Do Singers Really Need to Learn to Read Music?

Do Singers Really Need to Learn to Read Music? with tags vocal coach, singing lessons, vocal lessons, singing tips, read music, how to read music, should you learn to read music, benefits of reading music, matt ramsey, ramsey voice studio

Many beginning singers ask me if they need to read music in order to be a great singer.

First, off, you don’t have to be able to read music to be a great singer.

In fact, there are many great singers that didn’t know how to read music: Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton.

HOWEVER, there are tons of benefits to learning to read music as a singer. Some you can probably guess. But also some that are very surprising.

And frankly in a field as competitive as singing, you want to find every advantage that you can.

There are lots of benefits of reading music as a singer:

1. It will be easier to memorize new music to you since you’ve seen it represented visually

2. You’ll know what to expect from a vocal piece as well as how to avoid problem areas--like knowing if a key is too high or low, or if there’s a bad note coming up

3. It lets you express yourself more musically with other members of the band/group--no more “oh he’s just a singer”. You are a musician!

4. Music theory becomes much easier to understand. Singing isn’t very visual. Can’t see it, touch it, and sounds different to you than everyone else. But because you’ve learned to read it, it’s now a visual representation and you can start to understand the patterns

5. It will make your musical tastes more diverse. Most of the time, when you’re just singing pop or rock music, you’re not reading sheet music. However, if you start reading music, you may find that you’re drawn to more diverse music like choral, gospel, musical theatre and classical music

6. It may be required if you want to get a part in a musical production or audition for a music school

7. You can begin writing your own melodies and yes, even harmonies

8. You won’t need to count on other people to write music for you

9. It opens up more opportunities to make money from your music since most paying choirs, gig rehearsals, cover bands read music together

10. It can help you feel more confident since you will know what you’re performing

So now that I've convinced you to start learning to read music, you may wonder how to get started.

My recommendation would be to start by working with the Solfeggio system and do some easy sight-singing exercises just to train your eye and voice to work together

I recommend using the movable “Do” system where the tonic of the key you’re singing in is “Do”, the 2nd degree is “Re” etc…

I’ve also found that there are huge benefits to learning to sing melodies in solfege first, since you’re identifying the feeling of note or scale degree with a beautiful italian sound.

No matter where you are in your singing career, learning to read music can certainly help you improve your voice and your career prospects in some interesting ways.

Consider checking out great sheet music sites like musicnotes.com to download sheet music before your next performance