Your post prompted me to ask YOU a question:
What is the easiest way to learn music? - my gut feel is that Standard Notation makes the process unnecessarily difficult . .
This is a very off-topic subject, but here it goes anyway. If any admin feels like this should be sent to another topic, please do it.
When you say “Standard Notation” you mean writing music in music sheets? I will assume that that’s what you mean:
I started playing with my first keyboard back when I was 8 or so (1987-ish). I was just exploring, but I would spend hours playing with it. Then in 1991 I got my first drum kit and that was when I actually started making my own songs with my first band. I never learned music theory, not until 2016. I knew the basics, but now really what a Gm7 chord was, for example, which is a pretty basic concept. And when I started learning theory, a whole new door opened for me.
Up until that moment I was able to make music that people liked, I had some success in Portugal, my country, so it was never a matter of knowing theory or not, writing music sheets or not. It was about emotions and knowing what sounds good and what doesn’t. Learning theory just gave me another tool that allows me know to go different paths when I want to, unlock endless loops, etc.
Music to me is about emotions, not about just that chord X goes well with chord Y, because it’s mathematical compatible, which sometimes that’s what happens when you start learning music theory as the first method of learning. I believe that learning music, depending on your goals, of course, should always be with you spending years just messing with an instrument and seeing what feels good. You eventually end up learning that some things never sound right, even if you don’t know why. And to be honest, that’s the best approach, because most listeners don’t care about the “why” anyway. They either like the song or they don’t.
A lot of musicians, like Jacob Collier, for example, never clicked for me. His music may be very intricate and “well created” when it comes to the theory and all that, but it doesn’t resonate with me emotionally. That’s probably the issue I see with knowing too much theory. You start making things because you can and not because you you should.
When you make things because you can, you are thinking about yourself. When you make things because you should, then you are thinking about the song, which to me, is the most valuable thing. I want the best for the song, and the song will tell me constantly “this is too much, I don’t need this right now”.
So, back to your question: I don’t know if my suggestion of messing with an instrument for years is the “easiest” way, but it’s definitely the one I got more pleasure from and I’m grateful for that path. Learning music theory is easier and faster, it’s like a math equation, but it can lock you inside a cage right away, which can be a trap (no pun intended).
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Yes, the “standard” that has been around for a few hundred years - here is my “alternative” notation (there are 1000s of ANs) just for guitar:
I split this out because it is so off-topic, but in the spirit of encouraging real human convos I am happy to let it play out. 
My own music experience is very different to Tiago’s—almost the opposite! I played clarinet most of my childhood but I gave it away in favour of the drums, which I still play. I am useless at composing my own music and I’m not great at playing by ear, but I can read music well and rely on it heavily. I suspect it has something to do with classical training and playing in orchestras.
If you’re a dev, learning to read music should be a breeze.
Edit: I looked at your notation—sadly I don’t think drum music would fit on 3 stave lines. It rarely fits on 5. I think the number of lines required is quite different depending on the instrument.
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