Free Tab Reader's Guide to Standard Notation

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 28 Jun 2006 5:59 pm

The Guitar and Mandolin Tab Reader's Guide To Standard Notation by John McGann.

A totally free 4.4 MB file to help you transition away from tab. Learn to read notation and you can access any written material; gain a better understanding of what you are playing via chord/melody relationships, and impress your date

The book is geared toward underarm guitar, but the principals can be applied to steel guitar as well.

More reasons to learn to read here.

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 29 Jun 2006 7:40 am

This is a nice service for all, John. I totally agree with everything said by Jeff Berlin and Larry Bell and others, as well, with regards to tab, which I don't condone using exclusively. I feel it detracts from the experience of learning the instrument in exchange for a little instant gratification. It's amazing how quickly things come together on a musical instrument when you reach the point of realization--the "aha" moment. It took me about 5 years of playing the guitar in the beginning to discover a simple key that led to a whole world of discovery. A lot of it had to do with learning to read.

I agree that learning to read music and understanding the relationships between scales and chords is essential. This is learned only through standard notation. However, I find that once one has gained a strong grasp on these concepts and is actively involved in making music, one should internalize all these elements and not rely to heavily on reading music (unless of course you are a session musician or a mercenary playing unfamiliar music). Even as a vocalist, I find myself internalizing the song and the lyrics better without the aid of a chart or lyric sheet (except, the first few times).

I feel I play the songs better without charts and just rely on my ears as much as I can.

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www.mikeneer.com

Mike Neer on MySpace

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 29 Jun 2006 7:56 am

Agreed on all points, Mike- the conservatories DO churn out folks who are lost without written music- and that's a shame. The Ear is our #1 tool without a doubt!

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 29 Jun 2006 9:45 am

A) When people complain that they're "bored with my playing" and "I just play the same thing over and over", they usually haven't tried reading music;

B) When people complain that "There's not enough hours in the day to learn everything I want to", they usually do try to read music.

I can't say that one state is categorically better than the other, but personally I would rather be bored with my TV and trying to play Bach, than be bored with my steel and trying to learn to love my TV.

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 29 Jun 2006 12:07 pm

I fail to understand people who are proud of the fact that they can't read music. I also fail to understand why so many classically trained musicians who cannot play by ear, look down their noses at those who can.

I feel that both skills are at least desirable, if not absolutely necessary, and each one complements each other. I belive I'm a better reader because I can play by ear, and I play by ear better because I can read.

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My web site

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 29 Jun 2006 12:16 pm

the conservatories DO churn out folks who are lost without written music- and that's a shame.

One of my closest friends is like that. Nancy is a virtuoso violinist, and an A-list Hollywood session player who has played on hundreds of recordings and TV and movie soundtracks, but take away the music and she's lost.

I taught her the blues scale and invited her to sit in with a blues-rock band I was playing with, and she had a great time, and told me later it was the first time she had ever tried to inprovise, and loved it. She said that she learned more that night (and had more fun playing) than in the previous 10 years, and agreed that there was something very definitely lacking in her musical education.

Nancy just bought an electric violin, and plans to play more rock and blues, and even wants try to learn how to play jazz. I think she'll do well.

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My web site
[This message was edited by Mike Perlowin on 29 June 2006 at 01:17 PM.]

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 29 Jun 2006 12:29 pm

For some reason, string players seem to be "crossing over" in greater numbers than, say, bassoonists...there is a guy named Tim Price who wrote a book called "Great Tenor Sax Solos" for Hal Leonard (excellent collection of everyone from Coleman Hawkins and Lester Young to Sonny and Coltrane) who also plays excellent jazz bassoon...it will interesting to see how "classical" players evolve over the next century!

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 29 Jun 2006 12:52 pm

I read standard notation on different instruments and I read tab. I learn songs with my ears to get the phrasing. I remember when there wasn't any tab, just notation for guitar and it sucked because it cost me alot of time record copying on guitar and bass. I can remember a song with good tab in a couple of minutes and play the right positions right off the bat, that’s what I love.

There are sometimes 4 different places on a neck to grab the same note, that’s why tab is essential. The music notation is great for getting the note values timing wise. The Beatles complete book is all tab and notation (the big white book) for example. If you can't double check the tab against the written notation your doomed because alot of the songs in that book have mistakes with the tab here and there (I’ve wondered how many youngsters this screwed up who only read tab).

I write songs out in tab for the songs I record copy and most of the time I'm even too lazy to put in the bar lines because I use my ear to memorize the phrasing off the record. I can completely forget how to play a song because I haven't played it in a long time and with tab and the recording have it down again in minutes with the right positions. I can read and play tab with written notation almost as fast as I can read a book. Just reading written notation like on sax seems to make it really hard for me to memorize, don't know why that is? I say your nuts if you don’t learn how to use both tab and written notation like reading a book, that is if you’re into playing note for note renditions of songs.

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 29 Jun 2006 1:17 pm

The trouble is there is a lot of inaccurate tab out there. At least pitch (the note played) is either right or wrong- tab is "interpretive" as to WHERE it is played. I'd hate to see someone tab out Holdsworth and claim it to be "definitive". This happens in the pedal steel world too- I trust Buddy and Doug when they tab their stuff, but I've seen a lot of stuff that is just wrong compared to the original recordings.

Someone once sent me a Joe Pass solo (published in Japan) to correct- there were literally hundreds of errors- wrong chord voicings mostly.

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...

Mike Neer · Post by **Mike Neer** » 29 Jun 2006 1:19 pm

There are sometimes 4 different places on a neck to grab the same note, that’s why tab is essential.

This is precisely why I'm opposed to using tab or encouraging a student to use it. Why not learn the melody in all 4 places? Why be limited to what's been tabbed? It is my belief that you will know the neck better without it.

If you look at guitarists such as Eric Johnson and Allan Holdsworth, it's obvious that their scale fingerings are not the same fingerings taught and used by most teachers. This is one of the things that contributes to the unique sound of the individual player.

Also, I once watched a video of a guy playing the solo from Holdworth's "Devil Take the Hindmost" verbatim. Played it completely different than Allan position-wise (I've seen Allan play a hundred times), but sounded exactly the same. I think people relate to the instruments in many different ways, and what one person sees on the neck as being most usable, another has a different approach.

[This message was edited by Mike Neer on 29 June 2006 at 02:24 PM.]

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 30 Jun 2006 3:33 am

Pat Methany might play a 1-3-5-8 lick up a single string using fingers 1-2-3-4*, Morse or Johnson would play it as a staccato'd arpeggio** yet most people would play it in a box position. Slavish tab abuse will blind you to 2/3rds of those choices.

*(The Berklee, Mick Goodrick influence no doubt)
**(The Bach Sonata & Partita influence no doubt)

Andy Volk · Post by **Andy Volk** » 30 Jun 2006 7:54 am

But let's not forget that tab can be your best friend. When the Oahu company was brought into court in the 1930s over the accusation that their instruction course was a big scam, they used tab to have the judge playing Aloha Oe within five minutes and won their case.

Outside of emergency legal uses, I appreciate these gems of advice from master players. John, Mike, your playing speaks for itself and duffers like me everywhere are better for your kindness in sharing your knowledge. Training my ear to hear intervals and chord progressions is the single most helpful thing I've found but it took me years to understand this. A working knowledge of music reading would have sped up this process considerably.

Ray Minich · Post by **Ray Minich** » 30 Jun 2006 8:01 am

I always like free stuff, especially when it applies to something I need. Thanks a bunch for the info.

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 1 Jul 2006 4:34 am

Mike Neer, your the one who limits himself by refusing to read or acknowledge the benefits of tab, thank god the music publishing company's haven't done that, lol. Tab lets you learn what the artist knows including positions. No one is saying you can't go outside the box from what they did? You can learn a song in minutes with tab and go from there with different positions if you want. Any teacher who doesn't teach his students tab along with written notation is a bad teacher. Allan Holdsworth lives out here and I run into him every once in a blue moon. I bought his first alblum a long time ago with I.O.U. I wouldn't want to play like him or use his weird unpractical voicings that are very hard to make.

The thing about tab is it saves you time because it shows you very quickly the method to the madness of different artists. If you don't use the right positions on alot of pieces of music it doesn't play that easy alot of times. Why make a thing harder for yourself than they need to be, that doesn’t make you a super musician in the end? Tab that is correct is like taking a private lesson with someone famous where you can watch his or her hands moving right in front of you. That’s why Dick McIntire wrote tab out for his students as do all these other famous steel players, duh? On this one buddy, your all by yourself?

Edited for spelling...
[This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 02 July 2006 at 07:45 AM.]

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 1 Jul 2006 7:12 am

Jesse- why so nasty? If you like tab, great. It's good to have the advantage that you have in being able to read notation as well. However, you might acknowledge that just because some transcriber decides to write a certain passage with a certain fingering, that doesn't mean it is how the artist played it.

PITCH is absolute. TAB is INTERPRETIVE. Accuracy of pitch is absolute- it's either the note (or notes) the artist played, or not. If it is in tab, it might be the right note but in the wrong place. Does that matter? Sometimes it makes all the difference in the world.

If you are familiar with the way Django played, and the legacy of his appraoch to the guitar (which are nicely covered in Stephane Wrembel's "Getting Into Gypsy Jazz Guitar" and Michael Horowitz' "Gypsy Picking", both guys lived in Europe and studied with real deal players like Fapy LaFertin and Serge Krief), you'll find the Mel Bay Django books with tab to be wrong- not because the tab positions won't match the notation, but because there are traditional procedures to get "that sound", .i.e. rules, that the tab doesn't follow, probably because the transcriber is more of an all-around jazz guy and not a practioner of this traditional style (not that I subscribe to all the rules, but i know what they are, such as never switching a string with an upstroke. Seems ridiculous, but they have good reasons for doing it that way). If you finger it "like Django", it sounds more like Django- which would be the point, yes? THEN if you want to interpret or play it somewhere else or make it sound like Jim Hall, then it is personal choice...but if the artist is going to be represented in an "authenic version" then that's what it should be, and not interpretive.

Tab (alone) can be very helpful; but it has also created a culture of guitarists who have never experienced any theory and lose out on a broader experience of music. I have NEVER seen a tab reader who doesn't read standard notation who can decipher rhythmic notation- it's generally not part of the tab scene- which means if you haven't heard the piece, you aren't gonna be able to play it. It teaches a player nothing about the chord/melody relationship that is evident at a glance (when you know what to look for) in standard notation. If they are going to just recite tab, then the job will get done, but these some people complain that they don't know "how to be creative". Theory knowledge sure can aid in creativity if you know how to use it. I doubt anyone has ever learned the meat and potatoes of music theory from tab!

And still after all this, none of it adds up to anything if you can't HEAR. Better a great ear and no theory/reading than all the theory in the world, sight read like the devil, and no ear. IMHO.

Any teacher who doesn't teach his students tab along with written notation is a bad teacher.

Ah- that'd be me and just about every teacher at Berklee, North Texas State, and any university in the world. Not to mention just about any jazz player on the planet.

I don't seem to be considered a "bad teacher" by too many, Jesse. That's a ridiculous statement to make unless you know the teacher. Sweeping insults...ah, well, you are entitled to think whatever you want. But you are wrong

I agree with Jeff Berlin that reliance on tab alone is a mistake for players who want to really learn about music beyond apeing what someone else has done.

I use classical guitar notation where a circled number indicates the string for a passage to be played on; fingerings if needed...all the info that tab provides PLUS the extra crucial harmonic info (not to mention rhythm) that standard notation offers. Tab is the reverse: a dumbed-down version that shows nothing other than a road map to a possibility of what positions MIGHT have been used, based on the educated or uneducated guesses of thye transcriber (and I will tell you there are TONS or inaccurate tab books out there by all the big publishers).

Notation can be easily interpreted; i.e. you can look at it and sing it- can you really do that with tab?

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...

[This message was edited by John McGann on 01 July 2006 at 08:19 AM.][This message was edited by John McGann on 01 July 2006 at 11:40 AM.][This message was edited by John McGann on 01 July 2006 at 11:44 AM.][This message was edited by John McGann on 01 July 2006 at 11:50 AM.]

Dr. Hugh Jeffreys · Post by **Dr. Hugh Jeffreys** » 1 Jul 2006 7:54 am

Has ANY steel player EVER graduated from the Berkely School? Just curious. Also in words of a close friend===How can one be called a musician if they don't read music? Even BLIND musicians read music==braile---eg, George Shearing, Lennie Tristano. ---j---

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 1 Jul 2006 8:46 am

I'm not a full-time steel player but I graduated from Berklee in 1980. There is a young fella who posts here on occasion, Adam Ollendorff, who is an excellent steel player and will be graduating before long. I'm sure there have been a few more between myself and Adam; best ask Mike Idhe since he's the one who got us all going!

Would you not call Wes Montgomery or Django musicians, to name two who didn't read? Ability to read is nice, but it alone doesn't qualify ANYONE to "musician" status IMHO.

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http://www.johnmcgann.com
Info for musicians, transcribers, technique tips and fun stuff. Joaquin Murphey transcription book, Rhythm Tuneup DVD and more...

[This message was edited by John McGann on 01 July 2006 at 09:49 AM.]

David Mason · Post by **David Mason** » 1 Jul 2006 11:33 am

Since rap "musicians" can now be called "musicians"; even "artists"; even "geniuses"; I think it's safe to say that the definitions of "musician", "artist" and "genius" have broadened somewhat in recent years....

Thanks to cultural relativism and the insatiability of political correctness, banging on a coconut is at least as valid an artistic statement as writing a symphony.

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 1 Jul 2006 12:43 pm

John M, you want to debate, cool, I love to. My last post, last paragraph said "tab that is correct". Maybe it would help if you read all of my past posts concerning this thread first before getting all defensive?

You advocate that tab does not teach the timing and exact pitch etc, so you need to really listen to the recording to get that? Again, that is what I said in my past posts here? I don't know anybody who reads tab that doesn't record copy with it to also get the phrasing etc? What kind of retards are you running into? It's the loss to your unsuspecting students who put their trust in you to help them learn how to gather all available resources to free themselves from the teacher that I hear you talking about. But, they wouldn't take as many lessons then would they? I tell students I only give them 10 lessons and send them on their way. It’s up to them to teach themselves through all the different resources out there for them to use, number one being a lot of transcribing after they have their foundations down.

The reality is tab encourages young musicians to train their ear by listening closely to the recorded music. Gees, what are you guys thinking?

Chip Fossa · Post by **Chip Fossa** » 1 Jul 2006 6:56 pm

Thanks John, for your generous "readers notation" gift. (You certainly didn't have to put that up here for FREE. I'm probably getting to be known now as a "cheapie-freebie" around here. I can live with it.)

I appreciate your effort.

I can actually figure out some stuff in real notation now.

I've been educating myself over the years on how to read music, especially some Bach guitar pieces I found thru TablEdit (but reading notation vs TAB)

So your wonderful "notation" tutorial is another great tool for me.

Music - writing it, listening to it, creating it, and appreciating it, with all it's subtleties and nuances, is still a mysterious art form.

Most other art forms are "cast-in-stone", sort of speak.

Before recording devices, music was lost as soon as it was created.

It's still hard to capture a musical moment.
Even some of the best written notated interpretations of Classical music are just that. Someone's idea. Not like a painting - it's there, and there it is; or a piece of sculpture.

Hope I'm not topic-straying here, but I think music is just such a mysterious medium.

The more you can understand it, the better off you'll be; if you're a dedicated musician.

I've learned more about music, for instance, here on the Forum, than pedal steel; in a sense.

I love this place. Thanks b0b, and JohnMc.

Chipper
[This message was edited by CHIP FOSSA on 01 July 2006 at 08:02 PM.]

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 1 Jul 2006 8:28 pm

Chip- many thanks!

Jesse- We were close to being on the same pages on several points until your last post.

My last post, last paragraph said "tab that is correct". Maybe it would help if you read all of my past posts concerning this thread first before getting all defensive?

Defensive? The fact is that much tab on the market is INCORRECT. I mean stuff published by Mel Bay, Hal Leonard, Guitar World, you name it.
I believe I was trying to point out that tab can be replaced by standard notation that has the classical guitar style string/position indicators.

You advocate that tab does not teach the timing and exact pitch etc, so you need to really listen to the recording to get that? Again, that is what I said in my past posts here? I don't know anybody who reads tab that doesn't record copy with it to also get the phrasing etc?

Point being that tab on it's own is incomplete. Can you imagine a serious musician being handed a piece of tab and expected to play it without the recording? Has tab every been used in a recording studio? Has ther been one name brand player who has developed an original voice through exclusive tab use? My point is musicians communicate a bigger picture with notation. Tab can help, but it doesn't replace notation as a tool of communication.It is not used in situations where musicians are expected to read music- you know, like jobs.

It's the loss to your unsuspecting students who put their trust in you to help them learn how to gather all available resources to free themselves from the teacher that I hear you talking about. But, they wouldn't take as many lessons then would they?

Here's where you are out of bounds and being abrasive as you were to Mike. My students don't come to me to learn to do "record copies". They are interested in learning music,and figuring out the ins and outs, not in being parrots.When is a student "free"- when they can transcribe their own record copies? If your students can do complex and accurate work after 10 lessons, you are absolutely magic.

I'm happy to take my student's money, 'cause it takes more than 10 lessons to learn the language of music.Perhaps this is why there are 4 year music schools? I must be a real whore by your standards, since I'm giving away a book I wrote and paid for (I hired someone to do the typesetting 6 years before I owned a computer)

The reality is tab encourages young musicians to train their ear by listening closely to the recorded music. Gees, what are you guys thinking?

I don't know about anyone else, I'll speak for myself: If anyone is trying to learn music without "listening closely to recorded music" whether reading tab OR notation, they are missing the boat, because ANY form of written music is just the tip of the performance iceberg.

My reality as a teacher has shown me that "tab culture" as popularized by magazines such as the bluegrass world and Guitar World that for years published transcriptions in tab only format helped to form a generation of electric and acoustic guitar players who don't know where the notes are on their instruments; don't know why certain combinations of inotes sound the way they do, don't understand how melodies and chords interact, and are unable to do anything but play in copy bands.Go to a bluegrass festival and hear 15 young guitarists playing versions of fiddle tunes they learned from Player X's Tab Book...

If they are happy, then so be it.Tab alone is great for amateur players who aren't interested in learning all the nuts and bolts of theory. However, I see lots of frustrated kids looking to step out from that world.

Now, to me, for pedal steel, tab is essential, but I prefer the MuSymTab thing which gives the standard notation, chord symbols, and shows exactly how each string is affected to make the combination of notes. It makes you think about what actually happens when you mash 'em, which I know I took for granted as a beginner!

Tab is not complete ear training. Ear training is about recognizing intervals and being able to name them and find them on the horn. It's about recognizing chord types, and understanding why chords (and scales) are constructed the way they are. How key signatures work. Why triads aren't all the same. Why chord inversions exist, etc. Tab is not the tool for the job.The language of music that is common to all instruments is da notes-da tab is instrument specific, and again, if aping recordings is your bag, then have at it. Why would a student even need you?

What kind of retards are you running into?

A statement like that is beneath contempt. Grow up, Jesse.[This message was edited by John McGann on 01 July 2006 at 10:57 PM.]

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 1 Jul 2006 9:55 pm

John, it's great you provided the free notation breakdown for people who don't read, and no I don't think that makes you a whore, what a weird thing to say?

Try calling Charlie Parker a parrot for being able to play so many Lester Young pieces note for note? There's so many artists who went on to fame who have their personal faves that they can play note for note it's not worth even listing them by name.

One of the hardest things is keeping a kid motivated in the beginning and one of the best ways is the immediate gratification of learning songs fast and correct, tab helps that to happen. It's hard hearing you use Wes's name as a non-reader on one hand and then bitching about tab and parrots not being able to read and only working in cover bands? There has always been alot of working musicians who can't read? If you knew your history you'd understand that this supposed new culture you speak of was here long before tab appeared, LOL?

I know cover musicians who can't read tab or music notation and they work all the time? They can play pretty good when it comes to their phrasing because of all their record copying. And they write their own stuff too. Rock ,blues and country doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out past the pentatonics and simple chord structures.

Why you started to throw in all this music theory stuff is beyond me? What we are debating concerning tab seems to be two different issues. There's plenty of readers who know theory and still can't make music that is connected to you know what?

I'm sorry to be disagree with you John, but I know better about the stuff you keep throwing at me. If you think I'm making you look unhip by redirecting you to things I've already posted and also by my giving you real life facts as examples to support my contentions, your right. And yea, I am rough around the edges, get over it.

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 1 Jul 2006 10:43 pm

I just want to add I have alot of tab books (a lot!), that I love for all kinds of different stringed instruments by all kinds of artists. I also have alot of tab I transcribed myself for among other things, bass which I share with bass players trying to learn songs that I play, it makes things go so much smoother. In fact, I haven't seen alot of wrong tab any more from Hal Leonard, Mel Bay or the other big guys. I see what are a few typos maybe, but tab is pretty much right on and has great music notation above the tab. Tab helps a kids relative pitch to get the phrasing right along with the record and, this is a big one John! It gives them an instant lesson on reading written notation and understanding the time, wow, holy moly!! That's freckin great dude!!!

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 1 Jul 2006 10:45 pm

Try calling Charlie Parker a parrot for being able to play so many Lester Young pieces note for note? There's so many artists who went on to fame who have their personal faves that they can play note for note it's not worth even listing them by name.

Sure, and Wes learning Charlie Christian note for note- the time honored way, BY EAR. I don't think Bird had 'tabs' for Pres

It's hard hearing you use Wes's name as a non-reader on one hand and then bitching about tab and parrots not being able to read and only working in cover bands?

I invoked Wes' name as an amazing musician who didn't read music. My bitching is simply this: the "tab culture" in my experience (and not yours, so you don't have to disagree) has not created any Charlie Parkers or Wes Montgomerys. Bird and Wes obviously had developed their ears and built on the achievements of their predecessors.

There has always been alot of working musicians who can't read?

Yes but my point is that WHERE musicians are expected to read-like shows, pit bands, orchestra gigs etc- they DON'T get to read tab, and if that's ALL they know, they are sunk.

Many of my (and probably your) favorite musicians don't read. I am not in the read-or-you-aren't-real tribe!

if you knew your history you'd understand that this supposed new culture you speak of was here long before tab appeared, LOL?

LOL you misunderstand me. That's cool. Thanks for the history lesson. What the hell do I know?

I know cover musicians who can't read tab or music notation and they work all the time? They can play pretty good when it comes to their phrasing because of all their record copying. And they write their own stuff too. Rock ,blues and country doesn't take a brain surgeon to figure out past the pentatonics and simple chord structures.

Hey, I know the same guys. Whaddya know.

Why you started to throw in all this music theory stuff is beyond me?

True :

To illustrate the point to anyone who cares to read these posts that tab alone doesn't deliver the big picture. That wasn't aimed at you, so don't worry about it. I know you know that.

What we are debating concerning tab seems to be two different issues. There's plenty of readers who know theory and still can't make music that is connected to you know what?

Damn straight! without ears and othyer essentials, whaddya got??!?!

I'm sorry to be disagree with you John,

Don't be, just why not have a little respect with your disagreement, eh? We're all just bozos here so no need to get snotty, unless you like to look like a jerk.

but I know better about the stuff you keep throwing at me. If you think I'm making you look unhip by redirecting you to things I've already posted and also by my giving you real life facts as examples to support my contentions, your right. And yea, I am rough around the edges, get over it.

I could care less about how hip or unhip I look (ask my wife!) and the only person whose image you have any effect on is yourself (and you are doing a great job of it). Since you know better, I'll leave you to it. But check out Hal Leonard's Django book and run it by a real Gypsy style player, and then tell me how accurate the tab is.[This message was edited by John McGann on 02 July 2006 at 12:01 AM.]

Jesse Pearson · Post by **Jesse Pearson** » 1 Jul 2006 11:08 pm

John, I do read tab and like it. But I also love Charlie Parker and play sax. I write music notation out for his stuff and try to figure out where it came from theory wise. Frank Morgan is another sax player I write out. I also transcribe sax books and put them in C clef and I write for alto in C clef, don't care for the E flat way of looking at it. I think my last post might not have come up before you posted last but some how it's in front of yours?

Most people just want to gig and don't care to study that deep. If you have students that do, than it could take more than 10 lessons. I point people on guitar to Don Latarskies music books and also Mark Levins Jazz piano book and show them how to use them. I would rather teach someone how to fish than give them pieces of fish here and there if you know what I mean. I just see the positive in tab because I use it that way and I can share that with struggling music students to get positive results from it along with everything else, I don’t see as a exclusive learning aid by itself.

Dang John, I can't keep up with all your re-editing. Do me a favor and make a new post so I know what I'm responding to. I guess your taking your own advice by editing your "look like a jerk statements" out. Well, I can appreciate a guy who leads by example, LOL.

Good talking to ya John, I gotta crash. Have a good one.[This message was edited by Jesse Pearson on 02 July 2006 at 12:27 AM.]