In our last music input we learned about Figure notes. Figure notes are an alternative way of reading music, instead of reading notes off a stave you read the coloured shapes which represent notes.  Many people can struggle with learning to read music, and for people with additional support needs or learning difficulties it can be too much for them to compute. This is why I think figure notes are a great tool to use, as it can break down barriers for people who struggle with reading music and allows anyone to have the joy of playing an instrument.

“Music is communication. Music is play. And most importantly, music is for us of us, not just the specialists.” (Page, 1995). This quote reiterates the point that anyone can learn to play an instrument if they have the right resources and the right support.

This also gives children who cannot read music the opportunity to be a part of a band or orchestra and play alongside children who do read conventional music, with a feeling of equality. Opportunities to play as part of a musical group can also develop the child’s team work skills and develop their confidence.

They can also then progress on to reading conventional sheet music, after building up their confidence and a base of music knowledge through the figure notes.

As someone who has read music from a young age, I found the figure notes quite strange at first, but after seeing how quickly some of my non-musical friends picked it up and managed to play a short piece on the keyboard or glockenspiel, I could clearly see that this is a great tool to start anyone off on learning an instrument.

References

Drake Music Scotland (2016) Figure Notes. [Online] Available: http://www.drakemusicscotland.org/figurenotes/ [Accessed 28 December 2016]

Page, N. (1995) Music as a way of knowing. Maine: Stenhouse Publishers