I’ll Make A Note Of It

Ah, technology. Love it or hate it, it sure has changed our lives.

And honestly, technology for us musicians has been a mixed bag of benefits and detriments: on the one hand, a musician with the right software can quite literally create, market and distribute their recorded music from their home! On the other hand, the looming specter of Artificial Intelligence (AI) makes us wonder if soon musicians will be virtually (yes, pun intended!) obsolete.

There is one “throw-back” aspect of music that I worry will fall by the wayside, and I think that bodes poorly for future generations: I’m talking about musical notation.

[OK, for you non-musicians out there, what I mean by “notation” is the representation of music’s properties (e.g. pitch, rhythm) on on some sort of graphic display (such as a staff)].

Here’s why I’m worried about the potential demise of musical notation: the developing brain needs language.

Yes, it’s true that music can be represented by the I’s and O’s of computer code (which is largely hidden from the user’s view). But traditional music notation is - essentially - a form of language. As budding musicians, we learn to read music, and in some instances, we also learn to write it, much like generations of musicians before us. Musical notation assured that Beethoven’s vision of each of his symphonies, sonatas, etc. would be able to be played by orchestras without anyone needing to ask him, “Dude, how should I play this?”

Language is very important to a human child as she/he is learning to navigate her/his way through the world. And studies have shown the power of music education in setting a foundation for improved scholastic achievement.

Also, if we become dependent on computer-coded musical scores, what will happen if - generations from now - an undiscovered Gershwin song, or Vivaldi concerto, is unearthed. If no one is alive that can read the music notation, we may never hear it.

And that’s sad.