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Why are Notation and Tab always together?!
- Thread starter nonohmic
- Start date
Maybe he's referring to ancient notation, which began around 1500 BC if I remember correctly. There have been many ways to score music before our current standard notation came to be.
[Note to self: Next time you want to start a needless flamewar that accomplishes and settles nothing, ask TalkBass members whether tab or notation is better.]
To everyone else: Happy Thanksgiving, if you still celebrate that sort of thing.
To everyone else: Happy Thanksgiving, if you still celebrate that sort of thing.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,795
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
I absolutely agree. I prefer there not be any tab under the music. It's a distraction that is unnecessary.
That puts your question into a context more easily understood. In my SO’s case it’s an optical problem called amblyopia, a medical issue that falls under a family of similar eye issues that are collectively called a “wandering eye.”
With her it’s treated by regularly performing specific eye focusing exercises which helped her a great deal even if it can’t completely fix her problem. But 80% of a good thing is better than 100% of nothing, right? Good lighting and not trying to read music when she’s tired also goes a long ways.
I don’t know what to suggest if having both interferes with your ability to focus. Something I can sympathize with since I’ve noticed my old ability to focus is slowly deteriorating as I’m aging. So maybe just making a photocopy and running some white tape over the other staff is the most effective and elegant solution for your specific situation after all.
We play the hand life deals us. And whatever works best for you is always the right call.
Smooth_bass88
vaxx!
- Oct 31, 2006
- 12,122
- 16,795
- Disclosures
- have been on nationally released albums, charting on the Billboard 200
I don't understand how tab is for fngering. You're literally holding the bass in your hands already. Reading music means knowing where the notes are on the bass.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
To me it's biggest limitation (along with inability to notate complex rhythms) The same note is all over the neck. Tab limits you to that position to be useful.
Not wrong, but... Organ tabulature dates back to the 14th century, tabulature for lute/lyre etc was common in the 16th century, and plain-song notation is of similar vintage, yet looks a lot more like modern TAB than it does standard notation. What we might recognise as standard notation emerged into common use in the 17th century, around the time of Vivaldi and his cronies.
Some variants can show the rhythms as well (the third line), but it's pretty uncommon...
Sample of numeric vihuela tablature from
the book Orphenica Lyra by Miguel
de Fuenllana (1554)....
Vivaldi came later(1678-1714)
Because unlike most instruments you can often find the same note 3 different places on the neck. Sometimes it doesn't matter which one you choose sometimes it does. Each spot on the neck will have a different color or feel for the same note. Sometimes it makes a big difference on finding the next note or phrase. If you pick the wrong one you may not be able to find the next note as quickly and efficiently as you should.
Opinions? We've got a lot of them. Let me see if I can avoid giving mine!
Yes, if you are looking for published transcriptions of electric bass parts from recorded music, you'll find they almost always have standard notation with tablature immediately below each line. You'll find this is also true for published transcriptions of guitar parts. If you are only using the standard notation, you may find this annoying for a number of reasons. If I understand correctly, you want more experience reading standard notation, but you have an overwhelming temptation to "cheat" and look at the tablature instead of sticking with the standard notation. My annoyance is just that I have to turn the page twice as often. Either way, the question arises: why can't they publish the standard notation and tablature separately?
The answer is primarily that the standard tablature used in most of these transcriptions does not indicate note durations, nor does it include rests. So even if you are using tablature to find notes, you must rely on the standard notation to tell you how long each note should be held. Of course, I'm sure that many if not most tablature users rely on listening to the recording for this information anyway! Oh well.
The other reason notation and tablature are interleaved is that it takes less paper. In the age of electronic publishing, this seems like less of an issue. It wouldn't actually cost significantly more to make both editions available if they are not being printed on paper. However, even in 2019, most books are still distributed on paper.
So, what to do about it? As others have described, I sometimes scan music books, then cut and paste the notation lines into a new document to save the space on the page taken by tablature. This is a laborious process that I can't really recommend. In almost every case, if you're learning a part, the goal is to memorize it, so that ultimately you won't need the printed version at all. If your goal is just getting practice with reading notation without the distraction of tablature, there is a ton of material available that has only standard notation and no tablature. These may not be the bass lines you would like to learn, but learning those bass lines might just be a task where you should just cope with the distraction (or convenience!) of tablature along with standard notation.
If you're looking for jazz transcriptions of upright bass lines, you can find a ton of them in standard notation without tablature. You can also find various editions of Real Books with melodies in bass clef, not specifically for electric bass, but entirely suited to reading practice. You'll find fewer books of standard notation for pop music bass lines, but there are a few I know about:
https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Pop-Bass-Lines-Songs/dp/0634070207/
https://www.amazon.com/More-Easy-Pop-Bass-Lines/dp/0634073524/
https://www.amazon.com/Even-More-Easy-Bass-Lines/dp/0634073540
https://www.amazon.com/Standing-Shadows-Motown-Legendary-Jamerson/dp/0881888826/
Yes, if you are looking for published transcriptions of electric bass parts from recorded music, you'll find they almost always have standard notation with tablature immediately below each line. You'll find this is also true for published transcriptions of guitar parts. If you are only using the standard notation, you may find this annoying for a number of reasons. If I understand correctly, you want more experience reading standard notation, but you have an overwhelming temptation to "cheat" and look at the tablature instead of sticking with the standard notation. My annoyance is just that I have to turn the page twice as often. Either way, the question arises: why can't they publish the standard notation and tablature separately?
The answer is primarily that the standard tablature used in most of these transcriptions does not indicate note durations, nor does it include rests. So even if you are using tablature to find notes, you must rely on the standard notation to tell you how long each note should be held. Of course, I'm sure that many if not most tablature users rely on listening to the recording for this information anyway! Oh well.
The other reason notation and tablature are interleaved is that it takes less paper. In the age of electronic publishing, this seems like less of an issue. It wouldn't actually cost significantly more to make both editions available if they are not being printed on paper. However, even in 2019, most books are still distributed on paper.
So, what to do about it? As others have described, I sometimes scan music books, then cut and paste the notation lines into a new document to save the space on the page taken by tablature. This is a laborious process that I can't really recommend. In almost every case, if you're learning a part, the goal is to memorize it, so that ultimately you won't need the printed version at all. If your goal is just getting practice with reading notation without the distraction of tablature, there is a ton of material available that has only standard notation and no tablature. These may not be the bass lines you would like to learn, but learning those bass lines might just be a task where you should just cope with the distraction (or convenience!) of tablature along with standard notation.
If you're looking for jazz transcriptions of upright bass lines, you can find a ton of them in standard notation without tablature. You can also find various editions of Real Books with melodies in bass clef, not specifically for electric bass, but entirely suited to reading practice. You'll find fewer books of standard notation for pop music bass lines, but there are a few I know about:
https://www.amazon.com/Easy-Pop-Bass-Lines-Songs/dp/0634070207/
https://www.amazon.com/More-Easy-Pop-Bass-Lines/dp/0634073524/
https://www.amazon.com/Even-More-Easy-Bass-Lines/dp/0634073540
https://www.amazon.com/Standing-Shadows-Motown-Legendary-Jamerson/dp/0881888826/
As an Amazon Associate, TalkBass may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via links on this site.
But if you actually know how to sight read well you’re always reading a measure or two ahead and you know where the next phrase will be. You also usually skim the whole sheet and it’s pretty easy to put in context where on the neck you should play the notes. A four string bass has less then 3 octaves with most music being played under 2 so it’s really not too hard. I’d say with guitar it’s a bit harder but even with experience it becomes really easy.
It’s reallt only a problem when you’re just starting.
Plenty of free download sites with notation only transcriptions. Sight reading is very useful.
Plenty of nuance missed in any written music though, plus errors, so it’s good to learn to do your own transcriptions.
Lots of YouTube bass covers with music notation scrolling underneath. Read, hear & see all at the same time.
Plenty of nuance missed in any written music though, plus errors, so it’s good to learn to do your own transcriptions.
Lots of YouTube bass covers with music notation scrolling underneath. Read, hear & see all at the same time.
...if you sight-read and it makes you $$, that's great... I'm happy for you... I just don't think of music as little black dots on some lines on a piece of paper... and as stated earlier, YMMV...
Don't bother me with your personal problems
But seriously, nobody who's worth a crap at reading thinks of music as little black dots on some lines on a piece of paper. The dots serve the music to explain the music to someone who doesn't know the song, not the other way around. If you choose to look at it the other way around, it's a complete misunderstand of notation's function. And good readers can take those dots on paper and turn them into music so well played that you'd never know they were reading unless you saw them read.
I feel the need to clear up some terminology here:
READING MUSIC: The act of translating dots on lines on paper (or "musical notation" as we in the biz call it) into music.
SIGHTREADING MUSIC: The act of translating musical notation into music as quickly as possible with playing it correctly the first time through as the ultimate goal.
They are two different things and one should not be confused with the other.
READING MUSIC: The act of translating dots on lines on paper (or "musical notation" as we in the biz call it) into music.
SIGHTREADING MUSIC: The act of translating musical notation into music as quickly as possible with playing it correctly the first time through as the ultimate goal.
They are two different things and one should not be confused with the other.
So, the actual real reason why most instructional materials feature both notation+TAB together, is because this is what the publishers demand. If you are writing an article for Bass Player magazine, or if you want to get your instructional book published by Hal Leonard, your editor will insist that you provide both types of notation. Providing both is the current industry standard.
If you are self-publishing then you have more latitude whether or not to include TAB.
If you are self-publishing then you have more latitude whether or not to include TAB.
Yes! Of course, 1) is a prerequisite to 2). They are two different things that are closely related and understandably confused with each other.
