Tab rant

[TBman]

Ok, put the numbers on the lines, not in between. And by the way, 4/4 means 4/4, not 5/4.

Putting a certain blues player's tab into GuitarPro so I can read the darn thing.

Ok, rant over.

[EllaMom]

Originally Posted by TBman

Ok, put the numbers on the lines, not in between. And by the way, 4/4 means 4/4, not 5/4.

Putting a certain blues player's tab into GuitarPro so I can read the darn thing.

Ok, rant over.

We're here for you, Barry!

[TBman]

Originally Posted by EllaMom

We're here for you, Barry!

Thanks Carol, I feel better already,

[HHP]

TAB is a crapshoot. I have some that might be described as a "general guide" and some that is absolutely precise in every respect. More often than not, I have to re-transcribe TAB to make it useful. Just the way it is.

[Ryler]

Originally Posted by TBman

Ok, put the numbers on the lines, not in between. And by the way, 4/4 means 4/4, not 5/4.

Putting a certain blues player's tab into GuitarPro so I can read the darn thing.

Ok, rant over.

Stefan Grossman? I'm with you on this.

[dkstott]

Oh man, I'm with you on SG tabs. Some folks like them though.

I find them difficult to read and riddled with errors. Especially if you compare the tab to what's demonstrated on the DVDs.

Originally Posted by Ryler

Stefan Grossman? I'm with you on this.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by dkstott

Oh man, I'm with you on SG tabs. Some folks like them though.

I find them difficult to read and riddled with errors. Especially if you compare the tab to what's demonstrated on the DVDs.

I thought he had gotten better. I still have some of his original Kicking Mule tabs and they are like "stream of consciousness". No timing or even measures.

[TBman]

Yep, it's SG. Lol. I think I'm going just put the notes in as written and let the measures fall as they may, lol.

[rick-slo]

Ok, for example take the following tab.

http://dcoombsguitar.com/Guitar%20Mu...er/Rebecca.pdf

What would you do to make it better?

Do you think it needs to be note for note tab based on some specific instance of a recording that was made, or has the person who tabbed it have some leeway in that (perhaps the way he plays it)?

[TBman]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Ok, for example take the following tab.

http://dcoombsguitar.com/Guitar%20Mu...er/Rebecca.pdf

What would you do to make it better?

Do you think it needs to be note for note tab based on some specific instance of a recording that was made, or has the person who tabbed it have some leeway in that (perhaps the way he plays it)?

Never heard of that guy or song,

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Ok, for example take the following tab.

http://dcoombsguitar.com/Guitar%20Mu...er/Rebecca.pdf

What would you do to make it better?

Do you think it needs to be note for note tab based on some specific instance of a recording that was made, or has the person who tabbed it have some leeway in that (perhaps the way he plays it)?

Nice quality (at least visually, I don't know the tune) TAB in that link.

To me, to address you question, it depends on the intent. If I were a consumer buying the TAB for a specific recording, unless the description said otherwise, I would expect the TAB to be accurate to that recording.

For anything else, I would figure that the accuracy of the TAB would vary greatly, depending on who did the transcription and whether it was made from a specific recording or was intended to give some clues for the person figuring it out by ear.

As for SG, what I have read about how he learned, he learned by ear. Apparently, Rev. Gary Davis would play something and then expect SG to learn it by ear and come back when he had. I would not really expect a lot of those old blues tunes to ever be "accurate". Does anybody ever REALLY play them the same way twice? It seems to me that this genre of music is interpretive, with everybody pretty much doing a tune their own way. I would not expect "accurate" TAB because there probably isn't one performance considered the standard against which all others are measured.

As for the OP's comment, yeah that sounds like SG transcriptions.

Tony

[TBman]

SG's tab is just a framework for learning actually. Once you get going with it, it falls into place. You have to listen to the song a few million times, but it works. I'd rather have accurate tab when first learning a song though. Sometimes I don't want to work too hard.

Someone could always add additional endings, sections etc, after the main song (as Toby Walker does).

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by TBman

Never heard of that guy or song,

Yeah, I know you know it.

I know the tune also and recorded a version based off of the tab I linked to. It is not how Al plays it with his numerous Celtic like frills, but it still plays nicely. Tunes arranged with areas of tricky timing can be much more time consuming to tab out "accurately" and even if they are they can be hard for the tab reader to interpret the timing notation correctly - probably a big reason why tabs are often simplified.

I don't complain about tabs, especially free ones. There are usually various tab versions of a tune out there on the internet. Find the one you like the best or listen to the tune and work it out by ear (write your own tab if you want)

[dkstott]

If pay $$ for a DVD lesson that comes with TAB, my expectation is that the TAB will match what is being taught on the video. Not some reasonable facsimile that may or may not be close to the video.

I have the same expectations for the TAB that are in any books that I purchase, especially when there is an accompanying audio file, the TAB should match what is played.

My expectation is slightly lower if there is nothing accompanying the books.

I have zero expectations for any free tab that is posted on the internet.

[frankhond]

For the most accurate tab experience, the transcriptions at stropes.com are cutting edge in their attempt to notate everything. Which makes you appreciate tabs at the Stefan Grossmann level, it's just more fun in the end to be given a skeleton and fill in the rest by ear and creativity. I guess it depends on the style of music and your preference. I used to demand accuracy but have since changed to the opposite - give me the minimum I need to figure it out.