Musical Illiteracy: The Quest for the Cure

I've taught piano lessons for over 12 years, mostly from my home, but in the early years at a private Christian school. As a teacher, I've encountered numerous parents who have told me they never learned how to read music, but they want their kids to learn. Unfortunately, more often than not, their child ends up dropping piano lessons for the simple reason that when the child goes home each week from their piano lesson, they don't have any help with their lessons, their parents being unable to help them practice even the simplest assignments.

So, when I find out the parents of a new student do not have much of a musical background, and especially if they don't know how to read music at all, I encourage the parents to attend the lessons with their child so I can teach them at the same time I teach their child. Unfortunately, many parents are unable (and sadly, some have been unwilling) to do this. So the kids keep dropping out of lessons, returning once again to the path that leads to musical illiteracy. (I want to make a disclaimer here that I realize many children have music classes in school, many with fantastic teachers. But it has, again, been my experience that many children have a hard time grasping the overall concept of reading music simply from attending music classes in elementary school. They generally end up with a group of disjointed facts floating around in their head, but they tend to fail to see the whole.)

Years and years ago, music was considered practically a core subject by many; but now it's (sadly) been relegated by many to the position of an elective or an extra-curricular activity pursued by those who can afford private lessons. It shouldn't be that way.

Musical illiteracy is somewhat like a disease, one which regretfully prevents those who suffer from it from fully experiencing and appreciating life. Music is such an integral part of our culture, just imagine a week without music! What would church services, TV, commercials, movies, radio, weddings, funerals, concerts, bedtime with our kids, (and even being put on hold!) be like without music? If music were gone, it would leave a gaping hole in all of these areas.

I'm not saying that everyone needs to learn how to play an instrument; but a basic, rudimentary understanding of music notation and simple music terminology is so foundational to a well-rounded education that becoming musically literate should be as much a priority as learning the alphabet or counting to 10!

It has long been my goal to organize a "Music Boot Camp" workshops for adults, with the goal being to give them a crash coarse in understanding and reading music. It has been my experience that for some people, just sitting down with them for a few minutes and going over the basics of written music is enough to "connect the dots" of their experience, allowing them to have that "lightbulb moment" when the entire concept of music begins to come together.

So, "Music Illiteracy: The Quest for the Cure" is born.

I plan to post "lessons" in music notation, reading, and terminology, over the course of the next year. Comments are strongly encouraged for each posting. For those of you who currently suffer from some form of "musical illiteracy," if something I've posted doesn't make sense to you, please let me know. I realize people learn in different ways, and some are more or less visual than others, so if I've muddied the waters for you about a concept more than I've cleared them, I want to know!