Tabs=Bad. & No, This 'Isn't' in the Wrong Category

[electracoyote]

anyway, let me ask you all something...if you could get notated charts instead of tabs as downloads, would you use them or would you have any more incentive to learn notation if you don't already?

It's a fair question, here's a fair answer:

The desire it takes to exert the time and effort to become a good sight reader is directly proportional to the actual need to become a good sight reader.

Whether that desire is intrinsic or someone else encourages it, it has to be there.

 

[electracoyote]

Funny you should mention that Jimmy. I know you remember the alt.guitar.bass days before talkbass even existed. This topic was beaten to death back then then and anyone who hasn't figured things out by now is waaaaaay off the back.

At this point I have no problem being ungentle with my opinion of tabwits:
A) They don't know any better.
B) They're too lazy or untalented to learn notation or figure it out by ear.
C) They don't care about accuracy.

OK, so now they're gonna be all incensed and blahblahblah (again) all the reasons tab is the greatest. Folks, I've heard it all before ad nauseum and none of the arguments hold any water. Tab as found on the interweb today is for lazy, half-assed amateurs.

Blahblahblah.

Sorry if that sounds harsh...

I sincerely doubt that you're sorry. Don't apologize for being a bully.

 

[Fendbassfan]

...and the vast majority of people I know who play by ear never learn to read tab or standard notation - but I don't consider that a fault of learning tunes by ear.

I don't either, BUT, when I started learning Bass when I was 15 and had played Trumpet so I knew how to read music but never did anymore. However, when I started College a few years later I tried for the Cypress Ca. Jazz Band and the only preparation I had was changing the Clef to Bass and practicing a bit before the tryout with a Real Book. It was so fantastic just sitting down and playing great old Jazz standards with a bunch of strangers (who a made friends with real quick because of our common interest). Try playing that way by the tab method with drums, bass, sax, piano, trumpet, trombone. That's why I think instead of spending time learning Tabs, do both, but concentrate on music. Ear training is super valuable also and every trained musician will tell you so.

 

[Babaghanoush]

~

 

[anonymous122511]

I sincerely doubt it. Don't apologize for being a bully.

Phttt...I'm just laying out the hard truth. Tab is a shortcut that bypasses essential work of really learning a song and it has no place on a professional bandstand. Tab is fine for hobbyists and there's nothing wrong with being a hobbyist. I apologize to all the hobbyists for not being clear. My comments are aimed at anyone shooting beyond that.

 

[Fendbassfan]

~

 

[Skitch it!]

What's funny is because of my bad hearing I had a super hard time figuring out the notes the Bass comes in with on that totally played to death by cover bands song Pride and Joy. Well, I went to Tabs and every single one was totally and completely different and they were all wrong. I know because I went and figured it out (sometimes if you just can't get something you just have to give your ears a break). Anyway, I think that's ironic that since I started this thread, the very first song I decide to give Tabs a whirl with.....

+1 Same here, it's not the idea of tab's for intended purpose, the inaccuracy out there is bad enough to discourage. There might be a great tab of what your looking for, but you don't want to surf through 30+ versions to get it, if at all.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

anyway, let me ask you all something...if you could get notated charts instead of tabs as downloads, would you use them or would you have any more incentive to learn notation if you don't already?

I would. In fact, if they had an iTunes type of website for accurate standard notated songs (without TAB below the staff) for something like $0.99 a song, I'd be willing to pay for that.

 

[rymiraflores]

Funny you should mention that Jimmy. I know you remember the alt.guitar.bass days before talkbass even existed. This topic was beaten to death back then then and anyone who hasn't figured things out by now is waaaaaay off the back.

At this point I have no problem being ungentle with my opinion of tabwits:
A) They don't know any better.
B) They're too lazy or untalented to learn notation or figure it out by ear.
C) They don't care about accuracy.

OK, so now they're gonna be all incensed and blahblahblah (again) all the reasons tab is the greatest. Folks, I've heard it all before ad nauseum and none of the arguments hold any water. Tab as found on the interweb today is for lazy, half-assed amateurs. Sorry if that sounds harsh but this has been going on way too long and you people need a dose of the straight truth.

Wow ...what arrogance...I don´t think it matters a damn how anyone learns as long as they enjoy playing and do a decent job...I have used every method listed previously and I find them all useful..also I am pretty sure that if tabs had been invented before notation then they would be more popular...what snobbery..what an unpleasant posting.

 

[omnimutant]

Inaccurate music in any form is still inaccurate. Be it Tab or Notation, internet or Book. Use what you can to get what you need done.

I personally use tab's to get started on learning a new song if I can't pick it up right away from ear. Nothing wrong with whatever method anyone uses to achieve the same results. It doesn't make you any less of a person for not using a "preferred" method. As long as you can get the Job done, results are all that mater. Lot's of ego being thrown around in this thread.

 

[Don Corleone]

as a player for over 25 years, i personally love, and use the rhythmic notation tab.. you know, the 4 line bass tab with the rhythmic stems connected. I find it to be a more modern way of writing music and more practical. ESPECIALLY when a part is to be played in a certain area on the neck.

In the days where more reading was used, writing middle C on a bass clef staff, most players would want to keep lines mostly in the first 5 fret range and use open strings. But what it Gstring 5th fret is not the C sound that is wanted.. maybe the D string 10th fret is the target note for its fullness. There really isnt a fast way to get that point across in the music (unless a *10f was put over the note) but still it leads to confusion. If you want something played EXACTLY how you want it played, then the fret numbers are necessary and precise in todays music world.

No doubt knowing the notes on your neck is mandatory and i would never say the ability to read notes should be lost. However todays music doesnt call for it as much as there is more than 1 open D on the neck.. E string 10f, A string 5f, D string open... which do you want? on a saxophone, flute, trumpet, etc.. there is 1 position for each note.. but on guitars and basses, a clearer explanation is needed and number tab is the best way to do it.

I do NOT like tab with no rhythmic stems, or measure breakdown. There needs to be more than just numbers across a 4 line stave. In time the player can decide when he wants to get down and dirty and start learning to read. But chances are his own band doesnt require it, and cover bands dont write parts out that way so its not really practical anymore.

just an opinion

 

[Billnc]

Wow ...what arrogance...I don´t think it matters a damn how anyone learns as long as they enjoy playing and do a decent job...I have used every method listed previously and I find them all useful..also I am pretty sure that if tabs had been invented before notation then they would be more popular...what snobbery..what an unpleasant posting.

Ear or notation only. Why? You may have to read, reading a part keeps those chops up. Ear, should be obvious, we are involved in a hearing art. What may be difficult at first, working a song out by ear is worth it. The hundreds to thousands of hours doing this makes it easy to learn songs.

If one continually goes to tabs I doubt they will learn to work out 30 or 40 songs a week or work in multiple bands or teach.

 

[itsalljustaride]

"nobody but guitarists and bassists use tab. you will never get a sheet of tab on a gig unless you're in a rock band where nobody reads and there isn't a keyboard player"

When I started learning banjo, I found it funny that nearly EVERYTHING you can buy or find for free to learn to play banjo is done in tab. Tab is the standard system for banjo.

 

[itsalljustaride]

Also, someone else brought this up, but the fact that everyone gripes about bad tabs on the internet, but no one does anything to fix them despite the fact that it's easier than ever to do so...well then you're just part of the problem. Same thing with people who complain about wikipedia entries being so bad. The point is that certain places on the internet are collaborative spaces. You say "they just post tabs for popularity". Ok. So what. They're contributing, after all, and you are not. They've taken the time out of their day to put something into the world, perfect or not. If you see a bad tab, and could easily amend it so that others do not repeat those errors, then you only have yourself to blame for the sorry state of affairs with regard to tabs.

 

[Billnc]

They're contributing, after all, and you are not. They've taken the time out of their day to put something into the world, perfect or not.

One should not spread bad information period. That is not contributing anything. Just spewing out garbage.

 

[VictorG]

I am in no way anywhere near a proficient bass player.Just about a year but I can say that I thought of using tabs from the start UNTIL I got to looking at some. I found them a waste of time to consider to use because I want to be able to actually recognize chords and notes. Tabs remind me of Paint By Numbers kind of.
As it is I load my MP3 with songs and play along with them AFTER doing about a 1/2 of finger patterns singing the notes I play. I listen to the song and play along with the song, granted I make MANY mistakes but I can retry and work at it til I get it right. Even on the most basic of basslines. I tried the same with tabs and felt it was just a waste of time. It to me taught nothing,I just don't want to be one of those bassists who can't play a song because I never learned the damn Tab. The experienced bassists and guitarists I talked to said listen to the music ,learn it note by note if need be.
In the process of doing that I have been able to actually grasp the feel of the music and the bassline and can and my own little twists to them. never could do that with the few tabs I tried.

 

[anonymous122511]

also I am pretty sure that if tabs had been invented before notation then they would be more popular...

Actually the Italian lute tablature that modern guitar tab comes from and modern notation both can be traced back to about the same time period. If anything lute tablature predates universal acceptance of the five line staff by at least two hundred years. Your argument would work better if you knew what you were talking about.

 

[skwee]

Agreed. I don't recall every reading that John Dowland ever came down hard on the tablature he wrote in music history. Tab is a form of notation. I am a professional, and I use both (I use mostly regular notation, but if I need to jot down a riff, I almost always use tab as my shorthand. It's much quicker).

 

[OOZMAN]

First. I didn't post this in tabs because I wouldn't get an objective opinion there. I don't use tabs but out of curiousity I look at Tabs for certain songs. Yesterday I checked the tabs for Bass part on the Go Go's, 'Head Over Heels' and of course it was mostly wrong. Sure, they get the starting notes write (in the wrong key sometimes) but every search I made on the internet for these tabs was mostly wrong. They always leave out some notes. Also, every guitarist I've worked with that uses Tabs plays the songs wrong. I read music but when I sit down to figure out a song's Bass part (notes & rythym I don't use notation and just write it like this, E is first E, E2 is 1st Octave, E3 is second Octave, and so on and then I write the timing above like 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 or 1 e an a 2 e an a......and so on and I write in things like ties, and stacatto signs above and make notes 'stop' or slide down, etc.
I just think if people start out playing Bass with the Tab method they might as well learn to really read music instead.

So you mean to say "People who write tabs and post them on the internet usually know little about how a certain song is played." not "Tabs are inferior to everything else" as your thread/title suggests.


peace.

 

[anonymous122511]

Agreed. I don't recall every reading that John Dowland ever came down hard on the tablature he wrote in music history. Tab is a form of notation. I am a professional, and I use both (I use mostly regular notation, but if I need to jot down a riff, I almost always use tab as my shorthand. It's much quicker).

And what exactly do you know what John Dowland thought about notation...or anything else for that matter?
Please do be specific.

I find it very difficult to believe someone who is fluent with standard notation would use tab. It's no faster, it has no rhythmic values and it's useless to any other instrument. It certainly isn't used by any of the "professionals" I've worked with.