Why You Don't Need Guitar Tabs

[KaoswareMetal]

tabs can be useful as a beginner, but I am always amazed at the poor quality of tabs that gets thousands on views on some website.... just by reading them you can tell something is off from the start

[dimmu]

Ultimate guitar? Pffft, it's all about Songsterr

[Ironypencil]

Small correction: There are tabs with notated rhythm

[xara]

Ok, but this is like saying "You don't need sheet music, you can play this piano sonata by taking three months to figure it out all by yourself and then you can copy it and forget everything again after you started with your next piece". I thought you were gonna advice us to use sheet music instead 😂

[RBolognese]

Tabs are the best tool in learning and in furthering your guitar playing. It's not cheating, it's a aid to help you progress faster, always use tabs . Always have always will. Give tabs some lovin

[SherlockConanHaibara]

I learn by ear, but if I can't figure it out I look at tabs

[Deguima]

The feeling of catching a whole song by ear for the first time. OH DAT FEELING

[neckcheese]

I never understood the disdain some guitarists and musicians have for tabs. They are a useful tool, especially when you are starting out. While some may be incorrect, there are plenty of great ones to be found if you actually look for them. I'm also sure that not everyone who notates music has perfect pitch and will make mistakes. Pobody's nerfect.

I learned to read sheet music in school a little bit. I probably would have been more proficient at reading sheet music if schools didn't eliminate music classes. I did try re-teaching myself back around 2000, but it was a process, and I found it much easier to memorize every note in a song rather than try and play along with a book.

One of the dumbest arguments I've seen in the tabs vs sheet music debate is that with tabs, you have to count the frets on your guitar to play something. You have to do that with notation as well, you're just counting notes instead of numbers. Guitar is not like piano, where a 'D' conveniently sits in the same exact place in every octave between 2 black keys. 'D' notes are all over the place, and can also move around due to altered tunings. Of course, learning the actual notes is much better than learning numbers, but it does take a while to get good enough to recognize where they are.

[Amber]

Well, let's learn Hangar 18 by ear then.

[meanpicker]

My dad essentially forced me to pick out my first real song by ear when I was 11....was hard to do, but once you learn to listen and find the notes it only gets easier from there. That was a great way to do it in my opinion, now I can figure out most songs and licks pretty easily by ear.

[TheCharudatta]

I vividly remember you asking Rick Graham for tabs😂

[Atticus_Moore]

I've got guitar pro and it's really useful for just playing along with the tab without having to spend the time memorizing it. A lot of fun if you just want to play for enjoyment which isn't always my goal. It's also useful when I try to make the tab sound the best in the program. It brings further insights into sculpting sounds better. If you can make a shitty tab sound great in guitar pro you can make a recording of that tab sound even better!

[MattyPS]

I have a question. I understand that if you don't use tabs you're going to work on your ears, but what about memory? Isn't it a good way to remember the structure of a song and all the variations? And when you're composing, don't you use tabs not to forget your ideas?

[UnthawedGuitarist]

Step 1, learn how to read a tab.
Step 2, learn how to read a sheet.
Step 3: Use both.

It's a time investment at first but the reward is assured and great.

[simpebiff]

I agree with you, Tyler. When using tabs I immediately forget the song after I'm done playing it, when learning by ear it sticks in my hands and mind. Plus it's a challenge, which is fun.

[AKoribut]

Be born with perfect pitch and forget about tabs

[aadarshshaw]

Isn't sheet music kind of the same? They tell u what to play so we shouldn't use them either

[DMMarch]

No, this is poor advice, tabs are used with standard music notation above the tab, you then get a clear understanding of the timing. This can be used together with listening to the piece to perfect the solo.

[anttivillanen]

Well, i would like to learn how to play guitar without tabs and i don't know what are like the first steps. Some help?

[MulchyYT]

Tabs made my guitar playing far better because i started noticing patterns in guitar playing and guitar solos and learned a few "licks" that could be added to most other solos. Of course then i learned scales, but i still use tabs for fingerpicking etc because im not so good at figuring it out.