Re: Educate Me - What Key is This?

Steve Freides wrote:

'Cause some of us don't read tab?

You've had enough grief lately, and I don't mean to start a fight. That said, I am truly amazed that someone with your education who teaches kids guitar doesn't know how to read tab. I mean, these days you'd be hard pressed to find any rock/pop song books with the guitar parts written out in standard notation. The Internet is loaded with free tabs. It surprises me that some student hasn't brought something like this to a lesson.

I don't want to spark a big debate over tab. Suffice it to say it has its uses and flaws. Bass is supposed to be fun, not pedantic, so do whatever you want.

Here's a quick lesson on reading tab. It's not rocket surgery.

First, your newsreader probably has a feature to view the post in a fixed width font. Turn that on or it all looks jumbled. It's usually under View or Options.

Taking the first chord sequence from my post:
A-sequence 002220 002200 002230 002220

The numbers are fret positions going EADGBE left to right. So the first chord is open E, open A, D 2nd fret, G 2nd fret, B 2nd fret, open E. That's simply an A chord. The four chords are A, Asus2, Asus4, A. That's one way of writing out chords.

You typically see this method when somebody is defining the chords at the top and referencing them by name over the lyrics.

Another method would look like this with or without the notes for the strings. There's no attempt at a time signature.

E--0--0--0--0
B--2--0--3--2
G--2--2--2--2
D--2--2--2--2
A--0--0--0--0
E--0--0--0--0


Some people do it upside down (from my perspective) like this:
E--0--0--0--0
A--0--0--0--0
D--2--2--2--2
G--2--2--2--2
B--2--0--3--2
E--0--0--0--0


Bass tabs (or any tabs that are not just chords) often look something like this version of "Sympathy for the Devil" found on the interwebs:
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 G|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
D|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
A|7-7-7--7-7--7-7-|5-5-5--5-5--5-5-|4-4------4--5-6-|7-7-7--7-7--7-7-|
E|------7----7-7--|------5----5-5--|----5-55--------|------7----7-7-7|

This version has an attempt at timing using the beat counts at the top and vertical lines to indicate measures. Sometimes you see it like this:

G|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
D|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
A|7-7-7--7-7--7-7-|5-5-5--5-5--5-5-|4-4------4--5-6-|7-7-7--7-7--7-7-|
E|------7----7-7--|------5----5-5--|----5-55--------|------7----7-7-7|
1 e 2 e 3 e 4 e 1 e 2 e 3 e 4 e 1 e 2 e 3 e 4 e 1 e 2 e 3 e 4 e

In either case you're fretting the A string at the 7th fret and E string at the 7th fret (first measure). You won't always see the notes indicating the strings written out, so you have to watch out for some knucklehead doing it upside down. And most don't include any timing other than an implication based on spacing and/or the vertical bars.

My Beatles Complete Scores has a unique form of tab notation below the standard notation. Instead of having just the number of the fret on the appropriate line (string), there's a shape that indicates duration. For example, a quarter note will have the number with a vertical line underneath. An eighth note will have a vertical line with 45 degree slash.

In other words picture the standard notation. Replace the solid oval with the fret number for quarter notes and shorter durations. A half note has a circle around the fret number and a vertical line below - pretty much like a half note in standard notation. A whole note just has a circle around the fret number.

Rests, ties, triplets, dotted notes, etc, are all notated the same as in standard notation. This is the only form of tab I've ever seen that conveys almost everything (no key signature) that standard notation conveys. In fact, it conveys extra information because it tells you what string to use. We all know an E note on the 12th fret of the E string sounds different than the 7th fret of the A string and the 2nd fret of the D string.

If somebody has already worked out good fingering, I'm sure a talented sight-reader could play this form of tab better than standard notation (assuming you're going note-for-note).


Interestingly, I found this form of tab so natural that I didn't even notice it was different until I realized I was never looking up at the standard notation.
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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Educate Me - What Key is This?
    ... Thing is Jim, if you know how to read notes, tab makes little or no sense ... In contrast, when I write out a song in standard notation, It's all I can do ... The numbers are fret positions going EADGBE left to right. ... In either case you're fretting the A string at the 7th fret and E string ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: Educate Me - What Key is This?
    ... Bullshit. ... You can notate the string choice on standard notation ... Check out how many include tab and standard notation together. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: Educate Me - What Key is This?
    ... Bullshit. ... You can notate the string choice on standard notation ... Check out how many include tab and standard notation together. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: Educate Me - What Key is This?
    ... Bullshit. ... You can notate the string choice on standard notation ... Check out how many include tab and standard notation together. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)
  • Re: Tab/Notation Hybrid - Uber Tab
    ... I've never used tab, never had the inclination to, and I'm one of those guys that thinks it's a diversion from what you really ought to spend your time and effort learning. ... It's immaterial that you play a particular note at the specific fret on the specific string that the transcriber suggests. ... I don't see it as me being supposed to fret at the 7th fret on the lowest string. ... They think it's just a mindless set of numbers whereas I see it as a shorthand and somewhat flawed way of telling me what standard notation tells me. ...
    (alt.guitar.bass)