1. Essential to communicate with other musicians.
Music is a language in itself. Given that, how can you communicate if you can’t speak it? Ensembles, bands, choirs, opera, jazz, all operate first on the written notes. Long before the improvisation was the written note. Simply put, if you can’t read, you’ll never be in any ensemble that requires it. We could really stop there.
2. Essential to understand the theory.
Music theory is necessarily based on the written note. The entire chord structure, melody, harmony, etc., can only be fully understood through the written note. I know you say this is boring, but one day you’ll be glad you started now.
3. Learn a song without any other reference.
You won’t have to play the tape or CD a million times or learn from someone else. How many times can you try to learn from a cd or someone else and not know if you did it right? If you know how to read, you can go directly to the book and get all the basic information on your own. This greatly speeds up the learning curve. You can’t learn from a book the particular way a band interprets the song, but you can get the foundation of the song and go from there.
4. Know the way the author of those songs wanted them to sound.
This is very interesting I think. Many times I have been very surprised to discover that a song was written very differently from how I had always heard it performed. Maybe the interpreter to the left of the “intro” for example. Hoagy Carmichael’s “Georgia On my Mind,” for example. Nobody touches the intro. There are also other examples. I know this example is an old song that many of you may not be familiar with, but the fact is that just because you’ve heard it on the radio a million times doesn’t mean it was written that way. It may be even better the way the author originally intended! If you’re a songwriter, I’m sure you want people to know how you wrote them. Think about that for a moment.
5.Discover new music.
It’s a wonderful thing to “find” music simply because you’re flipping through a songbook and find something that really speaks volumes for you. I have found many this way. They are songs that I love. I would never have known they existed without knowing how to read.
6. It’s fun!
It may seem a bit difficult at first, but so was riding a bike, as I recall. In fact, the first time my dad let go of my hold on a bike, I ran into a pole and knocked it over! I rarely do that these days now that I’ve learned how to do it. In fact, there are days when I don’t shoot anything.
7. It will make you a better musician.
This may go without saying, but it really bears repeating. After all, don’t we all want to be better musicians? Of course we do. Are you ready to discover new music, play with people you might never have met otherwise, speak with authority about the origins and intent of a particular piece of music or composer? I think I know the answer. Learn to read music, you will not regret it.