Do some tutorials purposely alter

[Cecil6243]

notes to stay away from copywrite issues? I know people have different abilities to learn pieces by ear, but some of the tutorials I have used seem to be off enough that it has to be on purpose.

Thoughts?

[rick-slo]

Not likely from any legal concerns. More likely either did not hear the original "right", or wanted to make changes for whatever reasons,
or transposition limitations from one instrument to another.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by Cecil6243

notes to stay away from copywrite issues? I know people have different abilities to learn pieces by ear, but some of the tutorials I have used seem to be off enough that it has to be on purpose.

Thoughts?

The nice thing about old school books is that they involve an editor and publisher to make sure the writer actually knows their stuff, the world of internet tutorials is stuffed with wanabees who don't know what they're doing, it's not just guitar all sorts of weird advice pops up all over the internet.

[NormanKliman]

Originally Posted by Andyrondack

The nice thing about old school books is that they involve an editor and publisher to make sure the writer actually knows their stuff...

Before the advent of home computers and easy access to audio software, plenty of those “old school books” had mistakes. I agree with the rest of your post.

[Cecil6243]

I remember when I started playing guitar in those "old days," and buying my first sheet music for a Top 40 hit. I quickly found many times it wasn't in the same key, and a generic version written for piano with a guitar chord here and there. Sure it's easy to change keys, but some of the chords were even off. I quickly found out you needed to figure it out on your own by ear, or if you were taking lessons have you guitar instructor help you out.

Yes, many of the tutorials are off and even amateurish, but I usually can tell pretty quickly who has it right and knows what they are doing.

I wish the Internet was available when I started out over 40 years ago. It would have saved me a lot of time.

[captain_jack]

in some cases they are also making modifications to make the song more beginner friendly (easier chords or fingering).

I have an old Beatles transcription book that is especially egregious so this is not a new thing. I've seen a lot of bad notation over the years.

[rllink]

I think it is often just the interpretation. I belong to a ukulele club that has an extensive library of songs online. People submit songs to the library and with some of them there are five or six variations of the same song in the same key with slight differences in the positioning of the chords and the chords themselves. Some of them I have to wonder where they even found them.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by J-Doug

I have an old Beatles transcription book that is especially egregious so this is not a new thing.

I have one of those Beatles books too! As mentioned, this is about trying to make the songs easy for beginners to play. I.e., the changes are quite deliberate, not mistakes.

Of course "easy" means something different on piano (as in my Beatles book) than on guitar.

But the stupid thing is that the publishers didn't realise that most beginners wanting to learn the songs like to be able to play along with the originals (or have that as a goal anyway). They also like to know the little details that those "easy" versions often leave out or simplify, like intros, riffs or solos.

The publishers of those books seem(ed) to be stuck in the distant past, where sheet music - written in "piano reduction" form (vocal stave and double piano stave) - was designed to be played either (a) on the parlour piano with the family or friends gathered round (charming Victorian scene ), or (b) for singers auditioning for stage musicals. In both cases, an easy key would do to start with, and the pianists in each case would be abe to transpose to suit whatever key suited the singer; as well as arrange the piano part in any way they wanted or needed to.

The key of a specific recording of the song would be neither here nor there! (Performers in those days didn't write their own songs, there was no one definitive version, and the keys of various recorded covers would vary with the singer.)

[Italuke]

Actually I have seen scores with intentional errors in notation and also lyrics, for the reason the OP suggests. Decades ago but it was done at some point.