The notation system evolved as an efficient way to read Western classical music, both in terms of space and legibility. It's oriented towards the fundamentals o

The notation system evolved as an efficient way to read Western classical music, both in terms of space and legibility. It's oriented towards the fundamentals of musical performance, and is read by millions of people around the world. For what it does, and the large ground it covers, I would argue it's really tough to beat. Not that people haven't tried! There are plenty of alternatives, particularly when it comes to translating to a computer (see e.g. Lilypond notation). For many music projects that go from instrument straight into production without having to communicate to an intermediary performer, western music notation is unnecessary - piano rolls are sufficient. Piano rolls can also be useful in limited situations for performance (see Guitar Hero et al) but things fall apart quickly if you need to perform lots of different notes with sophisticated rhythms, and/or need to look significantly far ahead of the current point in time. (These are problems which Guitar Hero happily exploits as part of the game.) The further away music gets from the Western classical music tradition, the more the notation system is stressed. Many of those traditions, however, are places where oral transmission of musical instructions are preferred, and where written notation may not be as developed. (See e.g. oral transmission systems for taiko and pakhawaj.)