That the two must go together to produce meaning is well-understood by those who study how young children read, especially how dyslexic children learn to read.
The flaw in the way most music reading is taught is that the sensory is left out in favor of the cognitive: i.e., the quickest possible identification of the symbol in alphabetic or theoretical terms. The ear, the only meaningful indicator of sensory experience, is traditionally left out. As a colleague once explained: "It takes too long."
I beg to differ.
Recommended reading on reading: Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf.
