why acoustic guitar players cant read scores?

[LoMa]

The early lute and vihuela and guitar music was written entirely in tab. Perhaps because of the many alternate tunings? I couldn't say why.

Given that however, being able to read music, and not just tab, is a great boon to those of us who can't play by ear. I couldn;t pick up a tune from just hearing it if my life depended on it! But I can read music and tab, and I can go from there - even some improvising.

The major difference between tab and musical notation, in my opinion, is that you get a broad sense of where the music is going, so to speak, even before you get to that part of the piece. Musical notation is a graphical sound map. Tab isn't.

However, I love tab, especially for alt tunings!!! But I still like to see the music above the tab. Otherwise I tend to get lost... I rely on maps.

[Glennwillow]

Plenty of folks here can read standard notation. Plenty of folks can play using tab. And plenty of folks here play by ear.

- Glenn

[dawhealer]

Originally Posted by Paikon

there is 400 years written music out there and all i hear is about tabs

Paikon, you need to do your homework. The earliest fretted instrument notation (for vihuela, lute, and other instruments that would be considered in the guitar family) was a kind of tablature. Standard musical notation for those instruments came later.

That said, what makes you think we can't read scores? I started guitar lessons in 1959, learning to read musical notation. Studied under Joseph Castle (transcriber for Mel Bay) for ten years. For several years was a member of the Austin Guitar Society (classical which, last time I looked qualifies as acoustic). Reading scores=no problem.

Oops! Looks like LoMa beat me to the vihuela/lute lesson. I need to start reading these threads more thoroughly. Apologize for the redundancy.

[Larry Pattis]

why acoustic guitar players cant read scores?


Is that NBA, NFL, or MLB scores...?

[Paikon]

for people who say that tabs are earlier that standard notation
yes it is but standandard notation is the evolution of tabs
in tabs there are no pauses

[dawhealer]

Originally Posted by Paikon

for people who say that tabs are earlier that standard notation
yes it is but standandard notation is the evolution of tabs
in tabs there are no pauses

Do you read notation? If that's what you're comfortable with, what's the beef with tabs? Quite a few of us can "switch hit" when it comes to notation or tabs. Go with what you're comfortable with and don't sweat the small stuff. I don't think standard notation OR tabs are going away any time soon.

After 53 years of playing guitar, I think anything that makes music more accessible to more people is a good thing. Each approach has its place and neither is better or worse than the other, just different.

[JDGPicker]

I can read notation, tab, and the newspaper!

[bousti999]

I read tabs, but I like to write them out so I know the names of the notes I'm playing. It bothers me to see a bunch of numbers. I feel like I'm not playing music.

I like the way my guitar teacher used to teach me. He asked me if I wanted to learn standard notation, but he assured me that with the kind of music I wanted to play I could get by without it. When he would chart out songs for me, he would write down the main chords, but he would also write down the individual notes that I was supposed to play. Kind of confusing I guess, but it made perfect sense to me.

For example, this is how he charted a chord melody for Yesterday by The Beatles. It kind of looks like a mess, but I swear it makes sense.

[71jasper]

I can read notation although I sledom have need of it, do not like tab although I appreciate it's value; I learn everything by ear. Being entirely self taught, I chose and used the tools I needed without regard to convention or someone else's idea of what I should be doing. In retrospect, it worked out very well.

[Mr Peebuddy]

last time i check, ALOT(nearly all) of classical guitarist read notation. you know, the music you're referring to...

[pieterh]

Originally Posted by Paikon

there is 400 years written music out there and all i hear is about tabs

speaking for myself I like to have both, seeing as I can read music and I want to be able to make up my own mind how to play a given piece of music. For the right kind of music the regular notation is invaluable in giving expression, dynamics and so on. This doesn't mean I am dictated to by the music/composer unless I choose to be, but it gives me options to choose from. If nothing else, it's a good exercise forcing yourself to be true to the written music!

A prime example of why I like both (and is a good tool for developing aural and visual techniques) is the guitar transcription edition of Eagles' Hell Freezes Over. Apart from being taken from the CD rather than the video, you only have to watch the video/DVD to see there are several places where the transcriber has chosen a different fingering than the guitarist actually used, and in a few instances actually got it wrong (like a G instead of a G# in Joe Walsh's end solo on Hotel Cal).

[tnvol]

I would bet money that there are boatloads of them that can. I'm not one of them. lol

[jonnymosco]

I think that unless you learn to read music as a child it's unlikely you'll pick it up when you're older. It is a nightmare to learn to read (particularly the higher positions) and I think everybody knows that, but is afraid to say it.

I was fortunate to learn as a child a I started on classical guitar - I agree with all the posts about its versatility in comparison with tab.

As for reading notation in open tunings, I think double dropped D is achievable, but beyond that most of us mere mortals lose the will to live.

At the end of the day it's about making music, no matter how you get there.

Personally, for me, there is nothing better than sitting down on a Sunday afternoon with my guitar reading some Renaissance pieces, ironic they've been transcribed from the original tab!

Jonny

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Paikon

for people who say that tabs are earlier that standard notation
yes it is but standandard notation is the evolution of tabs
in tabs there are no pauses

Since when? TAB can indicate timing and pauses in the same way notation does. When I convert notation to tab, all timing indications are included.

[Paikon]

Originally Posted by HHP

Since when? TAB can indicate timing and pauses in the same way notation does. When I convert notation to tab, all timing indications are included.

i ve never see such a tab
please show me a tab like this if possible