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ourselves with incredible subtlety without having to over-intellectualize what we're doing. 

Due to various historical forces and a hodge-podge of cultural traditions, the prevailing method of teaching has evolved into a complicated process requiring the musician's brain to learn and process many different types of symbols and icons.  Yet all of these concepts can be expressed today in a simple form using modernized vocabulary.

The Problem and the Solution:

The problem: 
We don't learn 'ABC' backwards so the descending scale is more difficult to spell.  It is easier for most of us to say ' 7 6 5 4 3 2 1' than it is to say 'G F E D C B A' .  A numbered scale has only one spelling  compared to 12 spellings for each of the 12 keys when using the alphabet.

The problem:
The evolution of instruments and tuning has allowed us to use an equal tuning system. All keys have been treated as equal, for several hundred years now.  Yet the idea persists that one key is more difficult to play than another key.  Why do we think that the key of 'C' is easy and the key of 'Db is difficult?  Most people never learn to sight read or even play in keys with more than 4 sharps or 5 flats.  Another problem is that the true function of key signature, used as a scale signifier, has been forgotten over time.  This function can be explained using numbers and all keys are easy to read by using numbers.   

The problem:
Most instrumentalists learn to read music in the Key of 'C' first, regardless of the natural key of their instrument: Bb Trumpet, Eb Sax, F horn, etc...   This has caused a problem in band and orchestral scoring.  Many parts must be transposed in order for the musicians to play together.  The poor conductor has to read in numerous keys at once.  This practice also creates an ignorance about most orchestral instruments. The note they  read as 'C' , is NOT SOUNDING concert 'C'.  Sharing an opinion of what the concert key is named (with numbers) makes it easier for groups of musicians to read the same music and to improvise.

The problem:
Playing, reading, and writing of music requires five different areas of the brain to store, codify and communicate our actions.  We hear words and melody, and we store them in two different places in the brain.  Our sense of touch remembers the feeling and placement of  patterns.  The eye reading musical script  can see these  distances on paper which are visually stored and translated into alphabets or decoded, and translated back into  physical movement.  Your brain perceives and remembers patterns not just of melody notes, but of rhythms, harmonies and song forms.  We perceive the differences between a ballad, a concerto, and minuets.  All of these "brain functions" have a different means of expression and require coordination between the different parts of the brain.  All can be directly related to each other through numbers.