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Guitar tabs are simple and easy to learn, IF you're playing a song you already know. Most tabs I've seen just tell you which fingers to press down and which str

by jff 14y ago

Guitar tabs are simple and easy to learn, IF you're playing a song you already know. Most tabs I've seen just tell you which fingers to press down and which strings to hit, often excluding time signature, note duration, note intensity, rests, and other sightreading essentials.

bbx 14y ago
You're absolutely right. Tabs are most useful when you already know the song. As you say, most tabs don't include much information besides pitch and order, but can include guitar-specific ones, such as bends or slides. It's possible though to write good tabs, such as the ones available in Guitar Pro (http://www.guitaring.info/uploads/software/Guitar%20Pro/Guitar%20Pro_1.jpg http://www.guitaring.info/uploads/software/Guitar%20Pro/Guit...). Tabs' major appeal is that there's no learning curve: what you read is almost a physical representation of what you play. And it only requires a text editor to write, and can easily be published and shared on a website.
- whyaduck 14y ago
  The best tabs are printed under a staff that contains the missing rhythm information (along with the actual pitches, etc., of course). Not exactly concise, but very info-rich.
adrianh 14y ago
This is exactly the problem we're solving with Soundslice: http://www.soundslice.com/ http://www.soundslice.com/ It syncs tabs with real audio recordings so that you get the usability of tab plus the rhythm and phrasing cues from the real recording.
microtherion 14y ago
This is technically true, but is approaching notation from a perspective that everything needs to be specified (I’d call this a “classical” perspective, but even in classical music, this was not traditionally true). In e.g. Jazz jam sessions, good sight readers can definitely figure out what to play from lead sheets consisting of chord symbols + melody, and in terms of information, those are equivalent to guitar tabs + melody. Admittedly, there are also books only giving tabs/chord symbols + lyrics (or sometimes not even those), and for this form, I agree that your assessment is valid.
- jff 14y ago
  There's also a certain difference between jamming with a few other players, and getting a whole concert band of 40+ players to sound good together.
  - microtherion 14y ago
    My understanding is that in the big band era, you got fairly large bands (though not as large as 40 members) to play tightly together without undue precision in notation (and often without all members being good readers of sheet music).
kahawe 14y ago
The difference is, typical guitar beginners want to play certain riffs they already know or are listening to while looking at the tabs or they can easily write down ideas in tabs. Very often you get the traditional notation above the tabs, then you have all you need. Most guitar training nowadays is very non-classical, the summit of that modern learning route is being able to improvise freely. You are actively being trained to LISTEN and pick it up that way, you pick up chord changes, rhythm and melody, even the key, just by listening and then repeat them or improvise over what is there. You end up applying quite a lot of theory but most guitar players don't study 100% dry theory but are taught to use certain patterns or to use their instrument to find out certain correlations others are learning by heart. It is more about expression. In contrast, the highest point you can reach in typical classical training is being able to perfectly sight-read and reproduce the music exactly as it is on the sheet, hence the very clear and detailed instructions. The focus lies on re-production and precision. A Jazz guitarist's lead sheet can be as short as half a page and he could still play for hours. Both ways have their merits and disadvantages, this notation actually helps neither. It is still way too complicated for the average tab user - while the proficient classical player is missing vital information. On top of that I find it EXTREMELY hard to read, the difference between the circle being filled on the side or on top is practically indistinguishable when you are a little further back, so are the tiny little lines sticking out of circles pointing up or down.

by jff 14y ago

bbx 14y ago

You're absolutely right. Tabs are most useful when you already know the song. As you say, most tabs don't include much information besides pitch and order, but can include guitar-specific ones, such as bends or slides. It's possible though to write good tabs, such as the ones available in Guitar Pro (http://www.guitaring.info/uploads/software/Guitar%20Pro/Guitar%20Pro_1.jpg http://www.guitaring.info/uploads/software/Guitar%20Pro/Guit...). Tabs' major appeal is that there's no learning curve: what you read is almost a physical representation of what you play. And it only requires a text editor to write, and can easily be published and shared on a website.

whyaduck 14y ago
The best tabs are printed under a staff that contains the missing rhythm information (along with the actual pitches, etc., of course). Not exactly concise, but very info-rich.

adrianh 14y ago

This is exactly the problem we're solving with Soundslice: http://www.soundslice.com/ http://www.soundslice.com/ It syncs tabs with real audio recordings so that you get the usability of tab plus the rhythm and phrasing cues from the real recording.

microtherion 14y ago

This is technically true, but is approaching notation from a perspective that everything needs to be specified (I’d call this a “classical” perspective, but even in classical music, this was not traditionally true). In e.g. Jazz jam sessions, good sight readers can definitely figure out what to play from lead sheets consisting of chord symbols + melody, and in terms of information, those are equivalent to guitar tabs + melody. Admittedly, there are also books only giving tabs/chord symbols + lyrics (or sometimes not even those), and for this form, I agree that your assessment is valid.

jff 14y ago
There's also a certain difference between jamming with a few other players, and getting a whole concert band of 40+ players to sound good together.
- microtherion 14y ago
  My understanding is that in the big band era, you got fairly large bands (though not as large as 40 members) to play tightly together without undue precision in notation (and often without all members being good readers of sheet music).

kahawe 14y ago

The difference is, typical guitar beginners want to play certain riffs they already know or are listening to while looking at the tabs or they can easily write down ideas in tabs. Very often you get the traditional notation above the tabs, then you have all you need. Most guitar training nowadays is very non-classical, the summit of that modern learning route is being able to improvise freely. You are actively being trained to LISTEN and pick it up that way, you pick up chord changes, rhythm and melody, even the key, just by listening and then repeat them or improvise over what is there. You end up applying quite a lot of theory but most guitar players don't study 100% dry theory but are taught to use certain patterns or to use their instrument to find out certain correlations others are learning by heart. It is more about expression. In contrast, the highest point you can reach in typical classical training is being able to perfectly sight-read and reproduce the music exactly as it is on the sheet, hence the very clear and detailed instructions. The focus lies on re-production and precision. A Jazz guitarist's lead sheet can be as short as half a page and he could still play for hours. Both ways have their merits and disadvantages, this notation actually helps neither. It is still way too complicated for the average tab user - while the proficient classical player is missing vital information. On top of that I find it EXTREMELY hard to read, the difference between the circle being filled on the side or on top is practically indistinguishable when you are a little further back, so are the tiny little lines sticking out of circles pointing up or down.