I catch a lot of flak for this opinion with the more traditional/classical crowd, but I firmly believe it.
Before we get too into the nitty-gritty, I should clarify a few things. When I use the word 'important', I am referring to how likely it is that this skill set will further a long-term career/presence in the music industry.
Let's back up a few years. I attended a local university for jazz studies and music education. For those of you who don't know, I ended up dropping out before my fourth year. I spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not this was a good move at the time, and I can't really say I regret doing so. Aside from my beliefs that higher education needs some SERIOUS adjustments before it's a practical option for the arts, a lot of what I learned there I either already knew, or have not used since. One of those things being reading music.
For those of you fighting to keep an old tradition/style alive, hey, I can't knock it there. But let's call it what it is. Is that going to help you get a job? No. Freelancing? No. Music licensing? Nah. Even studio work and playing live, not really. The uses are so abysmally small nowadays, that I think we really need to address how much time we spend teaching it, and how important we deem it.
The music industry is constantly changing. I know how to read music, and it's been almost a decade since I've had to. I work 3 jobs in music - one full-time, and two part-time (including @steemmonsters) - none of them require me to do it.
So naturally, when I get the smug, elitist, backseat-teacher individuals who are shocked that I don't teach my kids how to read music (in the first few years), I can't help but roll my eyes a bit.
I like put a lot more emphasis on ear training, understanding music software and basic theory, and the music industry itself.
Especially with how fast tech moves nowadays, I think it's really important to regularly reanalyze priorities in the school system, and even after-school. Some things that were 'important' a few years ago are completely obsolete now. And music, for instance, is quite possibly one of the most outdated teaching models of them all. We've completely lost relevance and our ability to relate to the young crowd. Not only that, but as I said, a lot of the theory and methods we teach do not actually have a long-term impact on the modern career path in music.
So why hold blindly to old habits? Again, not to say reading music isn't helpful, or cool - in a lot of cases I think it's great to know - but if we're talking about practicality, it's more important to get behind something you can get modern hands-on experience quickly. A lot of kids lose interest before they can even memorize the note names.
Anyway, that's my rant for the day. Hope you're all having an awesome start to your week!
