Patrick -> To Ta(B) or not to Ta(B), That is The Question (Aug. 15 2005 22:06:29)
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Personally I think many of us spend too much time with tabs. In my opinion, the best teacher is our two ears and the bit of matter between them (in my case, very little). How many times do you learn something from a tab and it just doesn't sound right? I would venture to say in most, if not all cases. I have spent hours working a piece out from tab, only to spend countless hours with the CD to get it to gel. I don’t like to practice in front of a computer, so I wanted an alternative to programs like the Amazing Slowdowner. A couple of months ago I picked up one of the Tascam (CDGT1mkII) Guitar trainers. You pop a CD in it and adjust the tempo without changing the pitch, as do the software versions. I am telling you, it’s one of the best investments I have made. The sound quality is much better than the software versions. It doesn’t come with speakers, so I plug an old set of powered computer speakers into it. Not only am I learning a new piece “note for note”, I am internalizing it at the same time. For really hard passages, I am still writing it out in tab, just to get the mechanics down and then get right back to the player to get the timing and nuances. Personally, I hate learning off tab. It seems like it takes forever and is boring as hell. When I pick it off a CD, I usually have the mechanics down in minutes versus hours with the bonus of getting the feeling down at the same time. I have read on this and other forums, why players just don’t seem to sound “flamenco”. I think this is a major problem learning from tab. Oh you may have it “note for note”, but the most important ingredient, the feeling, will never be there. We have all been impressed how “flamenco” Ron M sounds. Ron has said it many times that he doesn’t read tab, he just plays what he hears. Pat
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