parentheses

[Lennart v]

Hello Guitarist,at active melody
Ive got a question about these note s in parentheses in tab notations.I think it means don t play that one but let it ring out .correct ?BUT a lot of notes on my guitar ring out so why is that one noted.
that is it is ussely that note in the last messure and the begginning to a new messure. Lennart

[JoLa]

Hi Lennart,

It would be helpful if you mentioned the lesson where you have the parentheses – but, yes, you are correct. The notes in parentheses may sometimes be “connected” to the (same) previous notes to extend their timing or they could be “ghost” notes. Maybe this would help:

As for a lot of notes ringing out on your guitar, that’s a matter of practice. There are times they should or could ring out but you also have to practice muting certain notes. It depends on the song and the style you play.

🎸JoLa

[Andy N]

Hi Lennart,
Do you have an example?
I think this is a representation of a ‘tied’ note. Ie it’s the previous note in the tab allowed to continue to sound. It is a bit more specific though than simply letting the note ‘ring out’. How long it should be allowed to continue is specified by the length of note in parentheses and any subsequent notes in parentheses.
You tend to get these in tabs for two reasons.
The first is the one you mention where a note which would usually be scored as say single longer note spans a bar end. In that case the new bar needs a definition of that note in both bars to ensure you end up with the right number of beats in the two bars the note spans. You need the parentheses to indicate how the listener should hear the single long note, plus when it starts and when it ends.
The second is where you have two parts scored in the same tab. E.g. a melody line and a bass line stacked on top of each other. If (say) a bass line note has a longer duration than the melody note above it, additional notes in parentheses are added to the bass line to tell you for how long the bass note should ring over the melody line.
The reverse is often true too of course.
I hope that makes sense. It sounds a lot more complicated written down than it actually is!

[Jean-Michel G]

Hi,
Jola and Andy are correct.
I just wanted to react on your question “a lot of notes on my guitar ring out so why is that one noted?”

In scores and in tablatures, note duration is indicated for a reason! If the tab says “8th note”, that note should not ring for longer than the duration of an 8th note, and you are supposed to mute it as needed (with the fretting hand).
Beginners tend to let all the notes ring out, but that’s not necessarily appropriate; depending on the genre, it may or may not be detrimental to the spirit of the song and the quality pf the playing.

Similarly, fingerstyle guitar arrangements often use many voices (at least two) and it is your responsibility as a player to bring out those voices. For example, the alternate bass is usually one voice, while the melody notes are a second voice; you should be able to play the bass notes softer than the melody notes, for example.
Tabs often simplify the notation and the voices don’t appear clearly, which is a pity.

[Author]

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