From: kent@netcom.com (Kent Crispin)
Subject: Re: Tab and sheet music (was Re: TAB Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring)
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 92 02:07:16 GMT
Organization: Netcom - Online Communication Services (408 241-9760 guest)

dkmiller@unixg.ubc.ca (Derek K. Miller) writes:
>
>... but the typical transcription
>in a guitar magazine of a rock song is done in both tab and sheet music
>form. Even those two COMBINED cannot elucidate all of the little things
>about a piece which are needed to play it as it was originally performed
>(if that's what you want to do, of course). For that, one needs to refer
>to the two trasncripts AND a recorded version of the song.
>
>And tab would seem to work BETTER for alternate tunings, since it shows
>finger positions rather than notes, which have to be determined depending
>on the tuning of the string.
>
>Each form serves its own purpose - but remember that sheet music was
>originally formulated around keyboards, so that it is not really set up for
>how a guitar CAN be played.

Actually standard music notation grew out of a vocal music tradition
-- not for keyboards -- around the 10th century, when vocal parts for
church music developed true polyphony, and it became necessary to
indicate precise pitch.  Around 1400 or 1500 we got bar lines.
Tabulature was used for lutes and related instruments in Bach's time
(1685-1750) and much earlier -- a famous lutenist Sylvius Leopold
Weiss was a contemporary of Bach's, and his works really only survive
in tabulature.  Each form of notation has a pedigree.

The important difference between tab and music notation is that tab is
oriented towards telling you how to play something, while music notation 
tries to tell you how something sounds.  That is, tab primarily notates 
performance, while music notation primarily notates sound.  

Every other other instrument has the same problem with music notation
-- music notation just has problems notating performance, and even
apparently very simple instruments mask incredible complexity.  It has
been estimated that there are as many as 20000 fingering combinations
for a recorder, with sliding pitchs, pitch changing with wind pressure,
harmonics, and even chords possible (believe it or not). 

There are many techniques for piano that are only poorly captured in
music notation -- use of the pedal is really just hinted at (good
pianists do a great deal more with a pedal than is ever notated).

So every instrumentalist has problems with music notation -- in fact,
you could say that guitarists are the lucky ones, because they have tab
to make things easy for them, to help cover the weakness of music notation.

This weakness, however, really masks music notations greatest strength
-- if you can read music well you can read music for other
instruments.  A guitarist who can read music can pick up music for
clarinet, sax, cello, violin, banjo, trumpet, perhaps a hundred other
instruments.  This opens up a tremendous world, though of course not
everyone is interested in it.

The really entertaining aspect of this perennial debate is the amount
of emotion generated.  People who know music notation are justified in
being proud of their accomplishment -- it takes a long time and a lot
of work, not to mention a lot of love of music, to learn notation.
There is no question that tab is a lot easier to learn, but it doesn't
open the doors that music notation does.  On the other hand, snobbery
is offensive.  Not everyone has the time, energy, or interest to
devote to learning a language, and music notation is a language.

There are two interesting emotional effects to consider.  First, those
who don't know music notation sometimes envy those who do.  There is
just no avoiding it -- I can't help but envy someone who can just sit
down and play something by sight, expressively and with feeling.
There really are people like that.  ...Second, people who do read
music went through a lot of trouble to learn it, and they would feel
like fools if all that time was wasted -- reading music is sort of
like an initiation rite -- you've had a tooth knocked out, been
circumcised, buried in ashes, starved for a week -- there *must* be a
reason for it.

While there are the incredible and very visible exceptions, the *vast*
majority of professional musicians do read music -- I remember reading
an interview with BB King.  He was asked if he read music, and he said
yes, but not as well as he would like -- he tried to practice it when
he could.  And probably most of those who can't wish they could -- 
for any professional musician it is just a useful skill to have.

So the question is, should a beginning guitarist try to learn music
notation?  That's a question only they can answer.  All the experienced
old hands can do (other than fight about it) is try to make the tradeoffs
as clear as possible.

Kent
-- 
Kent Crispin			"No reason to get excited",
kent@netcom.netcom.com		the thief he kindly spoke...