I read that professional musicians read notes on the staff instead of reading tab.
I read notes on the staff. I don't want to plow thru reading tabs if I don't have to.
I have yet to master chords but will begin.
Is there any benefit to reading tab?
Note reading or tab
# 1
#1
Originally Posted by:
T&G
I read that professional musicians read notes on the staff instead of reading tab.
I read notes on the staff. I don't want to plow thru reading tabs if I don't have to.
I have yet to master chords but will begin.
Is there any benefit to reading tab?
If you can read standard notation, then you don't necessarily have to use tab. But since tab doesn't have a huge learning curve it's not difficult to parse.
Tablature has two benefits: it's perceptually easy & it's a precise location map. Since many guitarists are self-learners it's an easy way to get the information about which notes to play.
It also has disadvantages: doesn't label musical notes, typically doesn't indicate rhythm & it's only applicable to specific stringed instruments.
In my experience, the biggest benefit is the precise location. For many instruments a note on the staff has one unique physical location on the instrument. But the same note can often be played in more than one place on the guitar. Standard music notation doesn't typical contain the info. It can be added (and often is in notation for classical guitar). But it's another layer of info to parse. Whereas it's directly indicated in tab.
For example, this tutorial covers how to play the major scale in various patterns & locations. You can see the same notation is used in each of the 3 primary patterns!
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial/453/
They both have benefits and are both used for guitar. That's why GT uses the standard guitar notation model of including both!
But if you can read standard, then just do that & don't worry about tab unles you need it in some situation.
Hope that helps!
# 2
And the reverse to this question.
If you use tab but can recognise the beat and different notes in a bar from notation how much effort should be put in to sight reading. I know the staff, ledger lines , Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Face . Is it just a matter of use, time and experience. Knowing The key signature on the staff is a good tool to learn. You can play the song in tab and not even know the key your using. It’s like the overview of the piece before using the tabs for the locations.
Dave
edited
# 4
Yes, there are indeed benefits to reading tablature, commonly known as "tab," especially for guitarists and other stringed instrument players. While traditional sheet music notation on staffs is widely used by professional musicians, tablature offers some advantages that make it popular among certain players. Super Mario
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