> It's not perfect, it doesn't perfectly encode every nuance of a performance in the same way a recording can. There is a common misconception that music notat

> It's not perfect, it doesn't perfectly encode every nuance of a performance in the same way a recording can. There is a common misconception that music notation (at least the European kind) is about capturing a performance, or describing sound. It is not. The function of the notation is to preserve and communicate an abstract musical idea. That idea is then interpreted by musicians and becomes a "performance". For example, in a jazz context 8th notes would be played "swinging", in a similar fashion to the "notes inegales" of baroque music. In early music in general, the idea is that the notes convey only the gist of the music, and the performer is expected to elaborate on them with ornamentations and diminutions. This double life of the music, as an eternal abstract idea and an ephemeral, momentary sound happening, is perhaps the defining characteristic of the classical European tradition.