‘I like to eat puppies’ – viral t-shirt shows why musical literacy is important

27 September 2022, 17:19 | Updated: 28 September 2022, 09:51

Talented Dog Sings Along To Owners Playing Piano

By Kyle Macdonald

If you like music theory as much as you do cute puppies, this is the shirt for you.

You might have heard of the sentences “shall we eat, Grandma?” and “shall we eat Grandma?” as demonstrating the importance of commas and punctuation.

Well, here’s something very similar for musical literacy and music theory, with something else on the menu of misunderstanding.

Read more: Music geeks are ripping into this incorrect band t-shirt

Very early on in musical lives, studious musicians will encounter repeats, and first and second-time passages (sometimes with that panicked scurry across the music to find the origin of the repeated passage).

And a recently spotted (and much shared) t-shirt for sale on Amazon has revealed the importance of getting these things right.

This one is simpler, but with a clear imperative to observe the correct repeat. Lest any cute puppies get the wrong message.

Music literacy matters T-shirt
Music literacy matters T-shirt. Picture: Amazon

‘I like to eat; I like puppies’ is of course the right message, when following the correct first and second-time bars.

See, music literacy is important.