For better or worse!
It doesn’t seem so strange considering that his music has always been centered around his poetic lyrics, so one kind of reading and writing always took precedence over the other.
It’s said that when a melody came to him, he would just grab a tape recorder and sing it out, creating a capella demos that he would then share with musicians who would write down his ideas and re-record on instruments in the studio, completely bypassing the reading and writing part, Mic reports.
This famed Beatle helped create some of the most iconic songs in pop rock history, but throughout his long and fruitful career he simply didn’t view learning to read or write music as necessary.
Though he was singing from a young age, Michael Jackson reportedly never learned to read music! He would sing everything out instead, which arguably played a role in how he developed his rich vocal style.
Folk legend Bob Dylan’s style of song has inspired so many musicians who have surely studied his every note, but Dylan himself reportedly never found it necessary to learn how to read sheet music.
He said in an interview that he and the other Beatles, who also couldn't read music, would just come up with the sounds together, and as long as they knew what chords to play and how the melody went, they didn’t ever feel the need to write it down or read it.
He soon became one of the most celebrated voices in modern rock by simply playing, listening, and practicing all the time.
Miles Davis is probably the most innovative and celebrated jazz musician of our time, and though he was enrolled in Juilliard in the 1940s to learn formal music theory, he reportedly decided to drop out.
He famously taught himself how to play guitar and piano, and though he made numerous hit songs, many say he could only identify chords, scales, and intervals by ear.
The reason he shied away from the theory is because he felt it was limiting his creativity, which seems to be true since after dropping out he went on to record some of the most incredible jazz music the world had ever heard.
Prince is one of the most beloved and prolific musicians of his era, and despite knowing how to play 27 instruments, he reportedly couldn’t read sheet music.
Indie legend Kurt Vile, the former lead guitarist of rock band The War on Drugs, reportedly taught himself how to play at age 17 without any theory.
Instead of formally learning the theory, Clapton learned guitar by listening to blues music repeatedly until he could match his playing to what he heard.
Soon after, and upon hearing Eric Clapton, he became enthralled with rock music, and, similar to Clapton’s method, he reportedly learned guitar by playing Clapton’s music note by note.
That’s right, the King of Rock and Roll couldn’t read sheet music! He never had any formal musical training, only a natural inclination, and thus never wrote his songs down.
Instead, Presley learned everything by ear. His peers reportedly said he was able to pick an instrument up and intuitively play it, and that he could play a song back after just listening to it once.
Arguably one of the most famous pop-country artists today, Taylor Swift rocketed to fame at 17 and has continued to dominate the charts ever since. But Swift revealed in a Rolling Stone interview that she does not read music.
“I would not have majored in music because when music becomes technical for me I don’t like that part of it,” she told the outlet in 2009. “I can’t read music. I can a little bit. When you’re reading music for me it turns into math. I like for it to go the way it’s going to go. I’m not as much into technique as I am into the emotion of it.”
Jimi Hendrix is hailed as the greatest guitar player in the history of rock, and yet his relationship to music was different than so many who aspire to his talents today. Indeed, Hendrix didn’t learn music theory on his road to fame.
Instead, he was a self-taught musician who learned to play guitar by ear. He famously also had synesthesia, and would see music as colors, so he relied on that and his imagination to write much of his material, while also improvising a great amount.
Some argue that he was able to become such a genius composer and piano player because of his emphasis on the actual sounds instead of the notes. It’s likely what allows him to improvise so stunningly as well.
The Guns ‘N Roses lead guitarist is world renowned for his guitar riffs, but all of that musical genius was learned by ear. He prefers a more immediate connection between his imagination and his performance.
The hitmaker reportedly learned to play piano by watching his grandmother play, picking up notes by ear, but never learning how to read or write music.
Of course Stevie Wonder has been blind essentially his whole life, but he never learned to read braille music either.
In an interview, Slash shared: “No, I can’t read music, I play by ear. I try to make what I hear (sometimes just in my head) come out my hands into the guitar.”
“I don’t know how to read or write music,” Richie admitted to Us Weekly. “If I didn’t spend my career singing, I would have been a landscape architect or interior designer,” he added.
Despite having written an array of hits for his band Oasis, Noel Gallagher admitted to Rolling Stone that he can’t read music, and added that he’s not a great guitarist or vocalist either. He simply tries to transfer what’s in his mind to out loud notes.
Sources: (Mic) (Hello Music Theory) (Melodyful) (Classic FM)
Late glam-rock legend Eddie Van Halen did actually go to piano lessons as a child, but he claimed that he would fool his piano teacher into thinking he could read notes, meanwhile he actually just learned by ear.
Eric Clapton is famed for his guitar skills, but he mentioned in his autobiography that he was nervous to perform with the late Aretha Franklin because everyone was looking at sheet music and he didn’t know how to read it. Though it's said Franklin also didn't know how to read sheet music!
Music is something we can all enjoy and get a sense of without ever formally studying it, and actually learning an instrument is a gift that keeps giving throughout your entire life. But when you’re starting out on a musical journey, the theory can seem a little daunting, since it has its own system of notation and composition to learn across clefs and meter timings and numerous symbols and note values. Surprisingly, however, there are some musicians regarded as being at the top of their league who never actually formally learned how to read music!
We’re talking about artists who have created incredibly complex compositions and songs that even influenced other artists, largely by just dedicating themselves to their craft and practicing through their pure connection to sound. Intrigued? Click through to see a list of names you won’t believe.
Famous musicians who can’t read sheet music
Here are the most astounding cases against learning formal music theory
MUSIC Artists
Music is something we can all enjoy and get a sense of without ever formally studying it, and actually learning an instrument is a gift that keeps giving throughout your entire life. But when you’re starting out on a musical journey, the theory can seem a little daunting, since it has its own system of notation and composition to learn across clefs and meter timings and numerous symbols and note values. Surprisingly, however, there are some musicians regarded as being at the top of their league who never actually formally learned how to read music!
We’re talking about artists who have created incredibly complex compositions and songs that even influenced other artists, largely by just dedicating themselves to their craft and practicing through their pure connection to sound. Intrigued? Click through to see a list of names you won’t believe.