirees (ahem).   And finally, those who want to try out playing to see if it appeals to them.

 

Starting at the top of the range above, beginning students should plan on learning Traditional Notation in order to fit into the mainstream music world of today.  Even so, there may be some who, even though they are highly motivated to learn, may have difficulty reading music and learning to play an instrument at the same time.  These students might benefit using an easy-to-read Alternative Notation to get started.  Then with some comfort playing an instrument a bit, they can focus on learning to read Traditional Notation. 

It is worth acknowledging that there are many well-known professional musicians (Joni Mitchell,****) who don’t read sheet music (or not well anyway).   Playing by ear alone can be sufficient for many and they can get by without reading.  Of course, it helps to get by if you’re really talented.  Anyway, this is not relevant to this discussion.

The last two categories may just want the easiest possible route to reading music and playing.  And this group too may find that they want to learn Traditional Notation as some point.  But some retirees and others may never need or want to switch, as long as they can get the Alternative Notation sheet music they want to play.

There is another group that is perhaps in a category of its own.  And that is people with disabilities.  Research in this area is a whole other ball game and will not be addressed herein.  There exist notations that were designed with these people in mind and have proved to be quite successful.  There may be some insights to be learned from these though.

Combinations of all the above is formidable.  But the research opportunities are enormous.