Tapsearch Com EditorA rant on classical guitar tab
February 28th 2007 00:04
Q: How do you get a guitarist to play quietly?
A: Give him sheet music.
I've been playing guitar for more than eight years, and I can drudge through sheet music if I have to. In high school I was even in jazz band. (For non-guitar players, sheet music puts the notes on a traditional staff, like you'd see in band or piano music. Tablature is a diagram of the guitar's neck with numbers indicating what fret to play each note on.)
But here's the bottom line: No matter what music snobs say, the guitar requires tab. Unlike most other instruments, you can play the same note up to 6 different ways (with a 24-fretter anyway) on a guitar. Simply writing the note doesn't cut it -- if you play that note higher on the neck it'll sound darker and a little muffled, and the composer can't achieve his vision without specifying.
Anyway, for some reason, lately I've been wanting to play more classical guitar, so I ran into a music store in Green Bay to pick up some books. I was shocked that only two of the five or so in stock had tabs. They're losing sales, because as soon as I saw that I put them back.
The funny thing is that most tab books (excluding some hard rock ones, and Guitar World magazine) also have the sheet music! The three guitarists who prefer notes don't lose anything when they buy a book that also includes tab. So I propose adding tab to all guitar music.
I ended up with Fingerpicking Mozart, and so far I love it. Less than $10, and the 15 short pieces range in difficulty from intermediate to moderately challenging. My favorite is "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," though the quick notes are surprisingly tricky to fingerpick. (For some reason I have trouble using two different fingers to play successive notes on the same string. Working on it.)
A: Give him sheet music.
I've been playing guitar for more than eight years, and I can drudge through sheet music if I have to. In high school I was even in jazz band. (For non-guitar players, sheet music puts the notes on a traditional staff, like you'd see in band or piano music. Tablature is a diagram of the guitar's neck with numbers indicating what fret to play each note on.)
But here's the bottom line: No matter what music snobs say, the guitar requires tab. Unlike most other instruments, you can play the same note up to 6 different ways (with a 24-fretter anyway) on a guitar. Simply writing the note doesn't cut it -- if you play that note higher on the neck it'll sound darker and a little muffled, and the composer can't achieve his vision without specifying.
Anyway, for some reason, lately I've been wanting to play more classical guitar, so I ran into a music store in Green Bay to pick up some books. I was shocked that only two of the five or so in stock had tabs. They're losing sales, because as soon as I saw that I put them back.
The funny thing is that most tab books (excluding some hard rock ones, and Guitar World magazine) also have the sheet music! The three guitarists who prefer notes don't lose anything when they buy a book that also includes tab. So I propose adding tab to all guitar music.
I ended up with Fingerpicking Mozart, and so far I love it. Less than $10, and the 15 short pieces range in difficulty from intermediate to moderately challenging. My favorite is "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," though the quick notes are surprisingly tricky to fingerpick. (For some reason I have trouble using two different fingers to play successive notes on the same string. Working on it.)
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