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Michael Jackson -

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.

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Michael Jackson -

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.

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Paul McCartney -

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.

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Paul McCartney -

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.

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Jimi Hendrix -

 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.

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Jimi Hendrix -

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.

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Lionel Richie -

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.

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Lionel Richie -

“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.

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Elvis Presley -

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.

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Elvis Presley -

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.

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Prince -

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.

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Prince -

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.

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Bob Dylan -

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.

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Bob Dylan -

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.

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Miles Davis -

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.

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Miles Davis -

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.

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Eric Clapton -

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!

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Eric Clapton -

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.

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Eddie Van Halen -

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.

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Eddie Van Halen -

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.

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Taylor Swift -

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.

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Taylor Swift -

“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.”

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Slash -

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.

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Slash -

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.”

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Stevie Wonder -

Of course Stevie Wonder has been blind essentially his whole life, but he never learned to read braille music either.

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Stevie Wonder -

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.

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Kurt Vile -

 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.

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Kurt Vile -

He soon became one of the most celebrated voices in modern rock by simply playing, listening, and practicing all the time.

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Noel Gallagher -

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)

See also: Your favorite musicians' favorite musicians

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