NOTUS Music Notation was created as an easier and quicker to learn music notation. Primarily for people who for some reason are not taught conventional music notation and are therefore deprived of learning to read and play notated music. These people are discriminated musically and culturally, while education about and participation in culture is nevertheless a Human Right (art. 26 and 27).
From that perspective, NOTUS fills a gap between classical music training at Music Schools and Conservatories and the amateur musician who makes music without notated music, at whatever level.

NOTUS Music notation is also the most complete alternative worldwide. This allows music to be recorded for all instruments and all levels, even with microtones up to 1/8th tone. NOTUS is therefore a fully-fledged and welcome alternative for millions of people and contributes to the humane goal of a just and multicultural society in which everyone can develop themselves with respect for the other.

The fact that NOTUS is actually easy and faster to learn is partly due to a combination of a new structure for the staff and a new notation for the semitones. Most importantly, only 7 staff positions on three lines need to be learned in order to read and play the notes for all tones of Western music regardless of the instrument chosen. NOTUS works without keys and without the signs flat, sharp and natural (and their rules). They have been replaced with octave group numbers and two new noteheads. People can read all scores with NOTUS regardless if they learn and play piano, cello, singing soprano etc.

Research project.
It is evident that these claims about NOTUS must pass a field test to convince the skeptics and critics. This practical test took place during 2018 and 2019 under the supervision of the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp with adult laymen who learned to play the piano using NOTUS under the guidance of an experienced piano teacher. In addition to the pianistic results, the researchers (developer NOTUS and piano teachers) mainly examined which music pedagogical innovations NOTUS introduces and how NOTUS notation also changes the basic piano didactics due to its different staff structure.

This publication is the FREE PDF Final Report of the ‘Research project into the music pedagogical innovations of NOTUS, a fully-fledged alternative music notation.’ under supervisioin of the Royal Conservatoire Antwerp.
The publication starts by clarifying the nature of the research and the research questions. Then follows a description of NOTUS. Both the objectives and the NOTUS Music Notation itself are screened. This is followed by the answers to the research questions and the results in various domains (i.e. ensemble, music theory, instrument practice, curricula in schools, sociaty and therapy, teaching NOTUS by professional musicians). Then follows the chronological course and working method (with corrections) per working year of the research. All new unforeseen initiatives and intuitive additional research are also listed. The new piano didactics are discussed in detail, including result videos of the adult students. Comments from both researchers (developer Notus and piano teachers) and students have been added, as well as comparative scores between the two music notation systems. Sample pages from the definitive NOTUS PIANO FOUNDATION Textbook and the PIANO TEXTBOOK 1 are also included.

This PDF Final Report is free and has no commercial goals. It may be redistributed free of charge to anyone interested in NOTUS Music Notation.

VIEW A SELECTION OF DUTCH PAGES HERE.