The pitch for Alternative Notations Research
There is a receptive audience waiting.
It can be done because it has been done.
There are two paths to adoption into the mainstream.
The time is right for research.
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There is a receptive audience waiting
The challenge of reading Traditional Notation has led to many attempts over centuries to design alternative notations. These alternatives attempt to make notation more consistent, intuitive, and less reliant on memorization. And they are best targeted towards beginning students since current readers of Traditional Notation have no need nor interest in them.
There have been and there are growing audiences that are receptive to an easier way to read music. The three important examples that demonstrate this are Klavarskribo, Synthesia, and tablature.
The Klavarskribo project has been around now for almost a century. Thanks to a wealthy inventor and promoter with a lifelong passion to see his invention succeed, there is proof that it is possible to overcome traditional barriers in order to get a notation into mainstream use. The Klavarskribo project demonstrates that an Alternative Notation can indeed flourish when the critical elements for success are available:
1. An inventory of sheet music
2. Instructional materials
3. Advertising and promotion.
The fact that Cornelis Pot was able to achieve success in pre-internet days is truly amazing. With today’s technologies, it is now easier to implement the critical elements in the following ways:
1. Display device screen apps replace the need to create an inventory of sheet music, either paper or PDF files.
2. Instructional materials can be made available on YouTube and for download from websites.
3. In addition to promotion on websites, there are now social media platforms that permit ideas to spread quickly and virally.
Another example of musicians wanting a simpler way to read music is Synthesia. While Synthesia is not sheet music notation, it does work like animated Klavarskribo sheet music. The most important lessons taught by Synthesia for this conversation are:
It demonstrates that there is an interest in an easier way to learn to play music.
It shows how ideas can be quickly spread on the internet and adopted thanks to websites and social media.
it proves young people will experiment with new tools and techniques such as sheet music display apps.
it proves young people are not bound by tradition.
And thus, the take-away is that a well-designed and easy-to-read music notation app might also appeal to a large segment of its users as well as others. And thus, it too could spread like a meme on the internet, and even be profitable.
Tablatures are a "short cut" around Traditional Notation that allows a musician to directly map notes to fingers on a particular instrument. So while they are not full-function general notations, they demonstrate yet again that musicians are open to easier ways to learn and play.
It can be done because it has been done
The challenge of convincing the "establishment" that there is value in alternatives to Traditional Notation is daunting. It took some 40 years of tireless work and promotion for Cornelis Pot to see Klavarskribo taught in the Netherlands' schools. Had he lived to see the internet, he might well have convinced keyboard players around the world. But today we do have an internet with websites and social media that allows good ideas to spread virally and quickly. And these make selling alternatives to an already receptive audience even easier.
But because people have different needs, capabilities, preferences, etc. there is not likely going to be a one-size-fits all solution. Klavarskribo is a good choice for keyboard players, but less so for players of other instruments. And thus there should be a range of solutions available to give musicians choices.
There are two paths to adoption into the mainstream
Given the enormous barrier of Tradition, how will any approach ever get into mainstream use? Broadly, there are two paths to success:
One is a top-down path where academics and music schools lead the way in evaluating and promoting the best alternative notation candidates and generate a supply of instruction.
The other is a bottom-up path where alternative notation designers provide initial instruction via websites and promote their designs via social media that ultimately result in a demand for instruction. Thus, these notations may spread virally but what becomes popular in the short run is not always the best approach in the long run.
The time is right for research
With technology and younger generations that are willing to ignore Tradition and to experiment, there will be new notations that will gain traction. Without some academic influence, those that do will come from the bottom-up path. This leaves students on their own to learn without music instructors until the instructors can see the benefits of greater student attraction and retention. The better path would be for research to lead the way in finding and developing the best notations and their instructional materials. This would lead to a more direct route to getting front-line music instructors on board with these innovations.
There is even some evidence that easier reading of sheet music leads to an accelerated learning experience with adult learners. And, being able to read and play the music that students really enjoy sooner is a big motivator. Therefore, to accommodate the ability to learn to read music is faster, new instructional methods and materials will likely need to be developed.
Therefore, doing evaluative research on Alternative Notations and perhaps even helping to guide their direction is a way of being in the forefront of a movement that could revolutionize music instruction. This movement opens up the world of music to a wider audience with fewer dropouts which then leads to lifelong playing and enjoyment. And along the way, there are great opportunities for academic papers to be written, conference presentations to be made, books/theses/dissertations to be written, and TED Talks to be given !
If this has piqued your interest
Contact me at: contact.wysiwyp@gmail.com
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