GUITAR TABLATURE
In case of the guitar, there is a slight difference
between the acoustic guitar and electric guitar tablature: the
electric often uses the higher frets (12-th fret and above).
Use of ornaments (bend, hammer-on, pull-off,
triller, slide etc): I DON'T WRITE ORNAMENTS. The reason is simple:
to me, the main purpose of plucked-string instruments tabs &
notation (in rock, folk & world music) is to show the exact notes
and fret position of fingers (plus the chords). Ornaments in music
are there to beautify a performance, to make it richer. They are a
personal expression of an instrumentalist and even a culture: take 'Opa
Nina Nay' for example: the same song is performed differently in
Greece, Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey. The musicians use their own,
local ornaments. Same in rock: take "Stairway to Heaven" - the
original and the Gregorian chant version: day and night in different
performance, ornaments and arrangement.
Also, in folk and rock music there isn't any
globally accepted standardisation for ornaments so far.
And finally, it will make a mess. What can be a nice
a neat piece of sheet music, soon becomes muddled with signs which
even the author can't remember. I know this from my own experience.
The combination of music in form of mp3 downloads
with easy, clear and simple sheet music is the ultimate tablature
solution for someone willing to learn to play guitar music online.
Where necessary, I have included a guitar arpeggio
charts in a song.
There are also guitar pro chord charts at the end of
each notation, making it a real power tab.
And where the bass guitar parts play vital role in
the song, a bass tablature has been added too.
Lyrics are not been added in the tablature/notation
because it's not necessary: singers don't read tablature, many rock
& folk singers don't read notes. All lyrics can be found in their
dedicated
Lyrics page, and you can also do a
lyrics search.
How to read tabs? For beginners it's
important to understand the basic principle: if one doesn't know
Music Theory, one gets easily bored.
In tablature we have a special way to mark guitar
notes: 6 lines represent 6 strings on guitar, number 1 being the
thinnest. The numbers represents the fret which has to be pressed.
"Fret" is a rather misleading term: we press the "space between two
frets" and we call it a fret.
So, the tablature uses its own "guitar notes". This
way, one can have the precise fingering for the guitar scales. So,
if you listen to music and read tablature, you can easily learn
guitar playing.
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BOUZOUKI & TAMBURA TABS
Bouzouki has 4 double strings: D-A-F-C (D being the
thinnest; like the first four strings of a guitar lowered for two
frets.
Tamboura is tuned D-A-D (as well as the Baglamas
which is an octave higher).
Tabs & Notation
