In Defence of Tab!

[cowsgomoo]

Originally Posted by Deluge Of Sound

How do you figure?

because they'd transcribe songs into standard notation instead of tab

actually, the real problem isn't tab, the real problem is that most people who write tabs aren't up to the job

[Sound Fancier]

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

because they'd transcribe songs into standard notation instead of tab

actually, the real problem isn't tab, the real problem is that most people who write tabs aren't up to the job

Just one point out of many:

Tab is plain text so it is easier to create, distribute, mirror, etc. i.e. No proprietary software, no through-the-roof hosting costs like images or pdf. Sometimes there are methods behind the madness.

[NKUSigEp]

Originally Posted by Fassa Albrecht

And that's the problem- tab doesn't teach you anything other than fret positions. At least with sheet music you can tell about the note groupings, tempo.....

You mean there's more to playing music than just fret positions?!?!

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by deek

+1

Of course tab is useful. It makes playing accessible to people who don't know how to read score!!!

Funny how most of the people who know how to read score are the ones knocking tab - and most of the people who can't read score are the one's that are pro tab. Not too often do you see anyone who doesn't know how to read score knocking tab, huh?

It's just snobbery - which is prevalent here. It allows them to feel superior to people who can't read score. They're quick to jump all over anyone who can't do it because it strokes their egos.

My advice? Go ahead, stroke their egos, tell them how wonderful score is, and that you only wish that you had that ability and then either:

a. learn it
b. use tab

But don't let anyone make you feel foolish for playing at any cost. And whatever you decide, do it on your terms because you want to, not because someone put you down.

D.

As i already said im anti-tab and i cant read alick of music. in fact im pretty musicly challenged If i can hear and chart out simple songs anyone can.
The TB'er who is also in a cover band and relies on tab..why? Ya its quick and all but 75% is wrong. I learned to use my ears and pencil and paper now that skill has allowed me to hear musical changes chords progressions and key transposing no tab would of ever done. If as simple as i play would of never taken some TBer's advice a few years ago i would be hunting down page after page of tab hunkering over them playing songs incorrect spending hours on the PC or buying tab books I used to have a file folder 4" thick with tab...never again that was years ago and i didnt know how to listen..use your ears if you cant read people its easy and well worth it in the long run.

[NKUSigEp]

Originally Posted by bassbully

...Ya its quick and all but 75% is wrong. I learned to ...

Remember kids, 63% of statistics are completely made up.

[Febs]

Originally Posted by deek

It's just snobbery - which is prevalent here. It allows them to feel superior to people who can't read score. They're quick to jump all over anyone who can't do it because it strokes their egos.

My preference for standard notation has nothing to do with stroking my ego. It has to do with being a working musician and getting gigs.

I played somewhere between 125 and 150 paying gigs last year. All but two required me to be able to read standard notation. None of them required me to read tab.

As a bandleader, I have hired many musicians over the years. I have never hired a musician who couldn't read standard notation. I have never had a need to hire a musician for his or her ability to read tab.

Tab is arguably useful as a learning tool, but the ability to read tab is not a required skill in any musical discipline. The ability to read standard notation is a required skill in many musical disciplines.

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by NKUSigEp

Remember kids, 63% of statistics are completely made up.

Ya so i said 75% but its really more like 95%.

[Oscar South]

The timbre on just about any bass differs so much across the strings (especially when you start getting into 5 and 6 string basses, the larger and smaller strings really have a different sound) and different position shifts will give a totally different feel to the articulation and flow of the line. I personally pick where to play my notes very carefully with timbre and articulation/flow at the forefront of my mind.. I would never consider any transcription of a bassline I played to be accurate unless the exact frets and strings I played each note on were carefully marked.

Sheet music is by far a more useful tool overall than tablature, but if you want an accurate reproduction of a line the two most important factors besides playing the correct notes are timbre/articulation and rhythm, neither of these can be represented perfectly on sheet music and accurate rhythmic reproduction can ONLY be reached by listening carefully to the original recording, tablature shows you exactly where to play each note and also forces you to listen to the music to pick up the rhythm, so for this reason I personally consider it a useful tool.

[NKUSigEp]

Originally Posted by bassbully

Ya so i said 75% but its really more like 95%.

What a coincidence! Using tab is 95% easier than reading sheet music!!!! LOL Alright, I'm done

[Oscar South]

Reading sheet music is easier than reading tab if you put the time in to learn it, I'm not an expert reader but if I had to sight read a piece live I'd take sheet music over tab any day.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

This post is an example of the only usefulness I find in tabs.

[bassbully]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

This post is an example of the only usefulness I find in tabs.

I can dig that nice.

[Fassa Albrecht]

Originally Posted by Febs

My preference for standard notation has nothing to do with stroking my ego. It has to do with being a working musician and getting gigs.

I played somewhere between 125 and 150 paying gigs last year. All but two required me to be able to read standard notation. None of them required me to read tab.

As a bandleader, I have hired many musicians over the years. I have never hired a musician who couldn't read standard notation. I have never had a need to hire a musician for his or her ability to read tab.

Tab is arguably useful as a learning tool, but the ability to read tab is not a required skill in any musical discipline. The ability to read standard notation is a required skill in many musical disciplines.

And from the opposite side...

A few months back, when I felt fairly confident that I was ready to join a band, I was NEVER told at any point that I had to be able to read music. So you can imagine the shock I got when I found out that all the music in both the worship bands I have played in was standard notation.
So I learnt by playing the songs and practicing different types of song as well. Soon I learnt how to read stave music.
Now you have to remember as well that in both bands the band only has about an hour to practice all the songs needed for the meeting/performance. I don't have time to sit there memorizing all the stops, note groupings, rests.......I have to be ready to play straight away.

But I've also found being able to read stave has opened me up musically- I have a lot more choice in what I can play, and can learn a song in a couple of days.

Stave is generally-

-Inaccurate unless it's an official tab book.
-Difficult to read
-Increasingly rare for more modern stuff, and few bands release tab books.

[the_fonz]

well
i prefer graphic notation
haha, modernist composers