Maybe it’s because my early piano lessons helped make me a good reader (and therefore I am not sufficiently empathetic with how difficult learning to read music is), but I am a huge proponent of music reading as an essential aspect of a well-rounded musical life. The inevitable response to this statement—that many gifted musicians can’t read a note—is, as proof against reading’s importance, outweighed by the mountains of evidence that a good reader gets more gigs, understands rhythm and harmony at a deeper level, has access to centuries of written source material, and is generally a more professional musician.

Music is a language, and learning new languages is always difficult. If you can’t read at all, but want to, steel yourself against the impending frustration. Stay committed and focused; practice constantly. As you develop, learning the value of notes and rests and their names on the staff will come relatively easily, but the first big barrier (at least in my experience) will be confronting tricky rhythms. It’s hard enough identifying pitch in real-time—compound that with syncopated, unfamiliar rhythms, and it’s clam central. One trick I picked up is to identify and memorize every permutation of a beat using either rests, eighth-notes, or 16th-notes. There are further subdivisions, like triplets and 32nd-notes and beyond, but most of the time, a solid repertoire of the most common rhythms is excellent preparation for the written charts confronted on most gigs. Ex. 1 shows every division of a single beat under these constraints.

Internalize each rhythm with a metronome. Try setting it to count 4/4 time at a medium tempo—say, 80 bpm—and play the corresponding rhythm on the one of the bar. When you’re comfortable with this, play it every two beats. Then, play it every beat, combining it with any other rhythm from the chart. Mix and match to explore its extensive rhythmic opportunities. When done effectively, this kind of practice will make many seemingly impossible bars more familiar and easier to play.