If you're going to learn guitar solo pieces then there will inevitably come a time when you'll need to learn guitar tabs. Unfortunately this can be one of the most frustrating experiences in learning guitar, and is one that puts many people off.
If you've been playing guitar for a little while then the chances are you're self taught. This is one of the unusual aspects of playing guitar - most guitarist are self taught, either working it out themselves or with friends. By learning a few of the most common chords it is possible to have a fairly good repertoire of songs. In fact all you need to learn are about six chords and you can play a huge number of popular songs. Learn eighteen chords and you'll be able to get away with playing most songs.
But of course there's a problem, because this sort of guitar playing is not going to get you playing guitar solo performances in a band. In order to be a solo artist playing in a band or performing on stage you will need to be more accomplished than just being able to strum along to a few basic chords. In order to learn guitar solo performances you will need to learn guitar tabs, and whilst many people assume this is likely to be fairly straightforward, it is anything but.
Some people who have been learning to play the guitar on their own or with friends assume they'll be able to pick up guitar music notation fairly easily, simply because they can already play a number of popular chords. Other people may have learned to play guitar having already learned to play another instrument such as the piano or the trumpet. In these cases they assume that their knowledge and understanding of reading standard notation will simply be applied to guitar music in a fairly straightforward way.
Both of these assumptions are quite wrong however, since a guitar is about the only musical instrument which does not adhere to standard notation. At first glance it may look a little like standard notation, except that instead of the commonly used musical notes such as quavers and crotchets there are numbers instead. But this notation is a very long way from standard notation.
The first problem is that the horizontal bars which look like a standard stave have nothing to do with the notes, but instead are the strings on the guitar. The line at the top is the first string, and the line at the bottom represents the sixth string. So what you're looking at is effectively a graphical representation of the guitar strings themselves, rather than a virtual representation of the notes.
The next problem is that instead of the typical notes you have numbers, which each represent the fret which should be held down. On top of this problem there's also the challenge of pace or speed. There is no system at all within guitar sheet music for suggesting the pace, or to say how long a particular note or chord should be played. This means that unless you have heard the song being performed before, there is simply no way to tell how long each note or chord should be played for!
These are all problems which can flummox both newcomers to musical notation and those with a long and accomplished history of sight-reading music. As a result many people are put off the idea of trying to learn guitar solo performances, and muddle along with just a few chords and a bit of strumming.
This is a shame, because there are ways to help make the process easier, and having an accomplished guitarist show you how they manage can make a big difference. Of course not everyone has access to a catalogue of accomplished guitarists on tap, which is why a growing number of people are finding the process made a good deal easier by taking advantage of the many learn to play guitar video tutorials now available online.
If you'd like to learn guitar solo pieces but need help with learning guitar tabs or improving the standard of your playing visit Allaxess.com for a growing library of free learn to play guitar video tutorials.
No comments:
Post a Comment