danika Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I'm creating a course on arranging, and I'm not a guitarist. I've been thinking that in order to make the material interesting to a wider audience, I would present the examples using both standard staff notation and tablature staff notation. On the other hand, I've seen some guitar books that present examples using only standard staff notation. I've also thought about just including chord diagrams, but I also have examples of creating melodies. So, do you think including a tab staff in the examples is essential and/or beneficial? Is including chord diagrams instead of a tab staff and just standard notation for melody lines a better alternative? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A String Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I would add both, to increase the appeal of your book, to a wider audience. Craig Stringnetwork on Facebook String Network Forum My Music Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doc taz Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 It depends on the material being presented. As far as I can tell, most of the rock and pop books for guitar use chord charts, standard notation, AND tablature. Classical and jazz books tend to pass on tab, and use mainly chord charts (or sometimes chord names only) and notation. In the older classical guitar books, position locators in Roman numerals (?) along with the notation are used. That is, I represents frets 1 thru 4, II represents frets 5-8 and so on. I have seen tab in use with some classical and jazz books, but they tend to be primarily used in the beginner and intermediate books. That's been my experience, anyhow. sevenstring.org profile my flickr page Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Definitely include tab. It's looked down on by some but, with proper added notation, it can be as informative as standard notation. The main point is what A String mentions: it widens your market of potential buyers. d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 Yeah, I'd think that Standard Notation and Tablature together, and also including any extra information on details, would be a good thing. Having the tab directly beneath the staff would demonstrate and clarify the notation for those who aren't 100% up to speed on notation, and at times the tab would be more specific in regard to fingering and position on the fretboard. It's a win-win situation to have them together. Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bejeeber Posted July 6, 2009 Share Posted July 6, 2009 I suppose you realize that you'd have to employ a knowledgeable guitarist to translate your stuff with good tab/chord diagram fingerings (of which the options can abound), and that there will likely be voicings in your standard notation examples that won't be playable on guitar? Just a pinch between the geek and chum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caevan O’Shite Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 I suppose you realize that you'd have to employ a knowledgeable guitarist to translate your stuff with good tab/chord diagram fingerings (of which the options can abound), and that there will likely be voicings in your standard notation examples that won't be playable on guitar? Good idea... Ask yourself- What Would Ren and Stimpy Do? ~ Caevan James-Michael Miller-O'Shite ~ _ ___ _ Leprechaun, Esquire _ ___ _ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danika Posted July 7, 2009 Author Share Posted July 7, 2009 I suppose you realize that you'd have to employ a knowledgeable guitarist to translate your stuff with good tab/chord diagram fingerings (of which the options can abound), and that there will likely be voicings in your standard notation examples that won't be playable on guitar? I'm aware of the issue, and have a disclaimer in the course: "Since this is a general course on arranging and not specifically arranging for the guitar, the guitar tab notation and voicing may not always be optimum." I do want to try to ensure that the fingerings are at least playable. To that end, on the recommendation of someone who plays the guitar, I bought Guitar Pro which I use to double check the tab staffs. That's turning out to be an unnecessary step. I'm using Finale PrintMusic to create scores for presentation, and so far the translations that Finale makes from standard staff to tab staff have all agreed with Guitar Pro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bejeeber Posted July 7, 2009 Share Posted July 7, 2009 ...you'd have to employ a knowledgeable guitarist to translate your stuff.... the translations that Finale makes from standard staff to tab staff have all agreed with Guitar Pro. Oh.....the "guitarist replaced by robot" option didn't occur to me. http://www.anjelicasboudoir.com/WEBPAGE/pics/balloons/misc/doh2sm.jpg Just a pinch between the geek and chum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danika Posted July 8, 2009 Author Share Posted July 8, 2009 One more question on this project: The videos are basically screen shots of scores with a narrator. However, I've also developed a way to include animated picture-in-picture displays of keyboard and fretboard graphics with red dots on the proper keys and frets as the examples are playing. Adding those PIP displays is a lot of work, and I don't want to waste time on it unless it really adds value for people understanding what notes are being played. Opinions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
picker Posted July 8, 2009 Share Posted July 8, 2009 Anything you can put into an educational video to make it easier to understand, learn, and accomplish what you are trying to teach will add value to the product. The only possible sticking point is that if you put too much time and effort into it, you might have to push the per unit price up, and that might put your price point above what your target demographic is willing to spend. Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larryz Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 The tab and the video would be very important to me as I don't read standard notation all that well and like to hear & see what the instructor is trying to convey... Take care, Larryz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I do read standard notation, but TAB is certainly useful in some cases, especially when the fingering is crucial to getting the right sound. And if the piece is in an odd tuning (I can deal with dropped D, LOL!) then TAB is pretty much essential for most people who can't devote endless time to a piece. It took me long enough to learn to read well in STANDARD tuning! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d halfnote Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 I'm sure that you've spent a lot of time on this & I don't mean to suggest that you might re-design everything at this point but to me the most effective connection between audio & visuals would be any method that "scolled" the notation & highlighted notes as they're played. That shouldn't be too difficult... Seriously, such things needn't be included all in a single package. You could produce materials faster & probably sell more items to a wider range of budgets by making different versions. Some as simple print resources; some as more detailed/involved tools. That would allow you to develop new versions as time, production abilities & finances grew. d=halfnote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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