Re: Opinions On Tab
I want to echo Jim Bevan's post. "Sight reading" is redundant. The end goal in using written notation of any kind is to "sight sing" as Jim describes. *Hear* the tune right off the paper.
I play by ear (that is, without notation) 99.9% of the time. I learn most of my tunes by ear and play by heart a couple thousand pieces (mainly Irish tunes, but also bluegrass, old time, folk, rock, and some blues). Maybe I'm wired weird, but the same sight singing works for me whether using standard notation, tab (for mandolin, bass, guitar, or banjo), or abc notation. Each format has it's own patterns that reveal not just the melody but the tune's contour, rhythmic organization, harmonic structure, etc. Then again, I've been reading standard notation since I was 7 (43 years ago), and I use all of the above notation systems daily in my teaching job, so I wallow in this stuff. The main benefit to me is that I can teach using whatever method works best for each student. (FWIW, I teach by ear and provide recordings and notation as memory aids and tools to enhance understanding of the music.)
Sure, it takes some time to become fluent in any communication system. And the ears are essential in playing music--it *is* an aural art form. But these various tools can complement one another as you learn to play. Babies learn to speak their parent's language by immersion and listening. We don't teach them to read until they can already talk quite fluently. I think the same sequence is smart when learning music, but the time frame can be condensed a bit because (1) anyone wanting to learn to play has no doubt already been exposed to if not immersed in music, and (2) the elements of music are less complex than verbal language (compare western music to the English language: 12 tones as opposed to 26 letters, 40-plus phonemes, etc., and things like timing, rhythm, contour, and pitch can apply to comprehending and expressing verbally as well as musically, so you get the idea....).
My biggest job in teaching people to make music is getting them to listen, really listen, a lot. If written notation helps them understand what they're hearing, then it's useful. But the ears are primary.
Oops! Did I say that out loud?
Once upon a time: fiddle, mandolin, OM, banjo, guitar, flute, whistle, beer
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