The Impact of Tab: Good or Bad?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Nicholas Tee on February 16, 2010 at 2:51pm

TAB is valid and has it's place in the same way that a ladder has rungs on it. Not everyone can be at the top or the bottom, there is the climb in between and TAB makes that climb a whole lot easier.

Those people that have the real motivation may go on from there and learn to read music while others maybe not. But it's a great inbetween solution that makes life a whole lot easier.

When I went to school I had no interest in learning to read music but 30 years on I wish I had and now I am gradually teaching myself. Without access to TAB it would really have slowed my learning process down.

Anyway that's just my point of view!

Permalink Reply by Matthew John Leptich on February 16, 2010 at 2:52pm

I don't believe that good or bad is necessarily the way to look at it. I don't mean to be non-committal about the issue, but I know that different people learn differently and that whether it is done by ear or read off of a chart of some sort, it is still learning. Also, not everyone wants to know what notes make up a C major 7 vs a C maj 9 and so on. That said, which brings about a deeper level of learning and understanding of the instrument is apparent, standard notation. Standard notation will always make you think critically about what you are playing, how you voice your chords and even how you tune the guitar. However, Tab has brought the more complex pieces to the learner who has desire to learn them, but who doesn't have the background in standard notation. In that sense, I think that Tab has made the pieces of classical and finger style players more accessible and hence done more to get the works out to the masses. I suppose then that tab has done a lot of good for the style as a whole.
MJL

Permalink Reply by Patrick Curley on February 16, 2010 at 3:27pm

Transcribing the music that you hear and then learning to play it is a great way to learn new songs but also to improve your musicianship. It develops aural skills, performance skills, notation and communication skills and, as has happened in this case, is ultimately a really rewarding experience and great for building confidence. All of these things build a competent musician.

As for tab, they may make this unnecessary from time to time, but it doesn't stop you doing it. In a way it's even better for younger players than standard notation because all of the information isn't there, you need your ear as well. Clearly you'd learn more if you put in the hard work but it's also helpful in the early stages just to have someone step you through a piece, get your fingers working. If it becomes a crutch though you've found a recipe for stagnation.

We have this convenient two dimensional grid at the fretboard that makes tab possible but can hold us back in other ways too. If we play according to shapes and boxes, whether improvising or learning new pieces by tab, we won't be developing these traditional musicianship skills. How do you get a guitarist to turn down? Put some sheet music in front of them.

Permalink Reply by Martin Bell on February 16, 2010 at 4:03pm

Hi folks...

As someone who started with five years of classical guitar lessons – and, therefore, reading standard notation – I nevertheless wholeheartedly believe that TAB is every bit as valid.

No-one as yet seems to have mentioned the point that reading TAB gives you a positional guide for the fingers - which, given some of the weird and wonderful tunings that so many players today use, is absolutely essential.

As soon as you start de-tuning strings, the fingerboard positions of all the notes on the traditional music stave start to shift dramatically, and trying to figure out where to play 'the dots' becomes a mind-bending exercise!

Take, for example, a tune by someone like Andy McKee, where partial capo-ing might be thrown in on top of an open tuning. Standard notation would only tell you half the story, such as the pitch and duration of the notes...which is why I feel TAB in cases like this is a 'must'.

For me, TAB is a great and very quick way to scribble down ideas, and done properly – with 'tails' on the TAB notes, indicating the time value – you can combine some of the sensibilities of standard notation.

That said, I figure that learning to read 'proper' music is really important too, especially since a lot of stuff out there is ONLY available as 'dots'. Although my sight reading is not that hot, I find that after a week or two spent learning something like an Andrew York or Leo Brouwer tune, my 'standard' music brain begins to kick in again and quicken up!

I guess the bottom line is, if you have the time and patience, keep a foot in both camps – both systems equally have their place.

And don't forget that a lot of old lute music used a form of TAB that pre-dated Stefan Grossman's Kicking Mule Records and Alex DeGrassi by a few centuries... :-)

Permalink Reply by Nadine on February 16, 2010 at 4:49pm

Interesting topic - I had the benefit of fourteen years of piano lessons before learning guitar, so a little bit different perspective. I can sight read pretty much anything on the piano, but trudge slowly with standard notation on the guitar because I still have to think about where the notes are. When I approached my guitar teacher about this - thinking that it was somehow part of my training I should be focussed on, he said it was really just a choice. His feeling was that it isn't necessary to know - and that a good ear is more important. I will say, though, it has helped me immensely to have the knowledge of musical structure, theory, etc. under my belt from years of piano - I truly believe it has helped me progress much more quickly on the guitar than I would have otherwise. Instead of asking which notes make up a chord - I already know those things - I know intervals, I know scales and key signatures... So while I only have that perspective, I am imagining that without that background, learning the guitar might have been much more difficult. Not sure, though. AND - having said all that - so many amazingly talented accomplished guitarists have never learned to read music.... so, who knows? I tend to agree that it depends on the individual. A guitarist I met recently was showing me a piece - when I asked about her sharing it with me, she gave me a sheet not with TABs, but with her own unique way of writing down her original fingerstyle compositions and taught me to read her notation....
Sorry to ramble, just my two cents on an interesting topic....
Nadine

Permalink Reply by John Nabors on February 16, 2010 at 6:28pm

It's neither bad nor good, it is simply a tool.
Many people say they can't read music for what ever reason.
But the same people will use tab.
I use both. Reading standard notation gives you more information, especially timing.
Tab helps with fingering, especially in different tunings as discussed in one of the other replies.
Whatever makes it easier to play and enjoy music more should be used.
It is always best to train your ear so you can come up with your own arrangement.
Plus, for me it's easier to remember when I do my own.
But, everyone can't do that.
At a Tommy Emmanuel workshop I attended he said something to the effect of -
Playing guitar whether at home with family or a group of friends or on stage for an audience it is the joy of playing that's important.
Whether youy know a few "cowboy chords" or detailed, intricate arrangements it's the sharing and playing.
Use the tools that fit you best and play.

And by the way, think of how good it would feel for someone to want an arrangemnt of one of you songs - tab or notation.

Permalink Reply by Bob Quinn on February 16, 2010 at 10:34pm

I've had some thoughts about this lately...a bit different. I'll see folks using TAB to learn some bit from their fave fingerstyle player and proudly post the business. I suppose that a player reaching beyond the grasp of their current level is a good thing, how else might they rise from their current level? I suppose that it's all wonderful for players at any level at some point to reach for the inspiration they feel from another players work. For me though, when I make a post, I want to be honest in the exhibit of my current level of understanding, so I tend to work out my own arrangements. I feel it's more honest. Just a pet peeve I guess, and one that may not be at all reasonable, but I can usually feel when a player has learned from a TAB just the right places to put their fingers, and they do not own the level at which they're playing...I can feel the lack of passion, the lackluster falling behind the beat, or just the mechanical way in which the piece is executed. It tends to put me to sleep. I understand that a player must find a certain level to begin to assemble an arrangement, but I'd rather watch and listen to a players honest process then to see/hear someone putting on the dog with an attempt at some arrangement far beyond their ability. As for TAB as a learning tool, it's a fine thing, and I feel it lends itself to learning the guitar more than standard notation...seems I learn standard notation, once a decade or so...use it for a time then forget it, but TAB is almost immediately accessible to most people, and anything that gets new players up and walking the path is a good thing by my estimation.

Permalink Reply by Andy3Sheds on February 17, 2010 at 4:26am

I've also been dabbling with trad notation.
I've always thought my lack of music theory and an inability to read dots was a real hinderance so I've been trying to do something about it.
Its one thing to extoll the virtues of learning by ear but its a sign of illiteracy when someone gives you a sheet of dots at a session to try a new tune and youre clueless!
The big spur for me has been to start playing mandolin theres a whole lifetimes worth of fiddle tunes that just fit straight onto GDAE tuned instruments,but they are all in std notation. I have software that will transpose abc format notation into tab but fingering goes awry with some of the computers fret choices. What I've realised(blindingly obvious really) is how learning dots makes you learn the fretboard which tab doesn't. But theres only so much time and tab is a great time saver

Permalink Reply by Joe Carpenter on February 17, 2010 at 9:05am

I agree wholeheartedly with John Nabors comment: Tab is simply a tool.

Permalink Reply by Donna Zitzelberger on February 17, 2010 at 12:24pm

I love both. And, I feel strongly that a guitarist should aim toward using both. TAB allows my first year students to start playing right away. It also opens the door for playing all the alternate tunings in very advanced styles. Standard notation is the language of music, and we need it to dig deep into the understanding of music. We also need it in order to communicate with other musicians. I had a student playing very advanced pieces with TAB - alternate tunings and ragtime. When we started classical, he wanted TAB only; but I pushed him to read. About a month later, he came to a lesson and thanked me for pushing him. He said, "It's as though I can hear the composer telling me how to play the piece". And, to me, that is the crux of it. It's a language. After he started reading music, his TAB playing got better because he understood how to interpret the music in the lines above the TAB. TAB is a wonderful guideline for figuring out fingerings and as someone stated so perfectly - it's a fabulous tool. From day one, I tell all my students they will learn to read music in 3 ways: chord diagrams, TAB, and standard notation. And, in lessons, I go back and forth between all of them regardless of the level of the student.

my thoughts,

Donna

Permalink Reply by Charles on February 17, 2010 at 12:58pm

As suggested by some others here.....I also keep a foot in each camp. Whatever helps me to advance musically, I will employ it if I can.
I would not necessarilly blame TAB for guitarists not expressing music well "or performing beyond their talent". The same could be said for some classically trained musicians. Some people are more musically inclined than others. I have heard some pretty talented musicians who were self taught. I believe reading music or tab only improves a talent which is already there. Some people have it....some people don't.
Perhaps the most important thing in extended our talents to their fullest is practice, regardless of which learning method we use.

Permalink Reply by Barry Gray on February 17, 2010 at 2:06pm

Alrighty then, I'd like to add my 2c. "Way back when" I learned how to read music (aka "standard notation") in order to play the organ and clarinet. But when I took up guitar (also way back when) I wanted to learn rock and blues, and sheet music either didn't exist for rhythm and lead or was wildly inaccurate. I too spent hours trying to disect favorite licks and voicings, on records and cassettes. What a pain. And forget alternate tunings! Gradually I lost most of what I learned about standard notation and it didn't matter although I was sorely embarrassed once when trying out for the college jazz ensemble and couldn't follow along. But that's another story.

Fast forwarding about thirty years we have Tablature - thank goodness - especially now that I am focusing on fingerstyle. I admit it, I'm a Tab junkie. I can now work on songs I wouldn't even have had a chance of learning at Back in the Day. I think of Tab like a foundation to a house: without it I'm fairly stumped. But while it's a fundamental component to my learning, it's only the first piece. After that there's everything else to build the technique, musicianship, legato, etc. And after I memorize the piece (which is a requirement, after all) I only use it for reference when I forget something.

I've had some folks say tell me it's a crutch, implying that if I were true to the music and my growth on the guitar I would learn by listening. Come on now. Maybe if I was a professional musician with a lot more notes under my belt. I do see that with time and growth I will be able to pick things out on my own. (I've also had a semi-professional guitarist/singer tell me that fingerstyle music aren't really songs unless they have vocals and lyrics. Perhaps we should have a discusson on this? I hope not.)

Recently I have become interested in music theory and this is gradually evolving into re-learning something about standard notation. In the meantime I am unapologetic about using and enjoying the benefits of Tab.

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