Tabs

[xzodar]

I've needed to look for some Tab's to learn some tunes for the rock covers band I'm playing in. Universally I've found that the majority of Tabs available seem to be either wrong or incomplete.

I can read notation if that's available, or slowly work stuff out by listening so no problem really.



I've read numerous other posts on this forum with the same comments regarding how inaccurate most tabs are. Are we all as bassists reading these tabs and then making the corrections but not posting them somewhere when we have done the work to make them right?

If that's true then surely lots of us are just spending loads of times working out the same tunes for ourselves.

Would it be possible to share the (correct) knowledge of Basschatters somewhere with all of the correct versions of these tunes (for educational purposes)?

Just askin...

Edited September 7, 2010 by xzodar

[Zombywoof]

Good plan

[Tait]

thing is, when i work out the corrections, i dont bother to tab them, because theres no need, because i've just worked it out and so i can play it without reading them.

Edited October 18, 2009 by Tait

[iamapirate]

I used to tab a few things, but soon realised that for the amount of time it takes to tab things out - I really couldn't be bothered, so I stopped.

[Stingray5]

Might be better to say which titles/tabs in particular you're after.
Any BC'ers that do happen to have the required tabs could reply/PM accordingly.
Or a BC'er with the time and ability may take it on...?

[SteveO]

[quote name='Tait' post='629930' date='Oct 19 2009, 12:02 AM']thing is, when i work out the corrections, i dont bother to tab them, because theres no need, because i've just worked it out and so i can play it without reading them.[/quote]

Spot on there tait. I remember early on that I decided to post revisions of the tabs as I was learning them, but I didn't even get as far as correcting the first. About a month later I stopped using them anyway. These days I only go for a tab if it's a mad rush to learn a set in a couple of days and then only for a pointer in the right direction. It's not a bad idea though.

Are bad tabs better than good ones though (from a learning perspective)? When you know that it can't be right then you're using your ears to learn the song and correct the mistakes. Moves you away from playing by numbers and down the path of playing by ears... just a thought.

[Dread Bass]

I tend to use guitar pro which tends to be more reliable and easy to edit if there is something wrong.

[Tait]

you don't want to rely on TAB too much anyway, i only ever use it as a sort of guideline, i see roughly where they're playing what, then i work it all out by ear. if you rely on it too much, you're screwed when you can't find a good one!

[chris_b]

[quote name='Tait' post='630571' date='Oct 19 2009, 05:54 PM']....you don't want to rely on TAB too much anyway, i only ever use it as a sort of guideline, i see roughly where they're playing what, then i work it all out by ear....[/quote]
+1. Why is so much Tab crap? Because the people who write it don't use their ears. Learn to play by ear. I'd trust mine over any tab.

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I tried tab once - its like an even more disgusting version of diet coke

[Marvin]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='630596' date='Oct 19 2009, 06:16 PM']I tried tab once - its like an even more disgusting version of diet coke[/quote]
You might be getting confused somewhere, ......or am I getting confused?

[ogrimark]

[quote name='Tait' post='630571' date='Oct 19 2009, 05:54 PM']you don't want to rely on TAB too much anyway, i only ever use it as a sort of guideline, i see roughly where they're playing what, then i work it all out by ear.[/quote]

Snap. on some track i listen to the bass is sometimes a bit hard to hear/muffled by other stuff so they tend to be good for a 'guide'. i use guitar pro for the same thing. sometimes it helps if i am having trouble with timing.

[josh3184]

+1 to most of what's being said, I'd only ever use a tab now as a vague guideline as to what to play, not note for note what it should be.

They're great when you're learning to play bass but when the tab is for anything more complex than smoke on the water you tend to just get what the tabber approximates the original musician to be playing, not the bass line itself. I find that most (Note: not all ) people who write the tabs aren't brilliant musicians so if they can't replicate it you'll just get the tab telling you to strum the root for 4 bars

[stillman]

I agree that working things out by ear is the way to go. It helps develop your recognition and it will help hugely in improvising as you start to be able to play what you hear in head. The music, not the voices, obviously.

On the other hand, I find myself tabbing things out more and more as my repertoire grows, there are plenty of things that I work out and then don't need to play for another three months, and by that time I've forgotten some of the intricacies in various bits of the songs. It's useful to have a [b]good [/b] reference copy for mugging up the night before.

So I tend to write my own tabs for my own use and not post them. Though now I obviously feel a bit of a selfish git. I just got round to doing 'For Once In My Life' all the way through so maybe I'll post that up here and see what people think.

[Annoying Twit]

Is the fingering on the main riff for "I Wish" on this correct, or at least sensible?

[url="http://www.bassmasta.net/w/wonder,_stevie/109099.html"]http://www.bassmasta.net/w/wonder,_stevie/109099.html[/url]

G|----------------------------------|
D|*-------------------4-6-8-6------*|
A|*--6---------3-4-5-6-------3-4-5-*|
E|-----2-4-6-4----------------------|

Easier to play like this, I find:

G|-----------------------------1--4--1------
D|--1-----------------0-1--4---------------
A|---------1-----3-4------------------------
E|----2-4----4------------------------------

(I may not have all the notes right, but I think people will be able to see what I mean.

[Doddy]

[quote name='xzodar' post='629875' date='Oct 18 2009, 09:46 PM']I've read numerous other posts on this forum with the same comments regarding how inaccurate most tabs are. Are we all as bassists reading these tabs and then making the corrections but not posting them somewhere when we have done the work to make them right?

If that's true then surely lots of us are just spending loads of times working out the same tunes for ourselves.[/quote]

I think everyone knows my stance on Tab by now. But as far as this thread goes,if I was to look at them and try to make any
corrections I'd never leave the house,because none of them make the slightest bit of sense in the first place because they are
purely a series of fret numbers,which are ultimately useless.

As far as 'working out the same tunes for ourselves',that is exactly what I do. It makes sense to me that people would learn the tunes for
themselves-It's great ear training. I don't want,or need to see some 15 year olds incorrect Tab of a Green Day song,because I've learned
enough material for myself that it doesn't take long to learn something anymore.It's all about the ear training. Using bad online Tab is basically
another shortcut....just like Tab itself.

[quote name='Annoying Twit' post='935862' date='Aug 25 2010, 12:44 PM']Is the fingering on the main riff for "I Wish" on this correct, or at least sensible?


G|----------------------------------|
D|*-------------------4-6-8-6------*|
A|*--6---------3-4-5-6-------3-4-5-*|
E|-----2-4-6-4----------------------|[/quote]

I play it there with the exception of the high B flat,which I play on the G string. Also in the second example you're playing a high B natural instead
of B flat. But,if you feel more comfortable playing down in first position,go for it.It makes a great one finger per fret exercise in that position.

[Doddy]

[quote name='Johnston' post='937563' date='Aug 26 2010, 09:38 PM']It amazes me the way some folk play song. I have come across some insane position changes rather than just play on a different string and stay in a more confined area on the neck. Or maybe I'm just lazy and we're supposed to whizz up and down to look good [/quote]

Sometimes it feels better to shift position. Take a line like 'I'll Take You There'-You can play it comfortably in first position
with open strings,but it 'feels' better if you shift and slide out of position. The same with 'I Wish'.
Try it. Sometimes it adds that little bit of 'grease' that makes it cooler.

[daz]

Can i just put a word in for Alpha tab. much superior to normal fret number tabs.
[url="http://www.studybass.com/lessons/reading-music/alpha-tab/"]See Alpha tab here[/url]

[Annoying Twit]

It should be easy to write a program that would take web pages and convert normal tabs into alpha tabs.

[EBS_freak]

I don't get it. Alphatabs (and I'm sure Bilbo will jump in here) is just another step to avoiding reading music in the first place? If you can read music, you will soon learn where the notes are on the fretboard...? Or am I missing something?

I find tab infuriating at times because it's a) usually wrong notewise using finger positions which seem a little alien... especially if you want to be playing it on your 5 string...

Edited August 31, 2010 by EBS_freak

[Doddy]

This is the first time I've ever heard of Alpha Tab, and all I can say is
'wow'.It's just as pointless as regular tab. I suppose guitar and bass players
will come up with all kinds of ideas to try and avoid the basic musical skill that
is reading.

[Bilbo]

Just learn the dots. Its much more effective and it gets you work. Tab is a child's toy, a shorthand that, because of its familiarity, initially makes more sense to the uninitiated but which is ultimately inadequate for the purpose it was invented. Put the toy away and get to work. It will reward you in the long run.

[smurfitt]

Tab is written mainly by people who think they've worked out the bassline!
I admit to having a sneaky look now and again and sometimes it can be a guide but 9 times out of ten it's either wrong or notes are played in the wrong area of the fretboard. How can some bass players not distinguish whether a note should be played on the E string instead of the octave higher? I always listen to the song, use a graphic equaliser to boost the bass and slow the song down with software.
Having only played for a short time (am a guitarist who got the bass bug) I was surprised to find how many people on youtube play incorrect notes or positions. I started learning Rio by Duran Duran and no tab is correct and those on youtube are missing a hell of a lot of ghost notes.
I have JT's actual bassline recorded so if anyone wants to hear how it should go, PM me with your email and I'll send it
:0)

[Marvin]

[quote name='Bilbo' post='941098' date='Aug 31 2010, 04:42 PM']Just learn the dots. Its much more effective and it gets you work. Tab is a child's toy, a shorthand that, because of its familiarity, initially makes more sense to the uninitiated but which is ultimately inadequate for the purpose it was invented. Put the toy away and get to work. It will reward you in the long run.[/quote]
Dots then please!
But excluding the usual Jaco, Miller, Clarke, Wooton and other Jazz and fusion bass 'heros'. Also not overly interested in soul, R&B or funk dots.
What I want is dots for rock, indie, alternative and more rock etc.

The problem is no one writes the dots for the music most of us want to play that's why TAB sites get used. As for sitting down and working it out for ourselves, some of us have full time jobs and the usual array of responsibilities the preclude sitting down trying to figure out a bass line so buried in the mix it's barely audible.

[TKenrick]

[quote name='Marvin' post='947600' date='Sep 6 2010, 08:19 PM']Dots then please!
But excluding the usual Jaco, Miller, Clarke, Wooton and other Jazz and fusion bass 'heros'. Also not overly interested in soul, R&B or funk dots.
What I want is dots for rock, indie, alternative and more rock etc.

The problem is no one writes the dots for the music most of us want to play that's why TAB sites get used. As for sitting down and working it out for ourselves, some of us have full time jobs and the usual array of responsibilities the preclude sitting down trying to figure out a bass line so buried in the mix it's barely audible.[/quote]


I use current rock/indie stuff as a means of teaching my students (most of whom are between 12 and 17) to read. Seems kids these days don't want to read Bach, but this gets them used to dots and keeps them away from TAB.

Try this for reading material:

[url="http://tomkenrick.wordpress.com/transcriptions/basstranscriptions"] [b]Some dots for rock[/b] [/url]

(Apologies if you've already been through what's on there, I'm back teaching next week so there'll be plenty more rock transcriptions on the way soon...)