ABSTRACT

This chapter argues that the discussion of the musical notation is a difficult and contentious issue within popular music studies. It presents the inherent value of notation to a popular musician who has chosen to study their discipline within an institution. The chapter offers guidance to those designing popular music curricula to prevent, as the title suggests, any student from feeling that there are elements of music that are somehow secret and only known to those who can read and write. The musical notation skill base of a cohort undertaking an undergraduate entry-level module can be as wide as one could imagine, and their movement from either a prior educational establishment or, in the case of some students, a professional environment, can be equally diverse. Music notation in popular music studies is therefore not something that should remain a "secret" known only to some students, leaving others "baffled" by the implications of "the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall and the major lift".