| | | Hey Friend,
Yesterday we talked about two similar (but different) ways to write out music: standard notation and tablature (tab).
Tabs are easy to read and can get you playing pretty quickly, but they don't describe the rhythmic aspect at all.
Tabs don't usually indicate how long to hold a note or when to rest. They're great for visually showing you where to put your fingers, but how do you apply that so it sounds musical and in time? You either have to know the song or have a reference MP3 or video to get the proper timing.
Notation, on the other hand, shows both the rhythm and melodic/harmonic aspects of music. It answers all the questions about when to play and when not to. It tells you what to play. That makes notation harder to read and understand, but it doesn't show you WHERE on your instrument to play.
And that's where tablature shines.
So which should you learn?
I suggest you learn both.
"Awww, Davey, do I really have to?"
No, you don't . You can do whatever you want. But you asked for advice, and I'm giving it to you.
There are many major artists that never learned to read music. I don't believe any of The Beatles ever learned, and that didn't seem to hold them back at all. So it's certainly not a requirement to being a musician. But you know what? It doesn't hurt!
Most of us don't aspire to be international Rock stars. Guitar is an outlet, a release. Playing is a way to relax and satisfy the desire to create substance out of nothing. There's something about being able to sit down and through a physical action produce a beautiful sound.
Tabs are definitely enough to allow you to do that.
But learning to read notation gives you the ability to translate that written music into the physical sound waves.
You see, a little knowledge can take you a long way.
When you know how to read both tabs and notation, you don't need anything else to play the song as it was written. So tabs and notation compliment each other quite well. You can get the "what" and the "where" on the same sheet. That's why when I write out tabs you get the standard notation as the top five lines (score) and the tabs on the bottom (six lines). From that you can both see what is being played as well as where you would play it on your guitar.
Take a look again at the exercise I sent you over the weekend. Here are the files again.
Notice the top section is the score showing the note values. It's a very simple pattern with quarter notes and eighth notes. The bottom lines (TAB) show you where to play each note on your guitar neck.
Notice that the tabs don't really indicate which note is a quarter note and which is an eighth. You have to rely on the included MP3 to know how it's supposed to sound.
On the other hand, the notation tells you everything you need to know about what the score should sound like, but you have to know your instrument and how to apply it to the fingerboard.
One without the other only gives us part of the picture.
Here's the thing. Don't let notation scare you. You don't have to be an expert at sight reading to get value from standard notation (God knows I'm not). By learning a little about writing music out, it makes you much more versatile.
If you have the desire to become a professional guitarist and you want to do studio work, learning notation will make you stand out and get more work. Why? Because the producer can set a sheet of paper in front of you and know exactly what do do. You save them time and money. That's what being a professional is all about.
What questions do you have about tabs or standard notation?
Peace~
Dave
Guitar learning products I use and recommend:
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