Avoid Tab If Possible

[Jason Lynch]

AS a beginner, I think Tab is usefull as long as you learn WHY you get the notes in a certain position as well as HOW? otherwise it's a little like painting by numbers. I've taken a couple of different tabs for San Antonio Rose, and coupled them together to make my own version of it, and tried to work out why each chord or grip works in a certain position. Horses for courses I guess.

[James Crowbear]

suggesting that one "avoids tabs " is imo a bit extreme
considering that most of us are not teenagers anymore & that, either time is short or just " runnin' out ", taking advantage of tabs will permit one to take advantage in" gettin' it " or " sussing it out " as y'all say in jolly England
Obviously, learning & recognizing by ear is the primo funktion in Muzic !
using tabs should not be confined to just being a parrot or a copy cat
breaking those tabs down & understanding what notes & which chords are being played is the crux of the matter
so whatsa matter you ?

[acerod]

Sorry Zebedee, I know I,m a newbie as far as the forum is concerned but I,ve been around the steel for a wee while and I have to agree with Baz et al. Your comment is like saying if a stage actor wants to do Shakepeare he shouldn't use a script but should go and watch the play over and over 'til he has the lines memorised. Some people (myself included) don't have the ability to pick out licks from records so tab is invaluable. I watched 2 very famous steelies exchanging tab for a couple of licks at the St. Louis convention 2008. If its good enough for them etc.

[Ken Byng]

Tab just short cuts the learning process and allows players to exchange information, the same as musical notation. Playing by ear is much more time consuming.

However, I completely understand where Richard is coming from though. I remember years ago way before tablature became the commonplace commercial facility that it is now, most of us used to learn by ear from the record. Because there are always a number of various options of playing a piece with pedal steel, it was hit and miss as to whether you replicated the original player's moves, but at least it made you work around the guitar fret board and pedals & levers to achieve the end result.

Sometimes as a result you would inadvertently come across a lick or a move for the first time. I remember trying to learn Weldon Myrick's Welephant Walk 40 years ago with all of the fast string pull offs on the 2nd and 4th frets. Easy once sussed out, but not so starting from scratch. But the sense of achievement for me was much greater than if I'd learned it from tab.

For the student, tab has been a godsend but there is a place for learning something by ear. I use Slowblast Gold to slow down a piece to give a better idea of what is going on. That is a useful tool.

I can very often hear someone playing something on E9 for the very first time, yet know exactly what string and pedal combination they have used to achieve it. That only comes from knowing the instrument and having a decent ear, and total reliance on tablature won't help develop that. So tab has its place without doubt, but I would never completely depend on it. I have also drummed that philosophy into my pupils over the years.

[acerod]

Hi Ken, Just tried to download the trial version of Slowblast Gold but there is a virus on it.

[Ken Byng]

Roy
It comes as part of the package with most modern versions of Band in a Box. If any of your mates have that software I'm sure they'll let you have a copy.

I think this is a really interesting topic by Richard, and highlights the total reliance on tablature by some players. If you can't play without tab, how will you ever be able to improvise or busk?

Ken

[acerod]

highlights the total reliance on tablature by some players.

I can understand that part of it but if we didn't have it we,d be in a sorry state for steel players today. As you said already when we were starting out there wasn't much tab around and I wonder how many guys gave it up because they couldn't figure it out. Thank God for Winnie and Scotty.

[acerod]

Sorry Ken, didn't thank you for the Band in a Box info. I think I know someone who has that so I'll ask him. Thanks for that.

[STEDDIE EDDIE]

interesting thread, i dont do tab, i have never done tab, not cos of any pre conceived dislike of it or anything, i have always depended on my ear, but thats not to say im right, maybe i have made a huge mistake in not learning tab, cos i know im smart enough to learn it, i just make the excuse im too busy to learn it, i think i may be wrong, i think if i learned a piece by tab, once i knew it, i could work out exactly in my head what i was doing, therefore, tab would not be a crutch, but a quick learning tool, my thoughts,

[Basil Henriques]

The BIG problem with tab is if the timing isn't written it relies on the player ALREADY being familiar with the piece. That to me is rubbish and just plain lack of diligence on the part of the transcriber.
In my opinion tab should have the notation included as a guide to the correct timing , and also by way of a learning aid to notation albeit subliminally.
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