[erasmuse]

I think modern musical notation could be improved by making a more readily apparent distinction between phrase marks and tied notes. As it is one often has to read ahead on a tied note to see if is tied or not, which costs attention.

[JasonFruit]

You have to be reading ahead anyway to be physically prepared for the next notes. This is a problem only for the nearly musically-illiterate.

[erasmuse]

Sure but I could be reading even further ahead if I didn't have to carefully trace the horizontal line from a tied note (to see if it stays on the same level or if it jumps to another note). On the other hand if it were, say, a thicker line, or a broken line, or a line of different colour, or a something-else-to-distinguish-it-from-a-phrase-mark, then I could be utilising that time more fruitfully.