Since the mid-nineteenth century when Franz Liszt emerged as one of the most sought-after performers in Europe, performing from memory has been regarded as a cornerstone for successful solo piano performances. Playing without a score remains a requirement for most piano competitions, juries and recitals at colleges and conservatories, and is widely expected in professional Western Classical concerts. Recently, however, score use has gained more acceptance, partly because other musical disciplines do not always have the same expectations for memorization. Also, there is an increasing viewpoint that memorization can be an unnecessary mentally-taxing endeavor and potentially create barriers rather than bridges for individuals succeeding in the profession. Therefore, we investigated to what degree audience members’ perceptions differ when they view a pianist playing with a score versus the same pianist playing without a score. We investigated two questions: (1) What are the effects of performing with a music score and without a music score on observers’ ratings of solo piano performances? (2) Do the effects of performance condition differ according to the observer’s primary instrument (piano, voice, vs. other instrument)? Participants were music majors (N = 162) who viewed two recordings of the same pianist performing the same excerpt in the same hall—one with the score, and one without—in a counterbalanced order. Participants completed a questionnaire including demographic questions, rating scales for performance quality and enjoyment, and open-ended questions. We conducted ANOVAs with score condition (within-subjects), instrument group (between-subjects), and presentation order (between-subjects) as independent variables, and with performance quality and enjoyment ratings as dependent variables. Performances without a score received slightly higher performance quality ratings, although that effect was further influenced by viewing order (p < .001). Pianists rated performance quality significantly lower than other instrumentalists (p = .046). Enjoyment ratings also varied by score condition and order (p < .001). Despite these results, most participants (68.98%) believed score use did not influence their evaluations. Thematic analysis of open-ended responses elicited further insights. While pianists were evenly split on whether score reading enhances or undermines confidence, most vocalists and other instrumentalists perceived it as diminishing confidence. Vocalists focused on physical movement, whereas pianists and other instrumentalists frequently noted the page turn. In summary, score use subtly affected participants’ perceptions with responses shaped by their instrument background and the order in which they viewed the recordings. However, many remained unaware that these biases influenced their ratings.