Do I Have To Read Music?
I think that learning to read music notation is an awesome skill to develop. And to be honest, I can't remember a time in my life when I couldn't read music. I was lucky enough to learn how to read music when I was young. And this skill has stuck with me.
But do you know what?
I'm not going to force you to read music!
Why? Here are a few reasons…
- There are plenty of incredible guitar players who don't read music.
- Your musical goals may not need this skill.
- If you have very limited time for practice, I feel that it may be best to focus on developing your technique and sense of pitch.
- You may not want to learn how. If you have no desire to learn how to read music, then I would be an idiot for trying to force you!
So I guess, I can summarise the above by saying…
- If you have a strong desire to learn how to read music, then I can definitely help you.
- If you have no desire to learn how to read music, then that is perfectly fine with me.
But It's Not All Or Nothing
Proper music notation is made up of two main elements…
- Pitch (This tells you what notes to play).
- Rhythm (This tells you when to play those notes).
If you don't read music, then you are probably comfortable reading tablature (TAB). And what does TAB give you?
Pitch!
The TAB tells you what notes to play and in what order. But it is missing one vital element…rhythm.
So what does this mean?
Even if you don't want to learn to read proper music notation, there is immense value in learning more about rhythm. If you don't develop a great sense of rhythm and timing, then your playing will sound totally uncool and lame. And we don't want that do we? 
