| I think tablature can be quite useful. As a "jack of all
instruments, master of none", I can read music but for guitar voicings
I really appreciate tablature.
For instance, as a songwriter my notebooks consist almost entirely
of songs in a chord description and tablature description. Although I
could notate this stuff in "standard notation", I find it much easier
to write my non-standard chord formations in tab form.
Since the sound of a particular note cluster on a guitar varies
som much depending on the position/strings used, I like to be able
to see how others execute certain passages. Especially since I
almost always guess wrong when looking at standard notation and
trying to figure it out how to play it on guitar.
I've also seen variants on standard notation that use the regular
clefs for note description but which add string/fret information.
(I think the book, Steve Howe: Guitar Pieces, uses this style.)
This notation can also be quite useful.
If it works for you, stick with it!
- John -
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Re;.1
I've used a very useful NON-Standard notation from a book on
Scot Joplin "ragtime". Ragtime I think would be pretty tricky in
standard notation, but with all the fret/string indications it
really made things alot easier.
If you're not a great music reader, like myself, this sort of
notation can actually improve your abilty to read Standard Notation.
Sorry, I don't remember the correct name of this book, but it's
worth looking out for!
Niall.
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| I've guessed at some of these, could someone possibly help out
with the rest? Thanks - Mike
Tab Notation Terms:
------------------
Bend \
Bend (half step) \
Bend (whole step) \
Bend (whole and half steps) \ Are Bends the act of pushing up on the
Bend (two whole steps) / strings so that they bend? If so, I
Bend & Release / assume the length of a bend determines
Hold Bend / the # of steps, correct?
Prebend (Ghost Bend) /
Vibrato
Wide Vibrato
Vibrato with Vibrato Bar
Rake Strings
Vibrato Bar Dive and Return
Vibrato Bar Scooping
Legato Slide
Shift Slide
Pull Off - Opposite of a Hammer On?
Hammer On - This is the act of fingering a string that is already active?
Ghost Note
Articulated Bend & Release
Artificial Harmonic (with pick, overtone of 5th generated)
Pure Artificial Harmonic
Open Harmonic - Harmonic on an open string?
Tap Artificial Harmonic
Tap On Technique - Harmonic tapping?
Bend & Tap On Technique - Harmonic tapping on a Bend?
Percussive Tone (Muffled)
Heavy Muting (P.M.)
Slight Bend (Microtone)
Staccato (short notes)
Choppy Phrasing (extreme staccato)
Pick Scrapes - scraping the strings with your pick?
Tremolo Picking
Unison Bend
Muting (distinct pitches) - muffling the string that is ringing out?
Trill
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Ok, here's what I'd say:
>Bend \
>Bend (half step) \
>Bend (whole step) \
>Bend (whole and half steps) \ Are Bends the act of pushing up on the
>Bend (two whole steps) / strings so that they bend? If so, I
>Bend & Release / assume the length of a bend determines
>Hold Bend / the # of steps, correct?
>Prebend (Ghost Bend) /
Yes, your analysis is correct. Bends are where you push or pull the
string across the fretboard to change the tone it's making. There are
12 steps in the western musical system used by most of us. A major
scale is "Whole/Whole/Half/Whole/Whole/Whole/Half". Each fret on a
guitar represents one half step.
>Vibrato
Vibrato is a series of small up and back modulations around one central
tone. This is usually done by having the fretting hand make a series
of small fast bends.
>Wide Vibrato
Same thing, just more range.
>Vibrato with Vibrato Bar
Use the tremelo bar to do the pitch change rather than the fingers.
>Rake Strings
Like a pick rake, just scrape the pick around on 'em.
>Vibrato Bar Dive and Return
A dive is where you use the bar to gradually lower the pitch of the
note over a fairly large range. Return is letting it come back to it's
normal resting place.
>Vibrato Bar Scooping
I think what they're probably talking about is using the bar to slack
the string a little before the note is actually sounded, striking the
string there, and letting the bar back up, thus having it "slide" up
into the note.
>Legato Slide
In general, Legato means play very smoothly, with very little noticable
transition between the notes. Slide the note around on the string in a
smooth fashion, in this case.
>Shift Slide
Sorry.
>Pull Off - Opposite of a Hammer On?
Yes, a pull off is where one note is struck and the finger is removed
from the fret while it's still sounding allowing a finger holding a
lower fret at the same to to sound a lower note.
>Hammer On - This is the act of fingering a string that is already active?
Yes, a finger will strike a fret higher than one already sounding
producing a higher note.
>Ghost Note
I've seen this referring to a couple of different things. Sometimes it
means a "grace" note or passing tone, or one that's not clearly
sounded. Sometimes it is used to refer to an artifical harmonic (see
below).
>Articulated Bend & Release
This is just a bend and release that has more bending around then a
simple up and down.
>Artificial Harmonic (with pick, overtone of 5th generated)
Harmonics are overtones produced when the vibration of the string is
divided into vibrating sections (like standing wave forms, remember
physics?). It produces a "pure" sounding higher pitched tone. There
are several ways to produce harmonics and that's what the different
things you have listed here refer to.
With a pick is instructing you to strike the string in a place where
there would be a vibration "node" using the pick. It's kind of hard to
describe.
>Pure Artificial Harmonic
I don't really know wht they're talking about here. I would presume
this would be no different than a normal artificial harmonic. Perhaps
they mean the harmonic produced approximately half way from the fretted
point on the string and the bridge.
>Open Harmonic - Harmonic on an open string?
Yep, there are nodes around the 12th, 7th, 5th, ~4th, 2-3rd frets. (and
variations of these, example around the 9th fret produces the same note
as one of the others).
>Tap Artificial Harmonic
This means produce the harmonic by tapping the string gently using the
picking hand, probably about 12 frets higher than the note being
fretted.
>Tap On Technique - Harmonic tapping?
Maybe harmonic, probably not. This generally refers to producing the
tone using the right hand by tapping the string (and holding), instead
of fretting and picking the note.
>Bend & Tap On Technique - Harmonic tapping on a Bend?
Usually means tapping notes onto the same string currently sounding a
note produced by bending, while the bend is held in place or
articulated.
>Percussive Tone (Muffled)
>Heavy Muting (P.M.)
The PM means Palm Mute. This is where you partly mute the vibration of
the strings using the right hand. It produces a stacatto (each note is
very short) kind of tone.
>Slight Bend (Microtone)
Just a little bend, not an entire half step.
>Staccato (short notes)
>Choppy Phrasing (extreme staccato)
See above, the basic idea is that the notes don't ring, they are
immediately damped.
>Pick Scrapes - scraping the strings with your pick?
Yep, not much more to say.
>Tremolo Picking
Picking a string very quickly. If you are familiar with mandolin
players, they often use this technique.
>Unison Bend
Where two or more strings are bent together while a note is sounded on
each.
>Muting (distinct pitches) - muffling the string that is ringing out?
Yes. See above.
>Trill
A Trill is a quick hammer-on/pull-off combination of two notes which
are usually close to each other. The key is the quickness of it.
I imagine that someone else may want to add to/correct me in spots, but
I hope this helps. I know some of these techniques are difficult to
describe with mere words, feel free to contact me offline if you are
still having trouble understanding, Mike.
Have fun with them, it's this kind of thing that makes the guitar so
expressive (and so much fun to play)!
Greg
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| > I imagine that someone else may want to add to/correct me in spots, but
> I hope this helps. I know some of these techniques are difficult to
> describe with mere words, feel free to contact me offline if you are
> still having trouble understanding, Mike.
I really appreciate it Greg. The booklet with all the TAB notations
in it came with an instructional video. The problem is that the
technique isn't always defined on the tape. Being new at this,
I was thrown for a loop when I looked in the booklet. I can now
piece things together when I see the definitions and the actual
display on tape.
Re: Slides
On tape, the guitarist uses the bar to emulate a slide (didn't have
a slide with him at the time of the taping). Sounds like most of
the slides refer to that solo.
> Have fun with them, it's this kind of thing that makes the guitar so
> expressive (and so much fun to play)!
That's my whole motive! :-)
Thanks again,
Mike
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