Tabs and the “groove” of a melody

[M F]

At present I am working on ML119 (Bluegrass).
I have no problem to follow Brian’s explanation, nor to follow the slow version.
But again I came across a problem I had several times before:

Reading the tabs I cannot recognize which parts belong together as „sequenzes“, i.e. I cannot find the correct flow of the melodies. The ML119 tabs do not show the accents of the bluegrass groove.
Of course I can hear them listening to the mp3 files or to the slow version.
But I have to „translate“ what I hear to he tab connotation – and insert my own accents there.
That makes it easier for me to remember the correct „groove“.
Example: Reading the tabs I tend to set an accent „automatically“ to the first note of a triplet and that might be really misleading.

Has anybody got the same problem? Any ideas what could help?
Is there a possibility to get the accent marks already set in the official tabs?

Martin

[JoLa]

Hi MF,

I definitely have similar problems when learning along with tabs but a slightly different take on it.

But first, to your answer your question: yes, it is possible to mark the stronger notes in the tablature but it is extra work for Brian and in the long run not worth his effort. Why not? I think it’s related to the way humans learn things. It is actually beneficial for us to give it some work and sweat, maybe even frustration for a little bit. It is also better to actually listen to Brian’s recording and try to figure out little nuances by yourself because you’ll be training your ear at the same time and – in the long run – you may not need the tabs anymore. Also, studies have shown that hand written note taking helps remember things much better. You can make notes on the tablature printout for future reference.

The Soundslice feature is so helpful already, not only you can highlight just a small fragment and listen to it at any speed over and over but you can also simultaneously see what Brian does with his fingers. What you referring to as accents in ML119 is more to do with the rhythm or the cadence of the song. That’s something you will be able to pick up with your ear after you listen to it many many many MANY! times. Once you get fluent, play along with Brian to check if you’re doing it right. The way I see it, our generation of guitar learners are lucky enough to even have tabs but they’re only good to give you the right notes and timing. Once you have that, you should rely on your ear more or your playing may become too mechanical.

Just my two cents but I hope it helps 🙂

🎸JoLa

[sunjamr]

Been there, done that. And I would say almost all AM members have had the same experience. My way of dealing with it was that I used to print out the tabs and then highlite the accent notes with a yellow marker. I did this for maybe 3 or 4 years, and eventually I reached the point where I could just watch Brian’s video and play along with him. Of course I had to pause the video sometimes and do a couple of run-throughs to figure it out. But I found that was a way faster learning process.

Sunjamr Steve

[Alan L]

I see tabs as short hand. They’re not as precise as standard notation (sheet music) and therefore need to be used in conjunction with a recording. It’s kind of a short cut to learning by ear.

[M F]

Thanks to all of you for your quick replies 🙂
I have been following Brian’s lessons for a few years now. They are extremely helpful. His method of teaching helped me with a lot of „light bulbs“.
I agree with you, JoLa: It’s always a matter of listening many times and let soundslice (+ tabs) loop the difficult parts again and again – until you get them into your ear and into your fingers/ muscle memory.
You are right: It might cause extra work for Brian to mark the accented notes.
I asked because I hoped there could be a (half) automatic method to insert them into the tablature.
As there seems to be none I will stay to my old school method and – as an intermediate step – mark them myself in a print out 😉

Martin

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