Selling points for considering an evaluation of WYSIWYP

In summary:

1. 1. 1.   WYSIWYP solves all three main challenges or reading Traditional Notation (staff consistency, key signatures, tempo).

      2.    WYSIWYP was designed by a beginner for beginners, and as a result, it is simple and intuitive.

      3.     Although simple to read, it is still full function and can be used by players of all proficiency levels.

      4.    It provides a shorter learning path to those who later want to learn to read Traditional Notation.

WYSIWYP solves all three main challenges of reading Traditional Notation

While most proposed Alternative Notations solve the problems of staff consistency and key signatures, few propose a solution for the issue of unintuitive tempo definition.  With Traditional Notation, the use of symbols to define note duration first requires a learning period to recognize all of them.  While there might be a way to design a system based on symbols to be logical, this is not it.  In addition, there is another parallel system of symbols for rests that, in my opinion, are even less logical.  

WYSIWYP provides a graphic solution that visually defines note duration with respect to the beat.  This is an intuitive approach that requires almost no explanation.  Graphics also simplify seeing time relationships between notes on the same staff as well as on different staves.  With the graphic approach, no rest symbols are needed (just blank space).  

The "falling bombs", or in this case better named "time ribbons", of Synthesia demonstrates the graphic concept.  And here is some cognitive research that confirms the efficacy of the graphic approach.

A Design with beginners in mind

As a beginning student of the piano and after a month of trying to read Traditional Notation, I in fact did gave up in frustration.  As a result, I decided to design my own approach.  With some human factors engineering experience, I implemented what seems to me to be the simplest and most intuitive features possible to solve the major chalenges of Traditional Notation.  For keyboard players, WYSIWYP mapping is so direct that it can be considered a tablature.

While I have gotten some good feedback from Alternative Notation designer colleagues, there has been no formal, or even informal, testing with students.  This is my goal.

A Full function notation

The WYSIWYP design has all the functionality of Traditional Notation although all the details have not yet been implemented in the virtual sheet music display app, SNapp.  However, all the key elements changed from Traditional Notation are in place and the app is more than adequate for evaluations of the design as well as for use by beginning students.  Once SNapp is more fully implemented, WYSIWYP could be used indefinitely by players at all proficiency levels.  For example, many retirees (ahem) might never stop using it.

Transitioning to Traditional Notation from WYSIWYP

I tried to depart from the design elements of Traditional Notation as little as possible,  This left unchanged some of the basics, such as the use of the diatonic scale, a 50% overlap of adjacent staff degrees, a horizontal timeline, noteheads that define note onset, and real-time playing adjustments for sharps and flats.  After having acquired some playing skills using WYSIWYP, a student could then perhaps more easily focus on learning to read Traditional Notation.  Chromatic designs and other notations with more radical changes to Traditional Notation elements will probably require more time to transition since there is less commonality.