“I can write you a song and play it, but I can’t write it on paper. I have to hire people to do that”: Tommy Emmanuel on not being able to read notation
Aussie guitar virtuoso Tommy Emmanuel is one of the best acoustic players out there, and yet he can’t actually read traditional music notation.
Emmanuel is known for his unconventional percussive techniques and flowing fingerstyle approach to playing, and although he can read chord charts, he admits he can’t read notes. Though it’s not uncommon for virtuosos like him to not read music, it has put him in an interesting position when teaching students at the prestigious Berklee College of Music.
READ MORE: “Been doing this a while, have you?”: The simple compliment Eric Clapton gave Tommy Emmanuel after watching him play for the first time
Appearing on live television for an interview with Australian news show The Project, he’s asked about the gap in his music knowledge: “I can’t read notes. I can read a chord chart and follow the chords, but I can’t read notes,” he says (via MusicRadar).
“It’s really weird, being a teacher in a place like Berklee College of Music: 400 students asking questions, and I’m the only person there – and I’m the instructor – I’m the only one there who can’t read! It’s bizarre.”
Asked if this makes it tricky to actually write music, he replies, “I don’t write it down. I can write you a song and play it, but I can’t write it on paper. I have to hire people to do that.”
Emmanuel admits that his main way of writing music is by recording it all using voice notes on his phone. In the COVID pandemic lockdowns he worked on a film soundtrack, and sent over his music as audio files.
“I wrote the whole film, all the themes, on my iPhone and texted it to the guy in LA and he put an orchestra and stuff on it. And then I redid the guitar in a proper studio when we were able to move around,” he says.
You can catch the interview, and some snippets of him playing, in the video below:
You can catch Tommy Emmanuel live in concert across Australia this May. He is also playing a vast number of international shows across the rest of 2025 and into 2026 – you can view the full list of tour dates via his official website.
The post “I can write you a song and play it, but I can’t write it on paper. I have to hire people to do that”: Tommy Emmanuel on not being able to read notation appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
