Abstract

Much of what follows is born from my experience as a student, a popular musician and a teacher in further and higher education. ¹ The chapter, then, follows a more emic trajectory, as opposed to an etic means of consideration (Fetterman, 2008). I firmly acknowledge that the discussion of musical notation is a difficult and contentious issue within popular music studies; this chapter is designed to explore what I will go on to argue is the inherent value of notation to a popular musician who has chosen to study their discipline within an institution; and I hope to offer 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.