This article comes from Rick, who brings years of experience in all things guitars!

There are numerous skills that a musician can and should learn – and one of the most basic and useful ones for essentially any instrument player to have is the ability to read guitar sheet music. Often considered a staple part of teaching, it’s certainly something that you might want to dedicate some time to learning if you want to get the most out of your journey to becoming a musical artist.

Whether you’re hoping to play guitar or any other instrument, take the time to read just a few of the benefits of being able to recognize music’s traditional written form. It could help you to understand notation from a more technical perspective and encourage you to learn better, which could in turn allow you to improve as a musician.

Do You Need to Know How to Read Guitar Sheet Music?

Although many modern options are available when it comes to reading and following musical notes, the reality is that the tried and tested method of using sheet music has existed for as long as it has for good reason; it’s simply so effective. In most cases, all it takes is a little practice and understanding of the different notes in front of you to be able to play a fluid and natural-sounding tune in your own unique playing style. There’s so much more to gain from learning than just this, too.

There are actually quite a few reasons why it can be an excellent idea to learn sheet music. It is an invaluable skill for many learners that could help in several ways. Above all else, there’s no harm in learning to read musical compositions and so much to gain, so let’s just jump straight into it and find out why this could be important for you and your growth as a guitarist.

5 Advantages of Learning to Read Sheet Music

1. It will be far easier to memorize music

In most cases, if you can read and learn a song or tune from sheet music, you’ll have a better chance of remembering it. This is simply because while playing, the different symbols can help you to visualize your movements (for example, concerning the speed or pitch of the song, as well as the notes that are being played). This alone is a great benefit, but what’s better is that even if you forget, you won’t need to rely on someone else to tell you – you can just use your sheet to see what you missed and carry on.

2. You’ll be able to write your own compositions

In a way, you can consider learning to read sheet music to be fairly similar to learning a new language. Once you’re able to read and understand the notes that you’re supposed to be playing on any particular piece, you can also rewrite them or create your own, which will allow you to communicate your ideas in a universal musical language that many other musicians can read and follow. If you can learn to read and write the notes you want to play, there’s a good chance that you’ll be able to share your music with others.

3. It can make it much easier to play music in groups

This point works well with our first two, but still stands on its own. Guitar tabs may be simple to read, but if you’re with other musicians who are using their own instruments, they’re probably not going to be able to use them as reference for what to play and when. This may not be much of an issue for solo artists, but if you ever decide to branch out and jam with others, it could be incredibly useful for you all to understand sheet music, simply because it gives you all the ability to read from the same piece of paper and helps to avoid any confusion during play.

4. It could help you to expand your musical diversity

One huge benefit to being able to read sheet music is that it can actually make it far easier to play a broad range of different music styles. If you’re interested in being diverse as a musician or you simply want to have the ability to switch up styles at any point and try something new, having a better understanding of reading and writing sheet music is a must. Learning a new genre can become so much simpler, from blues to metal, and you’ll have access to all of this, right there, whenever you need it. This makes you a better player and composer, and gives you many more options regarding what you can play (which also means more scope in what work you could potentially do with your guitar later on).

Furthermore, this also applies to using other instruments – the notes are universal, all you need to do is learn how to use the tools at hand and you’ll be well on your way to creating music with whatever instrument you choose to work with.

5. Overall, it helps you to be a better guitarist and musician

When you consider everything that we’ve mentioned above, it becomes quite clear that the ability to read a piece of music in written form can actually be incredibly useful in helping you to go even further when reaching your potential as a musical artist.

Learning an instrument is a lifelong skill, so it’s often well worth taking a little extra time to improve upon your knowledge, no matter how vast or limited that may be. There will be certain aspects that you will likely pick and choose between as you learn, and tailoring your experience could make a significant difference to your overall success.

The great news is that sheet music comes in many forms nowadays too, allowing you to pick up a book, print out your own sheets, or even use the internet and apps on your chosen device (such as a smartphone or tablet) whenever you want.

Ready to get started? Visit our blog post “How To Read Sheet Music: Step-by-Step Instructions” for tips on how you can start the process of learning to read sheet music.
If you’re ready to play, you can also check out Musicnotes’ top-selling guitar sheet music! Or, if you’re interested in guitar tabs, just click here.

This post was written by Rick, guitar enthusiast and owner of All Stringed guitar blog. Visit his website for more guitar-related blog posts for beginner to advanced guitarists, and all things guitar.