Faux tab

[Wyllys]

While I'm looking for an an actual tab app I'll post a few things here for your approval, feedback and suggestions. Here's my "faux tab" notation for the A section of "Don't Get Around Much Anymore". Tab runs vertically, brackets indicate a quarter note, each line inside an eighth note value. v___v___v between lines indicates a full beat. Single notes in ( ) are melody eighth notes
proceeding from the triad on the previous line.


Don't Get Around Much...

[x 5 x 5 x 7
---------- (5)]
[x 7 x 7 8 x
-------(7) -]
. x x 4 5 x x

x x 5 x 0 x
3 x x x 0 x
x 0 x x 1 x
x 1 x x 2 x

.x 2 x x 3 x
[x 6 x x 7 7
-------- (5)-]
[x 7 x 7 8 x
-------(7)--]
.x x 4 5 x x

x x 6 x 0 x
4 x x 4 x x
3 x x 3 x x
2 x x 2 x x

0 x x 1 x x
[----- 3 -
------ 1 -]
[----- 0 -
---- 2 ---]
---- 0 ---

x 0 x x 1 3
v___ v___ v
x 3 x 2 x 0
v___ v___ v

[x 5 4 5 3 x
----- 0 0 -]
[---- 2 1 -
----- 3 2 -]
[x x 4 x 3 x
------ 0 ---]
[x 4 x 3 x x
--------- 0 -]

x 2 x 0 x x
v___v___ v
v___v___ v
v___ v___ v

v___ v___ v

[HHP]

Seems incredibly confusing. Maybe just use ASCII Tab or get one of the free tab programs.

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by HHP

Seems incredibly confusing. Maybe just use ASCII Tab or get one of the free tab programs.

I have another thread for that and I'm checking out suggestions. In the meantime I thought I'd offer a few ideas for those interested in chord melody/triad over bass line stuff.

Could you be more specific? Confusing how? Is it the notation itself or the style of playing or some of both? You do realize it's finger style, I hope. I'll add to the reading instructions according to your input and see if it can be made more accessible.

I just did a few edits to clarify. Yes, it's not the normal horizontal orientation and it lacks a template for alignment, but all the info is there. The arrangement is the important part and should justify a few minutes spent adjusting to the vertical.

It's not meant to be a "read it, play it" notation, rather a fingering chart with some rhythm/pacing in place. I think it really depends on your knowing the tune up front and using this as a players approach for voicings and phrasing. As such, it might be a tad more advanced than tab for pattern playing. This is chord melody stuff.

Thanks for the input.

[ADG]

this seems unusable

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by ADG

this seems unusable

Have you sat down with a guitar and tried it? Are you familiar with the song?
Do you play chord melody finger style?

These are salient factors. I'll be happy to adjust anything, but I need more than a general thumbs down or up.
I've made a few changes and added to the instruction key.

Thanks for responding.

[dhalbert]

If you use a monospaced font (all characters same width), it will be easier to read and write. You can get that in the AGF by using the "#" button, which puts \[CODE] tags around your input, e.g.:

x x 5 x 0 x
3 x x x 0 x
x 0 x x 1 x
x 1 x x 2 x

Or choose one of the monospaced fonts in the Fonts dropdown, like Courier New, Fixedys, or Lucida Console:

x x 5 x 0 x
3 x x x 0 x
x 0 x x 1 x
x 1 x x 2 x

[stanron]

Here's the first two bars. If this tab is wrong it's your fault.


Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Play with swing feel

E╓───7───5─────────┬─────────────────┐
B╟─────────8─────0─┼─0───1───2───3───┤
G╟───5─────7─7─5───┼─────────────────┤
D╟─────────────4─5─┼─────────────────┤
A╟───5─────7───────┼─────0───1───2───┤
E╙─────────────────┴─3───────────────┘

. .1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + .

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by dhalbert

If you use a monospaced font (all characters same width), it will be easier to read and write. You can get that in the AGF by using the "#" button, which puts \[CODE] tags around your input, e.g.:

x x 5 x 0 x
3 x x x 0 x
x 0 x x 1 x
x 1 x x 2 x

Or choose one of the monospaced fonts in the Fonts dropdown, like Courier New, Fixedys, or Lucida Console:

x x 5 x 0 x
3 x x x 0 x
x 0 x x 1 x
x 1 x x 2 x

Thanks, very helpful. I did the original using my iPad "Notes" and copied it here.
I'll try your recommendation.

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by stanron

Here's the first two bars. If this tab is wrong it's your fault.


Don't Get Around Much Anymore

Play with swing feel

E╓───7───5─────────┬─────────────────┐
B╟─────────8─────0─┼─0───1───2───3───┤
G╟───5─────7─7─5───┼─────────────────┤
D╟─────────────4─5─┼─────────────────┤
A╟───5─────7───────┼─────0───1───2───┤
E╙─────────────────┴─3───────────────┘

. .1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + .

Yes, nicely done. Very helpful to know it can be read and accurately translated to standard tab. Thank you for taking the time to help!!! The only change needed is the bar line. You seem to have gotten that the lead-in is "2 and 3 and 4", but the x x 5 x 0 x is beat one of the second bar. I suspect it's an oversight, not a mistake.

One small thing: in the first bar lead-in on beat 3 I wrote x 7 x 7 8 x followed by a reiteration of the G string 7th fret as a moving melody note, the full triad written on the beat to indicate the fingering. I placed melody eighth notes between triads in parentheses to try to indicate melodic movement. I guess it works, but the same problems occur in regular tab, I think.

I suppose chord block symbols with names would be better, but I don't even have a usable tab app yet, much less a scoring app...
and I have only an iPad, not a computer.

Thanks again. Very helpful.

[dhalbert]

Originally Posted by Wyllys

I did the original using my iPad "Notes" and copied it here.

iOS Notes doesn't let you choose a monospaced font. You could use Google Docs or Office 365 from Microsoft. Or Pages from Apple. Or here's a trivial webapp with a monospaced font: https://www.editpad.org/

There are any number of free or inexpensive tab editors for iOS.

[JimCA]

Wyllys,

I like what you've done — it brings out the inner nerd in me. A suggested simplification:
1. Alway have same number of lines per measure — in this case 4.
2. Put off beat eighth notes on the same line in same form.
3. Silent beat lines a single “x” (easier to recognize than “x x x x x x”).
4. I’m not sure what role your initial period played.

Here is a rewrite — not sure I got your timing spot-on, but you get the idea. Now the eighth notes pop.

Jim

x 5 x 5 x 7 . x x x x x 5
x 7 x 7 8 x . x x x x 7 x
x x 4 5 x x
x x 5 x 0 x

3 x x x 0 x
x 0 x x 1 x
x 1 x x 2 x
x 2 x x 3 x

x 6 x x 7 7 . x x x x 5 x
x 7 x 7 8 x . x x x 7 x x
x x 4 5 x x
x x 6 x 0 x

4 x x 4 x x
3 x x 3 x x
2 x x 2 x x
0 x x 1 x x

x x x x 3 x . x x x x 1 x
x x x x 1 x . x x x x 0 x
x x x 0 x x
x 0 x x 1 3

x
x 3 x 2 x 0
x
x 5 4 5 3 x . x x x 0 0 x

x x x 2 1 x . x x x 3 2 x
x x 4 x 3 x . x x x x 0 x
x 4 x 3 x x . x x x x 0 x
x 2 x 0 x x

x
x
x
x

[stanron]

I suppose timing is a real difficulty in both reading and writing tab. Especially if the piece swings.

I remember when I was teaching that most students could get the fingering and picking from tab with little difficulty but the timing would be learned by ear, either from recording or teacher demonstration.

And for a swing piece do you write tab in 4/4 with a 'play with swing feel' instruction or tab it in 12/8 so that if anyone actually reads the timing they can get it right. I confess that I couldn't follow your tab until I remembered the tune. Then it made sense.

[HHP]

Originally Posted by stanron

I suppose timing is a real difficulty in both reading and writing tab. Especially if the piece swings.

I remember when I was teaching that most students could get the fingering and picking from tab with little difficulty but the timing would be learned by ear, either from recording or teacher demonstration.

And for a swing piece do you write tab in 4/4 with a 'play with swing feel' instruction or tab it in 12/8 so that if anyone actually reads the timing they can get it right. I confess that I couldn't follow your tab until I remembered the tune. Then it made sense.

TAB can have the same timing indications as notation, just most don't bother.

[TBman]

I use GuitarPro. If you know basic notation you can pick it up on its use and you'll even learn more. Just don't ask me about musical directions because I always mess up the coda jumps, lol.

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by TBman

I use GuitarPro. If you know basic notation you can pick it up on its use and you'll even learn more. Just don't ask me about musical directions because I always mess up the coda jumps, lol.

Anyone who can read notation may find Musescore helpful. I love it, free, open source, and it can convert tab to notation or notation to tab with a few clicks.