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Tab as a memory aid
- Thread starter mjnyc
- Start date
yup, if it matters (like I'm getting paid), then I make notes and print stuff out and what not. always did, always will. but for my own groups I just try to do it all from memory and by ear, except for lyrics. I can't remember lyrics. and I'm sometimes the lead singer. But lyrics are my kryptonite.
I use standard notation if available. If I don’t, I’m with you watching YouTube videos, but I watch them I’m an IPad Pro, expanding the image so I can access the slide bar and the image. There is also a clock so note the time on areas you need to work on which can help you cue it instead of going all the way to to the beginning.
For me, tab is only to record the fingerings. I almost never use it. If I'm learning a complicated line, I write it out in standard notation. Simple lines (r-5, blues walks, etc.) I can play in my sleep so no need to notate them.
I do NOT take charts to gigs, ever, unless it's a reading gig (very rare). I memorize the songs and keep the charts in case I need to revisit details of the song in the future. I do want the key on the set list, although I've worked with bandleaders who manage to put the wrong key for at least one song on the list
I do NOT take charts to gigs, ever, unless it's a reading gig (very rare). I memorize the songs and keep the charts in case I need to revisit details of the song in the future. I do want the key on the set list, although I've worked with bandleaders who manage to put the wrong key for at least one song on the list
I come from the world of HS band directing where kids read music notation, but will write in fingerings of a few notes they can’t remember. This would be the same as writing in a tab marking on certain notes. I see nothing wrong with using whatever you need to play the song correctly.
I have everything on my iPad and use some notation, some chord changes, and sometimes just what key the song is in. It is often confusing for other people but makes sense to me. I very seldom read off the iPad while playing. I just use it as my set list and scroll through the tunes as the night progresses.
I have everything on my iPad and use some notation, some chord changes, and sometimes just what key the song is in. It is often confusing for other people but makes sense to me. I very seldom read off the iPad while playing. I just use it as my set list and scroll through the tunes as the night progresses.
I write down signature lines in standard notation if I can't remember them, because that's what I know how to read and write.
My biggest problem then is getting my nose out of the book, so maybe there's a fine line between using transcription as a memorization aid and using it to avoid memorizing? Whatever the case, transcription is a good skill to develop your ear, as well as your writing and reading skills.
My biggest problem then is getting my nose out of the book, so maybe there's a fine line between using transcription as a memorization aid and using it to avoid memorizing? Whatever the case, transcription is a good skill to develop your ear, as well as your writing and reading skills.
Do whatever you need short term to get through the performance, but and you probably don't want to hear this, you really need to get more comfortable with the instrument. It's ok, it's a journey and there's always something new to learn. I've been playing bass for 30 years and just recently realized that if you play a harmonic on the 5th fret or whatever and then fret and play the string on the opposite side of the fret of how you would normally play it (fret with your finger in between 5th and 6th and pluck between the nut and 5th fret) that's the same note as the harmonic. *mind blown* Anyways, I'm just saying keep plugging away and come up with new and different ways to play scales or triads. You'll learn the notes, learn the fretboard, and that knowledge will give you better tools for remembering lines in songs. Especially if you want to learn jazz, please consider learning to read standard notation.
I play with a singer who may transpose the key for effect towards the end of the song or if she is not up to it transpose down for the evening.
I do not like tabs. Standard notation has a lot of issues but we have been using it for hundreds of years now.
Can you imagine woodwind players using fingering tabs and piano players using piano rolls.
Can you imagine woodwind players using fingering tabs and piano players using piano rolls.
Tab in one form or another has been around forever. The difference between piano and guitar / bass is that there is exactly one way to play a phrase or chord that is written out in standard notation. Sure maybe some slight fingering variations, but C3 E3 G3 is played in one place on a piano. On guitar that chord can be played in several locations so notation only tells part of the story. Tab will tell you where to play the chord and it will be a setup to play the next chord in a certain location. Of course this doesn't apply to just chugging away on an acoustic doing a three chord song. Talking more about a jazz chart or finger style intricate lines. Jazz will usually not have tab, but those guys/gals are monsters. Woodwinds/brass, other than some alternate fingerings will have one way to play lines that are written out.
This page has a pic of some tab from 1554. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tablature
It sounds like you just don't know the song well enough; and I don't mean that to sound harsh. You should be able to hear the bassline in your head before you play it. If you know it in your head, you're going to have a good idea of where it starts in terms of the notes on the fretboard. What I mean is assuming you know how the notes on the fretboard and how the song is supposed to sound, if the upcoming lick sounds like a high D, you're going to know from looking at the chart that the D chord coming up is more likely to be on the 12th fret of the D string as opposed to the 5th fret on the A string.
Some TAB is indeed garbage, but there is also plenty that is great. Some people like to incorrectly state that TAB doesn't show the rhythm but that isn't always the case. The good tabs show the correct fingering and rhythm, something that standard notation doesn't usually do. I know this isn't always the case and seems to be mostly limited to more complex music. For example of some good tabs, check out the Rush tabs at this site: Rush Tablature Project [Home]
Not the same as post #33 pointed out very well.
Also TAB has been around since 1600 or so.
I think I'm in a similar boat, as I learn mostly by ear. If I were to join a band and had to learn new material, I would write down a few notes to kickstart my memory. Typically it would look like a line of tablature per song with the start positions for the different parts and a few fingerings. It's very efficient in my opinion. Later I would tab the whole songs myself (originals).
You will often hear that the problem is that you don't know music theory well enough or you should know your fretboard better. I wouldn't care. I don't advocate against learning it but for your specific purpose it's overkill and you would have to write down a few notes to recall the songs anyway.
You will often hear that the problem is that you don't know music theory well enough or you should know your fretboard better. I wouldn't care. I don't advocate against learning it but for your specific purpose it's overkill and you would have to write down a few notes to recall the songs anyway.
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I make my short notes in Nashville Notation (NN) with the Key written just next to the song title. The nice thing about NN is if you need to play it in a different key, it's not a lot of mental arithmetic. I'd just add another number so, I'd know what string to start on in your case (like A1)
a lot of people in this forum think that every tab is wrong and everything in std notation is absolute gospel. Ive seen plenty of both, do what works for you and let the old guys argue about the rest on the internet
