Frequently Asked Questions

1. Who can benefit from using Simplified Music Notation?

2. How long does it take to adapt to Simplified Music Notation?

3. Can you still analyse music that is written in Simplified Music Notation? Is anything lost in transcription?

4. Why transpose double sharps and flats, C and F flats, B and E sharps?

5. Why bother with History Signs?

6. Traditional notation has worked well for hundreds of years – why change now?

7. How is Simplified Music Notation of benefit to those with memory retentive problems or learning difficulties?

8. How does Simplified Music Notation assist those with visual impairments and dyslexia?

9. Will learning Simplified Music Notation impair my ability to play in traditional notation?

Professional Endorsements

“I am thrilled. You state that this system is designed for those handicapped by short term memory, but I found it very helpful myself in my own playing. I consider the system not only simpler, but ultimately clearer.”

Prof. Jerry Luedders, Assistant Provost and Professor of Music, California State University; Saxophonist

Simplified Music Notation greatly assists the reading of music for all classes of players: students, amateurs and professionals. It helps students to develop music-reading skills in easy stages. Amateur players can broaden their repertoire, mastering pieces which they had been unable to tackle in traditional notation. For the many professional popular musicians who struggle with reading music, Simplified Music Notation makes written music easily accessible.

Simplified Music Notation is an advantage to anyone who struggles with sight-reading. In trials, teachers noted that students could learn pieces in Simplified Music in approximately one third of the time taken with traditional notation. They also found that using Simplified Music Notation helped students to build confidence in reading traditional notation.

Musicians with dyslexia, memory retentive problems and learning difficulties have reported that Simplified Music Notation makes it easier to sight-read music. Teachers and music therapists who work with such students have stated that Simplified Music Notation will be a valuable tool in their work.

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“ I was surprised how simple it was to adjust to your system: I was able to sight-read fluently within no more than a minute or two.”

Henry Herford, MA (Hons), ARNCM, GRNCM, Opera Singer

Simplified Music Notation and traditional notation are completely complementary to each other. It takes most people under 15 * minutes to learn to read Simplified Music Notation – the amount of time it takes you to read the instructions and experiment a little on your instrument.

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“ Simplified Music Notation will help many musicians with key signature problems without simplifying or rearranging the music. ”

Sr. Anita Marchesseault, DMA, Professor of Music, Organ and Piano teacher

None of the information in the original score is lost with Simplified Music Notation – you can analyse the score as you would in traditional notation. The key signatures are retained, and any notes which have been transposed (e.g. double sharps) are preceded by a History Sign which explains the origin of the note. And of course, you can still identify which notes are accidentals because they deviate from the key signature.

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“ I certainly could use it with some of my flute pupils who would find it a lot easier if every sharp and flat was written for them in the way [you suggest].”

Clarissa Melville, LRAM, ARCM, Professional Flautist, Teacher

This is done so that the player sees the note on the actual staff line on which it is played, without having to make a ‘mental translation’ to allow for the accidental. It makes sight-reading easy, improves accuracy, and lets the player concentrate on other factors such as timing and interpretation.

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“ I feel this is an important development in music

Carl Davis, CBE (Hon.), BAFTA Award-winning Composer, Conductor

History signs explain the origin of any transposed note, for the benefit of the theorist. Although history signs can be disregarded whilst playing music, they are essential for recording how the composer originally wrote the work, and in analysing the underlying structures of the music.

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“ Marvellous… it’s been staring us in the face all this time. It will provide endless delight for those who struggle with Gothenburg’s Compromise (often called ‘print’).”

Roger Woodward, AC, OBE, DSCM, Concert pianist, Conductor, Composer

Traditional notation has been stretched to breaking point by innovations in music since the late 19th century. As music moved away from classical major-minor tonality and became increasingly chromatic, leading to new tonalities such as whole-tone and twelve-tone, the system has become increasingly strained. Composers such as Chopin, Debussy and Schoenberg all become far easier to read when transcribed into Simplified Music Notation.

The current system of notation itself grew out of a series of innovations, developed to cope with changes in music since the Middle Ages. Although notation has not changed much since the 15th Century, music has since moved on, especially in the last hundred years. Simplified Music Notation solves many of the problems of the current system, coping elegantly with music from all periods in a way that traditional notation cannot.

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“ for musicians with impaired retentive memory… a system such as this could prove invaluable.”

Colin Burns, LTCL, Dip. MTh, Music Therapist and Clinical Supervisor

Traditional music notation requires readers to remember many pieces of information whilst playing. Musicians must remember to play the key signature, to extend accidentals throughout the bar, to stop playing accidentals at the end of the bar, and to transpose double sharps and flats.

By incorporating all this information into the notehead, Simplified Music Notation simplifies the thought process: each note is played exactly as it appears on the page, increasing the speed and accuracy of sight-reading.

One in ten children may suffer from a ‘working memory’ impairment according to research conducted at Durham University. Simplified Music Notation can provide significant breakthroughs for students such as these, who struggle to remember the multiple instructions imposed by traditional notation.

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“ you’ve conquered a very vital part of the written language of music which hitherto presented many obstacles to the disabled, and in particular to the dyslexic.”

Eva Holden, LRAM, Professional Pianist and Piano Teacher

Dyslexia suffers face many issues when trying to read music. Visual distortions, limitations on working memory and a lack of fast processing all make sight-reading a challenge. Passages cluttered with closely-printed accidentals can prove problematic for people with all sorts of visual impairments.

Simplified Music Notation helps solve these problems: there are fewer symbols to be identified, the shape of the notehead is instantly recognisable, and there is no need to remember key signatures and accidentals – you just play what you see. There is also no confusion over which accidental belongs to which note.

Simplified Muisc Notation scores are available on request on coloured paper.

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“ the fact that it is based on the traditional system means that those who have studied [Simplified Music Notation] can approach traditional notation without abandoning what has already been learnt.”

Emeritus Prof. Ronald Woodham,
DMus, FRCO, ARCM,
University of Reading

No — musicians have reported that as they have gained confidence in sight-reading through using Simplified Music Notation, their ability to read traditional music notation has actually improved. From a beginner’s perspective, Simplified Music Notation allows the student to learn the complexities of reading music in easy stages, and can be taught in parallel with traditional notation.

Simplified Music Notation enables students to tackle pieces that may be technically simple but difficult to read in traditional notation due to the large numbers of accidentals. In particular, pieces with difficult key signatures and works by modern composers are no longer limited to advanced musicians but become accessible to everybody.

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