Musical notation vs. tab vs. playing by ear

[Dalegreen]

well, lets looks at the english language (for example). You all seem to be able write it out, as in all the posts on the acoustic guitar forum. Lets look at music the same way. When you can write it and read it, aside from just speaking the language it will bring out more insight, more depth, more definition to what you want to say. You can say a lot in a just a few words, rather than rambling on and on...
I don't see any one (not bothering) to learn to understand the gramer of their
language, and that is a great way to approach music (imo). You may be surprised how it enhances your "playing by ear". All of my live performing is by ear other than the head of a chart, but I do have a musical language to fall back onto while I play

[s2y]

Ear: sometimes you gotta figure it out on your own.
Tab: quick and convenient. Useful for guitar due to the note redundancy and the millions of techniques and different ways to play a note.
Notation: No tab, but you can still figure it out. I've never been able to read it as fast as most people....and who the heck decided it had to be so small. I'd need trifocals to read it well.

[Bucc5207]

Originally Posted by s2y

Ear: sometimes you gotta figure it out on your own.
Tab: quick and convenient. Useful for guitar due to the note redundancy and the millions of techniques and different ways to play a note.
Notation: No tab, but you can still figure it out. I've never been able to read it as fast as most people....and who the heck decided it had to be so small. I'd need trifocals to read it well.

Well said. Each has its place, and its advantages and disadvantages. Standard notation is, well, the standard. It's complete and self-contained. It tells you everything you need to know to play the piece, whether you have ever heard it played or not. Making it sound like music is up to you. The downside for me is all those ledger lines in guitar music. Tab is a fantastic resource, but it isn't much use without one of the other two methods to show the way.

[stanron]

When I was teaching a guitar class I would write the parts in tab and/or chord charts. I could teach a student to read tab in a half hour lesson. I can't remember having a student who wanted to learn notation. It would have taken far too long anyway.

When I write an arrangement today I do it in notation using Sibelius. It's most likely to be in four parts. A guitar equivalent to a string quartet with a bass guitar playing the cello part, two guitars playing viola and second violin parts and an octave guitar or normal guitar playing the first violin part.

The plan is to record all the parts myself multi tracked. I find that the way I like to do it is to write the arrangement as four guitar parts in notation, extract the parts to separate files and add to each individual part a line of tab. I'll work out the fingering on the tab, and when I'm happy with that delete the notation and print just the tab. This means I don't have to remember the fingering, I just read it. Also I don't have to remember each part before recording it. It's my ear that dictates what I notate, and I use notation because the arranging is about the sounds not the instrument. I record from the tab because that is about where it I play on the guitar. The expression 'horses for courses' comes to mind.

[richntiff]

I'm a bass player who is learning to play acoustic guitar now - Vic Wooten is an amazing, natural musician and by all accounts one heck of a human being. I take inspiration not really from his playing so much as his general attitude about music. When I started playing bass in high school, I could read bass clef notation (originally a trombone player) - and in short order I could sight read just about anything that was put in front me me. Didn't think much about it at the time, but now I realize that was pretty cool! After college, I quit playing bass and guitar for FAR too long (20 years!!), and have been playing bass again for the last couple years in what I guess is called a 'dad band' . I don't remember the bass clef, and I haven't really taken the time to go back and re-learn it. Really don't need it to play classic rock covers Anyways - over all this time, I've never been one to sit and practice scales, memorize the fretboard, etc. Should I? Absolutely I think I should. Maybe I'm not disciplined enough - but when I pick up an instrument it's to either learn or play a song, or to just 'make music' - writing. By no means do I think I'm a great player - but people always think I'm good - I'm starting to think it's because I just play the darn thing and I sound natural doing it... Ultimately, I want to keep that focus, and add in the theory. I have this sneaking suspicion that I know alot more theory than I think I do - it's just that I have to connect the pages to the brain and fingers. In closing - I have no idea what my post is really about, just thought I'd throw my personal and very unprofessional experience out there....

[Trevor B.]

Originally Posted by Paikon

Theoretically i agree that the more you know the better but i think that's not working in real life. People who know how to interpret standard notation stick to that with some help from their ears while people who read tabs use their ears more. Two different schools.

ps it all depends from the music one wants to play!

I may be weird, well…okay I am weird, but I read and write both notation and tab. Back in my old school days I learned to read both Italian and Flemish Renaissance lute tablature and on top of all that I play quite often by ear (blasphemy for a trained classical musician), but hey, sometimes it's the best route to take (jamming leads or joining in a folk song).

[footbeat]

I do want to keep an open mind and be diverse in my approach. A few days ago, I finished figuring out the first song by ear. Now I am just trying to perfect it. While playing out of the method book, I wasn't doing anything like hammer ons or pull offs. By trying to play by ear, I also ended up having to use new techniques. This was an enlightening experience for me. I'm still deep in beginner territory, but I finally feel like I have direction. Any recommendations are welcome. If it happens to be, "get a teacher," I don't have the means (time especially) for that now. I've already got a pile of things to work on from this thread. Intervals, transcription, reading tab, ear training, etc.

[stanron]

Originally Posted by footbeat

If it happens to be, "get a teacher," I don't have the means (time especially) for that now.

To be honest, and speaking as a retired teacher, and well aware that there are teachers on this forum who still need to earn a living, I'm tempted to suggest that you do better if you can teach yourself. Sure you'll make mistakes and maybe pick up some bad habits but if you are smart you will spot these and correct them. This is learning at it's most effective and what you learn, you own. The more you practice playing by ear, the better you will get. It can help if you can check what you work out for yourself with other people's solutions. But do your own working out first. Good luck.

[Jonathon Byrd]

Great Wooten video. Tab can be sight-read just like sheet music can. I've learned so many songs from tab that I can sight read any easy to moderate as long as I know the rhythm. I've read it so much, that I immediately associate the number with the note, and can tell chords/scales/keys by just glancing at the tab. Sheet music is a whole 'nother story. Pretty much the only times I've ever had to read sheet music for guitar is in jazz ensemble and lessons at school. Even though I can sight-read on piano, I'm still not that fast on guitar, especially in accidental-heavy keys.

I think everyone should learn to play by ear to some degree, because thats what music is about. Theory helps to name stuff. Sheet music is useful if you learn a lot of classical pieces or jazz tunes, and tab is great if you learn rock songs off of ultimateguitar.

[Dalegreen]

[QUOTE=Paikon;3811158]Theoretically i agree that the more you know the better but i think that's not working in real life. People who know how to interpret standard notation stick to that with some help from their ears while people who read tabs use their ears more. Two different schools.

The only thing you forgot to say was 'in my opinion"