How important is getting your arrangements in proper digital tab format

[stuartb]

makes sense to me. thanks Chipotle.

Originally Posted by Chipotle

I do it with all my finished songs as a way to save them for posterity. I write them up in standard notation using MuseScore, with melody, lyrics and chords.

Occasionally, I write a song that I'll be performing with others, so it can also be useful to send along to them (with or without a recording) so they can play & practice it when we're not together.

Back in the day, we'd take written music, stick it in an envelope and mail it to ourselves for proof of copyright, if it ever came to that (you could use the as-yet-unopened, postmarked copy in court, I guess). Not sure if a digital timestamp works as well, but if you're going to officially send things in to the copyright office, you need those written-out, printed copies.

[Earl49]

It will depend on your ultimate goals, I suppose. I have only composed a few pieces and do not sell books - that would mandate good tab or notation. So I do not need "product".

There have been two major medical episodes in the last decade where I was forced to stop playing for months. When finally getting back to the guitar, some of my more intricate repertoire was no longer under my fingers and had to be re-learned. It would have been nice to have some tabs to get me back there more easily, instead of having to reinvent the wheel. Handwritten tab scanned to PDF would have worked fine for me. Another option would be a video shot from overhead or over my shoulder so that my left hand could be seen from the player's perspective. On the plus side, it was therapeutic to get there again and the effort made me look at certain things differently. Songs that were originally learned by rote from tab now had to be analyzed in terms of chord shapes and where the fingers lay naturally. Certain parts became simpler and easier to remember as a result.

[stuartb]

thx SprintBob, I will investigate TabEdit. I have a tendency to use recordings as a way to reproduce timing on a song I wish to learn, though if it's my own stuff, that approach does not work as well.

best,

Stuart

Originally Posted by SprintBob

TabEdit is another good tool IME. It creates the notation as you create the tab. When you place a note in the tab arrangement you are constructing, you assign the time value to the note which the program transforms into the accompanying notation. It has a Midi function that can play back the arrangement so you can hear what you put down. It also allows you to designate embellishments such as slides, hammer-on’s, and pull off’s (and others too).

I like using it because for guitar while I cannot read the music notation to play an arrangement, I have a decent understanding of music notation. When I take on a new solo fingerstyle song, I always get the notation and tab together. The tab serving as a road map for my fingers and the notation for understanding the time value (or perhaps the musicality/soul of the arrangement). I started late in the game with guitar and I’m not sure I have the motivation or patience to develop the ear skills that several here have since many have played for decades from an early age while I started at age 54 (62 this year).

[stuartb]

that's interesting - and I hope you are fully recovered. yah, i find it helpful to have a written version for that purpose too. I will try video also, though I'm ramping up my practice now, so that is 6 months away in all likelihood - just to watch myself and learn, more than anything.

Stuart

Originally Posted by Earl49

It will depend on your ultimate goals, I suppose. I have only composed a few pieces and do not sell books - that would mandate good tab or notation. So I do not need "product".

There have been two major medical episodes in the last decade where I was forced to stop playing for months. When finally getting back to the guitar, some of my more intricate repertoire was no longer under my fingers and had to be re-learned. It would have been nice to have some tabs to get me back there more easily, instead of having to reinvent the wheel. Handwritten tab scanned to PDF would have worked fine for me. Another option would be a video shot from overhead or over my shoulder so that my left hand could be seen from the player's perspective. On the plus side, it was therapeutic to get there again and the effort made me look at certain things differently. Songs that were originally learned by rote from tab now had to be analyzed in terms of chord shapes and where the fingers lay naturally. Certain parts became simpler and easier to remember as a result.