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Why why why????

L

Low town

Guest
Apr 20, 2014
186
83
#1
I am new to this web site, but I have rapidly observed several things that are annoying / odd.

Why do people have an aversion to Tab?? Why?
It is simply a way of of comminucating music that is not needlessly complicated (I am learning to read music at the moment - a skill I will seldom use).

Why do people say to not use other people's tab?? Why?
This is amounts to saying the rest of the world is wrong and only I know. Sure, use free advice with caution but it is a very good starting point if a person knows nothing.

Why do the people who say the above points hang out in a tab forums? Why?? No comments here.

Why do the people who say the above points often then provide guidance on how to play something?? Why?
***?? Whist tab is technically numbers on staff lines, this is no different to writing out the chords or chord numbers.
 
#4
Low town said:
I am new to this web site, but I have rapidly observed several things that are annoying / odd.

Why do people have an aversion to Tab?? Why?
It is simply a way of of comminucating music that is not needlessly complicated (I am learning to read music at the moment - a skill I will seldom use).

Why do people say to not use other people's tab?? Why?
This is amounts to saying the rest of the world is wrong and only I know. Sure, use free advice with caution but it is a very good starting point if a person knows nothing.

Why do the people who say the above points hang out in a tab forums? Why?? No comments here.

Why do the people who say the above points often then provide guidance on how to play something?? Why?
***?? Whist tab is technically numbers on staff lines, this is no different to writing out the chords or chord numbers.
Click to expand...

Actually communicating with tab is extremely confusing and bass-ackwards. Try explaining 3rd fret on the 5th string to a real musician on any instrument. They will laugh at you and/or look confused. Guitarist/Bass guitarists seem to think they are above learning all the basic theory everybody else does.

If you don't think learning music or communicating with your peers in considerably easier with knowledge of staff your are sorely mistaken. Tab also does not convey rhythm, a very important aspect most tab learners struggle with.

More importantly, why do people continue to complain about having to actually learn to read music instead of putting that time towards learning to read music?
 
#6
Why the aversion to tab?
Most of the ones I find were tabbed out by guitar players who assume the bass line just mirrors the guitar part or plays only the root. It's difficult (for me) to find an accurate bass tab.

Why say not to use other's tabs?
See above comment, use at your own risk.

I wasn't hanging out in the tab forum when I saw your post. I was on the TB home page.

I'm not going to give you guidance on how to play something unless you ask my opinion.

Tab is a useful tool, but like any tool, make sure you use the right one for the job. I have nothing against tab and use it myself when convenient.
 
#12
Savage_Dreams said:
to me, tab is to music in the same way texting abbreviations are to grammar
Click to expand...
Maybe - texting abbreviations is just short hand. It doesn't have anything to do with grammar, does it?

I guess this gets to a good point - text abbreviations have their limitations but they serve a very good purpose. The issue with text abbreviations is the extent to which people use it - they need to get some boundaries. This is the same with tab, but ultimately tab has its time and place.
 
#15
DiabolusInMusic said:
Actually communicating with tab is extremely confusing and bass-ackwards. Try explaining 3rd fret on the 5th string to a real musician on any instrument. They will laugh at you and/or look confused. Guitarist/Bass guitarists seem to think they are above learning all the basic theory everybody else does.

If you don't think learning music or communicating with your peers in considerably easier with knowledge of staff your are sorely mistaken. Tab also does not convey rhythm, a very important aspect most tab learners struggle with.

More importantly, why do people continue to complain about having to actually learn to read music instead of putting that time towards learning to read music?
Click to expand...

Rhythm is a good point - I am learning to read music now and communicating rhythm is a big advantage of musical notation; it is a big take-away for me.
 
#20
The way I feel is as long as I can effectively communicate music in written form, it doesn't matter how I do it. What matters is if the other person can read it.

It's backwards to some people because they're not used to it. That's fine. Whereas I read tab, understand what they're conveying, know the rhythm is based on spacing. 3rd Fret, 5th String... Tabbed based on BEADG. That's a A# (or Bb). Sometimes a proficient Tab-writer might add "Capo on 2nd Fret"... now it's C natural. Easy for me to understand.

Also, it doesn't mean I have to play it like that all the time. I might substitute using another string... 8th fret D string. What is important is that I know the note being played, and I have the experience to know how to play that note on other strings. 13th fret A string.
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Those who are against Tab are limiting themselves as much as people who don't want to learn Standard Notation. Learning different techniques makes you a better musician every time. Tab, notation, using note-letters ("play Bb Bb Bb"), or Nashville Number System. Every method has its reasoning and usage. Sometimes Tab works better for some musical styles than others. Sometimes Standard Notation works better.

In another thread I linked the written music to "Jerry Was A Racecar Driver." It had both Tab and Standard Notation, and both were important to figure out how to play the song. If I only had Standard Notation, I'd initially be thinking, "how am I supposed to do this?"
 
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