For the sake of fruitful analogy, let us diverge for a moment, and go back to the days of Homer, the greatest of the ancient Greek poets, composer of the Iliad and the Odyssey. Homer is credited with writing down these, perhaps the two greatest epic poems of all time. Whether he himself actually composed those poems in their entirety is unknown. Before his time, such epics were not handed down in writing, but rather, orally. The master poet would recite the work, and younger would-be poets would learn the work by listening to it again and again. Along the way, they might adorn it, make additions, or changes. Some became so skilled at recitation that they could spontaneously compose poetry, embedding their artistic inspirations in the adequate meter as they spoke.
For thousands of years, this was doubtlessly the way poetry, and other forms of human knowledge, was handed down from one generation to the next. After all, writing is a relatively late invention in human history. American Indian tribes, living just a few hundred years ago, usually had no system of writing whatsoever; they, too, relied on oral tradition for the perpetuation of their knowledge, wisdom, and creative ideas.
Thus, it can be said that learning by hearing is the oldest, and perhaps the most natural way to learn poetry, and music as well. Some early peoples may have had simple systems of musical notation, but it is highly likely that notating music is, like writing words, a more or less recent development. Music, as well as poetry, was passed on by “recitation”; those who wished to learn it listened, and imitated the master until they themselves achieved mastery, and were then able to re-create the pieces, while adding their own individual touches.
Obviously, the development of writing – and of musical notation – enabled a veritable explosion in the amount of information that could easily be passed on to other people, and to succeeding generations. The advantages of this revolution were many, of course.
Imagine if, in order to enjoy a novel like “War and Peace”, you had to actually hear it! True, these days, using audio books, that wouldn’t be too much of a problem. But then, what would people have done one or two hundred years ago? If it had not been for writing, story-telling would have been a cumbersome affair indeed, for it would have been necessary for someone to actually recite the entire story, and since most people do not have the trained memories necessary to recite such long creations, the number of works would no doubt have been miniscule compared to that which we now have.
Not to mention the fact that, if all works had to be recited to be experienced, the story-tellers would no doubt have ended up changing much of the material; after a while, it would have been impossible to know just what the original creator had composed, and what had been changed by the tellers.
If a creator – whether author, or composer – wants to be sure that his/her creation survives in the form that was originally intended, he or she must write it down, either in words, or, in the case of music, in notes.
Even if a musician is able to memorize a piece of music by simply listening to it, it is nonetheless advisable that he/she study the written score as well, in order to assure that what has been committed to memory is indeed that which the composer originally created.
The score, then, is “gospel” for the performer. The conscientious interpreter will always strive to play exactly what is written on the printed page; his/her individual interpretation will arise from those “extra touches” that the performer incorporates into the music, without contradicting, or distorting, the composer’s original intentions.
Just as Christians believe in the sacredness of the Bible, so should the performing musician consider the written score as being “sacred”, as it represents the piece as it emerged from the mind of its creator, the composer.
Up to now, we have seen that learning music by listening is a valid method if you are talented enough to use it regularly, despite the pitfall it presents, namely, the danger of the performer unconsciously making illicit changes to the work. Nonetheless, most musicians, especially keyboard players, will find it extremely difficult to use only their sense of hearing as their sole means of memorizing.
That leaves us with the final method: using the score to memorize.