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Don Berner
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Posted: 21 May 2015 at 11:04pm | IP Logged | 1  
Ok-I can totally get behind your analogy-but NASCAR driving is a solo activity, whereas much music is an ensemble activity.

 Admittedly, pianos being a chordal instrument lend themselves to solo activities moreso than say a wind instrument, but they still regularly work in ensembles as well. 

So, I guess that may be where the analogy falls apart a bit, as this isn't one person competing against others with a bunch of highly specialized skills that have some degree of transferability.  Rather, this (notated music) is primarily intended to allow multiple people to work together as quickly and efficiently as possible. Of course it's possible to create new systems of notation and even for musicians to adapt to them, but to I'm going to come up with another analogy here, if I may.

Music is more akin to a language than an automobile. It's aural and notated and attempts to communicate ideas or emotions. While rote systems do exist and serve a valuable function in both language and music,notation allows us to pass down information more efficiently,much as books do.In order for different instruments to work together efficiently you want to have a common language.

Hope this is at all useful, well thought out, or clear. I fear I may begin to ramble here,in which case-my apologies.
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Tom French
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Posted: 22 May 2015 at 1:12pm | IP Logged | 2  
I've played piano for over forty years and still find aspects of notation annoying. But when I learned piano -- WAY back when -- both the right and left thumb started on middle C , tmaking the easiest way to learn the Grand Staff by working outward from middle C in both hands. 

When you look at the Grand Staff, middle C is the connecting note. 


Edited by Tom French on 22 May 2015 at 1:16pm
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Brad Hague
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Posted: 22 May 2015 at 5:49pm | IP Logged | 3  
Wait until you meet the "Alto Clef" or the "Tenor Clef".  Those REALLY mess you up.  I can handle the Treble Clef and to a lesser extent, the Bass Clef.  Those others though...
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Valmor J. Pedretti
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Posted: 23 May 2015 at 6:38am | IP Logged | 4  
Musicians have a tendency to stick to a system, when they study theory. They lose a lot of flexibility.

I'm a self-taught musician and although it can become frustrating at some points, I rejoice the fact that I can tune my guitar differently and find all sorts of new fascinating combinations. I've been always more interested in composing than playing existing pieces, so it's a lot of fun.

My colleague who has a much better grasp of theory always gets lost when he picks one of my weirdly tuned instruments.

So, JB, if you tried to change the system today and play it from now on, you'd probably end up getting into some new interesting territories. And with digital notation and the possibility of easily transposing them it'd probably be not that much of a hassle.
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Dave Kopperman
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Posted: 24 May 2015 at 6:51am | IP Logged | 5  
 JB wrote:
Why can't musical notation be like that? Specific to the instrument. I'm sure most musicians are smart enough to adapt -- like that NASCAR driver.
 

It is!  And it's really confusing.  Take a look at guitar tablature, drum scores, etc.  Many instruments (winds and brass) are actually in different keys, so their 'A' - although the same pitch - is the same as a piano 'C' (let's say), even though they're written in the same clef notation.  

There's a good reason why most composers will hand off their arranging to an assistant, if they can.  It's a huge pain in the ass.
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Don Berner
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Posted: 24 May 2015 at 5:29pm | IP Logged | 6  
Tab is the exception in being invented for a specific instrument, which actually makes it's uses very limiting.
Drums still use the same notation but are part of something called the drum clef.
Winds and brass being in different keys doesn't make a different notation system. 
The statement about arrangers and assistants is romanticized mythos. A good arranger does not find this to be a pain in the ass, it's merely how things are done.
Given enough study and knowledge(like pretty much anything else) this is not really confusing and makes eminent sense.
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