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Bass tab websites?
- Thread starter DillionVseries
- Start date
Hey, you're entitled to disagree, no problem with that. But arguing that the artist wouldn't make much off of a book anyway is a really poor arguement. The point is, at least they would make SOMETHING, rather than NOTHING. I've heard so many people use the same arguement for downloading music - 'record companies are greedy' etc etc, 'artists never make much anyway' etc etc - sorry, but none of that holds water - ask the artists.
The problem is the mentality that the Internet has created. Being able to access information on anything you want, anywhere in the world is great, but this has created a generation that expects everything to be at their fingertips, 24/7. People want to download movies, music, tabs, whatever right here, right now - but they don't want to pay for it.
It makes me laugh everytime someone comes onto one of these forums and says 'has anyone got a tab for this...?' Again, it's a quick fix - they'd prefer not to use their ears, learn something meaningful musically, or do anything that takes time, it all has to be NOW NOW NOW, FREE FREE FREE.
I'm so glad that I started learning the bass before the internet arrived properly (I started in 1990). I learnt the songs I wanted to learn the hard way - I transcribed them myself, painstakingly, over and over, until i had them right. It was hard work. Very hard work. But it paid off. And I'm VERY glad that I did all that work, believe me.
Stu
I absolutley commend you on learning songs "the right way". I'm sure it made you a better bassist and a better musician for doing it. There is no substitute for experience and hard work.
That being said, we live in a "quick fix" world. How many commercials do you see on TV in a day for weight loss pills? I think that it's fairly obvious, if you burn more calories than you take in per day...you'll lose weight. But people don't like that answer, they want it here and now. They don't want to exercise and eat sensibly.
For you, as an instructor, you should love tabs. It's an easy way to get people into playing music, but it definatley has it's limitations. They will eventually come for some "real" instruction, and learn how to do things the right way. More students for you.
On the other hand, you can jump on the bandwagon to eliminate tabs, have people pay $5 a song to get the sheet music (which they can't read anyway).
But what will you get out of it? Less people playing music.
Why stop there though? How about making every band that plays a cover of a band's song in a live setting pay a royalty to the original artist? Should I have to pay a band a percentage of my pay if I play a gig with the said bands t-shirt on?
And the people trancribing these songs for the books are not the artists themselves right? So there are inaccuracies there also? If I'm paying $20 for a book "endorsed by the artist" it should be correct. Should I get a discount for every note that is transcribed incorrectly? Half price for "almost right" songs?
As for asking the artists what they think, lots of bands put out their own tabs for free on their own websites. They want people playing their music. What better advertisement for your music is that?
While I understand where Stuart Clayton is coming from and partly agree with him, there also are people out there who don't have the inclination, nor the time, to learn to read music. They don't intend to become musicians, just to play for fun. Learning through tabs is the preferred way for them.
I'm on both sides of the fence. I'm with Stuart in the respect that I learned bass back in the 80's when guitar magazines didn't even include bass music and there wasn't a bass magazine for years to come. I learned to read music from day one on upright. When I got an electric bass in 1986 I started with some books, some had music for songs for Iron Maiden and Rush but when it came to learning songs for bands it was almost all by ear. Back then we didn't have bass boost, big speakers nor computers with gaming/media specialized speakers for the computers we didn't have.
Now, after several years off the instrument I'm finding tab to be very helpful as I'm in one band and just accepted into another that's already established and working as their on call bass player to start filling in at the end of May. So, I'm smashing two band setlists in my brain and less than half of the list is the same. So, here's where the tab sites are helping me out. I read through it with the songs a couple/three times. I turn it over (or away from the computer) and play through the song a few more times and I've usually got it. Bar tunes aren't that difficult for me. Tab can be a great way to fast track songs but your ears and gut will never decieve you where your eyes will so as a quick "where is it" tool tab has been great for me this time around.
Where I have a problem with an entire site being shut down because they have tabs for songs on display is that not all of these artists have books with their music available for purchase. How are they losing money that's not being made in the first place? Is it because it's included in the publisher's (the music itself) catalog of artists and there is a book from another artist that is up in tab so the book doesn't sell and what goes for one artist goes for them all no matter if they currently or ever have or will have sheet music released for sale?
I have never in my life learned an entire book of music by an artist. Just the songs I liked or that was needed by the band. Just as I don't listen to CD's all the way through, same reason, same purpose. Knowing people's behaviors in general as I'm not very different than anyone else. Why is music not available song for song by the publishers themselves? What I see is that musicians are doing what publishers aren't and satisfying a demand that's not being met. I'm sure their spending so much time trying to stop tabbers they don't have much time left to do it themselves.
I'd buy them song for song, just not the entire book when there's one or two songs I want/need. There are very few artists I like that much.
One last thought as sure it would be a bit expensive to do and then to buy but if they aren't going to do it and I still need it I'll get it where I can.
So, after all this long winded crap, someone enlighten me to the real reason the tab sites are being wiped if I'm way off base.
Now, after several years off the instrument I'm finding tab to be very helpful as I'm in one band and just accepted into another that's already established and working as their on call bass player to start filling in at the end of May. So, I'm smashing two band setlists in my brain and less than half of the list is the same. So, here's where the tab sites are helping me out. I read through it with the songs a couple/three times. I turn it over (or away from the computer) and play through the song a few more times and I've usually got it. Bar tunes aren't that difficult for me. Tab can be a great way to fast track songs but your ears and gut will never decieve you where your eyes will so as a quick "where is it" tool tab has been great for me this time around.
Where I have a problem with an entire site being shut down because they have tabs for songs on display is that not all of these artists have books with their music available for purchase. How are they losing money that's not being made in the first place? Is it because it's included in the publisher's (the music itself) catalog of artists and there is a book from another artist that is up in tab so the book doesn't sell and what goes for one artist goes for them all no matter if they currently or ever have or will have sheet music released for sale?
I have never in my life learned an entire book of music by an artist. Just the songs I liked or that was needed by the band. Just as I don't listen to CD's all the way through, same reason, same purpose. Knowing people's behaviors in general as I'm not very different than anyone else. Why is music not available song for song by the publishers themselves? What I see is that musicians are doing what publishers aren't and satisfying a demand that's not being met. I'm sure their spending so much time trying to stop tabbers they don't have much time left to do it themselves.
I'd buy them song for song, just not the entire book when there's one or two songs I want/need. There are very few artists I like that much.
One last thought as sure it would be a bit expensive to do and then to buy but if they aren't going to do it and I still need it I'll get it where I can.
So, after all this long winded crap, someone enlighten me to the real reason the tab sites are being wiped if I'm way off base.
Mx tabs will come back soon oh and next random post.
Duh my cats breath smells like car fool yo duh man.
Duh my cats breath smells like car fool yo duh man.
Read the takedown letters on OLGA, they explain why all tabs are being dropped while only a few are listed as problem by the big wigs.
Something along the lines of just taking down what was asked would leave a webbie liable should a precedent be set he is breaking the law and is then prosecuted for each illegal tab still up. Each one. Some tab sites host tens of thousands of tabs, so while everyone is working through the legalities of tab and it's distribution, it's safer to protect your own interests by complying with the demands, or moving operations off shore, or reverting back to cluster sharing among mates etc.
I saved a lot of tabs locally over the past couple of years in case this situation happened so I'm glad I did that - I can continue using inaccurate tabs to improve my ear when trying to play from the tab with the recording and having to fix them on the fly. Makes great ear and rythm training IMHO...since you still have to work a fair lot out with most tabs and give your ears a good workout making sure it's all right.
Late to this thread, but wanted to add a free option that wasn't mentioned back then.
I'm the developer of Chord Sequence (Bass Tab Player — 4-String Bass Tablature Editor) — browser-based bass tab editor for 4-string bass. No install, no account, completely free.
It does what Bass Thumper was describing:
- Enter notes on a 4-string staff (standard EADG tuning)
- Edit, move, and resize notes on a piano-roll grid
- Interactive fretboard showing fingering in real time
- Playback with Pick, Synth, or Slap sounds
- Export to WAV
Won't replace TablEdit or Guitar Pro for notation and printing, but if the goal is editing and hearing a bass line at no cost — it covers that.
Might be useful for anyone landing here from search.
