ABSTRACT
Introduction I have always been fascinated by the apparent paradox of understanding notated music as an aural form of art, while at the same time seeking to find the meaning of the music somewhere in a written score.1 To consider music, notated or otherwise, as a sonic art form seems only natural; after all, we encounter it through listening. At the same time, it is equally reasonable that musicians – whether performers, composers, theorists or thinkers – should focus their attention on the score, because notation lies at the heart of their profession. Since there is this dual approach when engaging with musical material, it is therefore curious that there has developed a ‘reverence’ to the score and the belief that the musical work’s essence may be found in it, rather than in the act of listening.
