why acoustic guitar players cant read scores?

[Bluemonk]

Originally Posted by Paikon

ok
lets say we will play Napoleon Coste study 22 which is a study with pauses
does tabs cover that music or you need standard notation?
its a rhetorical question

The answer to your original question? Most acoustic guitar players do not play Napoleon Coste's Study 22. For those who do, standard notation is pretty much a necessity, agreed.

[Paikon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4nx14gvvlE

[alnico5]

Tab gives you the notes but not the timing, right? If you don't know the song at all you can't get the rhythm from the tab- only the notes.

I'm glad I can read music. I don't use it for jamming. I think a lot of people get thrown off because musical notation is based on ---------fractions.

[Jamie9]

Many of us play in altered and open tunings as well as standard. I'd love to see the person who can play sight reading from standard musical notation in DADGAD, CGCGCD, DGDGBD, DAAEAD (just to mention a few)

[mr. beaumont]

I can completely understand why some guitar players don't learn to read...it's simply not necessary to play a lot of stuff, have fun, strum chords, write songs...

What I'll never understand is the "anti knowledge" contingent.

These are the folks that always know the "piano player," usually female, for some reason, who's "classically trained" who--gasp!--couldn't jam with them without written music.

They also know this guy who was this "amazing songwriter" who learned some music theory and it killed all of his creativity.

These same people usually say they have a great ear (which they don't) and that they can hear a song once and play along (as long as it's four chords and diatonic) and improvise (as long as the song is four chords and diatonic.)

Then these folks tell the people who can read that they're missing out on all the spontanaety, fun, etc.

Truth is, the best musicians I know, the ones with the best ears, who can really improvise, who can actually learn a tune after one listen....they can all read. It's not because they read that they're great, they're great because they never see a bit of knowledge and say "I don't need this." They say "how can I use this?"

So to the non music readers of the world, let's get together and make some music and have some fun. To the "anti knowledge" contingent...you might try lightening up and being a little less afraid of some hard work...

[Matt Mustapick]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Standard notation is piano tab. It is all laid out on the keyboard.

That's true. It's also the lingua franca of musicianship. In the same way that understanding written English has been very useful to people outside the British diaspora, being able to "speak" standard notation is of interest to guitarists who want to cooperate with other instruments.

[GHS]

Once again words of wisdom from mr. beaumont!

[HHP]

Originally Posted by Matt Mustapick

That's true. It's also the lingua franca of musicianship. In the same way that understanding written English has been very useful to people outside the British diaspora, being able to "speak" standard notation is of interest to guitarists who want to cooperate with other instruments.

Many fluently speak languages they cannot write or read.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by Paikon

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

Tablature was invented and in use centuries before standard music notation was invented.

I use both. Each has advantages and disadvantages.

[sdelsolray]

Originally Posted by alnico5

Tab gives you the notes but not the timing, right? If you don't know the song at all you can't get the rhythm from the tab- only the notes.

I'm glad I can read music. I don't use it for jamming. I think a lot of people get thrown off because musical notation is based on ---------fractions.

Tablature can provide the timing and rhythm, but sometimes it doesn't. What tablature can't do well, if at all, is to provide duration of notes. Tab is poor at notating articulation.

[jackcooper]

I'm a pianist as well as a guitar player and yes I value my ability to read notation, but on the guitar I very rarely use it.
I think a combination of tab and rhythmic notation is the most complete form of written music a guitarist could ask for (like in the stefan grossman books).

I also think that barebones tab is good in the way it encourages people to use their ears for working out rhythm. Standard notation can be a crutch in the fact that some people forget to use their ears (when recordings are available) and whilst they may be able to faithfully reproduce something off a score, they fail miserably at pulling it off by ear.

Of course, good well rounded musicians don't struggle with this, but I've seen and heard many great readers fail miserably when forced to put away the notation and rely on their ears (especially rhythmically).

In short, there is no single best way to learn music. Being able to read notation, tab and utilize the ears (the most important) are all recommended.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Paikon

i 've arranged the tango from the movie "scent of a woman" for guitar but its in standard notation
so its available to the people who can read standard notation

Hi Paikon...

You are sort of missing my point…perhaps deliberately...but to clarify.

I have no desire to repeat someone else's arrangements verbatim, hence I arrange all our fingerstyle arrangements for our acoustic duo. I do the same for my solo acoustic arrangements as well.

In order to work up an arrangement, I listen to 4-6 arrangements from several styles (if it's an existing song and not one we wrote), and then draft the arrangement (in my head) and then begin to work it out. I often record the preliminary parts on a small digital recorder to make sure they are not lost (with voice annotation).

This is as accurate as any notation, tab or the two combined.

Once it's worked out, and laid out in preliminary fashion, I teach my gigging partner his part, and I play mine and we put it all together. The interplay in this part of the process leads to expanding the arrangement, and we continue to add parts till we feel it's complete enough to begin playing it publicly. We still continue to amend it, and change and shape it over a period of months. We don't ever feel a song is 'done' for quite a while.

Been doing that for nearly 9 years now. We have no need for notation, in that we can remember our parts, and we pull intermediary recordings as the arrangement takes shape.

It's fine with me if others wish to knock off arrangements (classical or otherwise) verbatim. It's just not our thing.

I hold a 5 year college degree in music, and read notation just fine. We just don't prefer to work that way.

[Davis Webb]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

being a little less afraid of some hard work...

Hard work yes. Learning to read sheet music, hard work. I am so tired at the end of a day I cannot even make out tablature.

[rick-slo]

Neither tab or standard notation is accurate enough to convey the real emotion and pulse of a live performance and/or the composer's intent.
Regardless of what is written on a piece of paper there is no substitute for carefull listening and a good ear.

[Taylorplayer]

why acoustic guitar players cant read scores?
there is 400 years written music out there and all i hear is about tabs

Choices in life are a good thing, no?