thoughts
Notation Vs. TAB
Guitar TAB (tablature) is one topic that always fosters strong opinions. Players who can’t read music love TAB since it allows them to play songs they couldn’t figure out by ear. Many don't feel a need to learn to read music. Some even feel learning to read music will hurt their creativity. On the other hand, reading purists hate TAB and call it a crutch. Who’s right?
Reading Is Good
Let me start of by saying that I think every guitar player should learn to read music. Musical notation is the language of musicians. If you are serious about music you should learn to communicate in the language of music — notation. Reading music has many benefits. It allows you to play songs you don’t already know. It allows you to write out music for other musicians (and instruments) to play. It will help you understand your instrument and make you more valuable as a musician. Knowledge never hinders creativity. It’s a lack of knowledge that holds people back.
TAB Is Too
In all honesty, most guitarists playing popular music will rarely be called on to read music. The bulk of popular guitar playing is chords, riffs, and solos. None of these require reading. Most popular sheet music contains guitar chord symbols and rarely offers transcribed solos or other guitar parts. The ones that do offer guitar-specific music usually include TAB. Since most guitarists cannot read music, this is a smart business practice for publishers.
But TAB is more than just a shortcut for non-readers. Modern guitar playing simply can’t be notated well with traditional music notation. First off, the range of the guitar falls across both the treble and bass clef, forcing transcribers to notate the guitar one octave higher than it actually sounds. Things like string bending and whammy bar effects were not even imagined when standard notation was being developed. Even guitar chords are rarely notated due the difficulty of reading them. Yet no one complains about chord symbols or blocks. TAB simply makes it easier to show exactly where and how a note is played on the fretboard.
The Best Of Both Worlds
Ideally, guitarist should be able to read both standard notation and TAB. Standard notation is the only way to notate timing, and TAB works better for finger positioning and technique. Why limit yourself to one or the other? It’s really all about making music. If either of these tools helps you make music, use them.