Guitar tablature or musical notation

Every beginning musician faces the need to learn musical notation or tablature. Without this knowledge, they are like a talented storyteller who, having decided to immortalize their amazing stories, buys a notebook and a pen, but doesn’t know the alphabet to write them down. But which music recording system is better? Let’s find out.

Bass guitarists need to know notes and tablatures to ensure precision and accuracy in their playing, enhance their versatility and adaptability, and facilitate better communication and collaboration with other musicians. While listening to other parts and using a voice recorder can be helpful, reading notation and tablature provides a more detailed and exact understanding of the music, making it easier to learn complex arrangements, contribute effectively to any musical situation, and communicate musical ideas clearly. How to make a choice and resolve the dilemma: musical notation or guitar tablature? In this short post, we’ll compare both systems to help you understand their principles, purpose, strengths, and weaknesses.

Let’s first understand the basic concepts that musical notation and tablature are built on. Musical notation is based on the concept of pitch, which refers to the frequency of oscillations of the fundamental tone of a sound. The lines in musical notation serve as a guide, which helps to navigate the pitch of sounds. The lines and spaces in musical notation represent a specific pitch range, with each line and space corresponding to a specific pitch. All notes (symbols denoting a sound) on a line having the same pitch. The vertical position of a note indicates its pitch, with higher notes sounding higher and lower notes sounding lower. Tablature notation, on the other hand, is based on the specifics of fretted string instruments. Each line represents a string, and the numbers on the lines indicate the fret number where you should press the string with your finger to produce the desired sound. In other words, musical notation tells the musician what to play and shows the relationship between sounds, while tablature shows how to play and specifies which fret should be pressed on which string.

An important difference between musical notation and tablature is the focus on rhythm. In musical notation, the note symbols directly indicate the duration of the sound, and pauses are also clearly written. Tablatures are less focused on rhythm. Tablature may include rhythm information above the lines, but this is limited to single-note lines or simultaneous sounds with identical durations. Pauses are not always explicitly notated in tablature. Tablature tells you what sounds a piece of music consists of, but to understand how these sounds relate to each other in duration, you will have to listen to the audio recording. It should be noted that modern programs and online libraries with playback capabilities have largely eliminated this problem.

Both musical notation and tablature use various additional symbols and notations. In musical notation, these symbols are used to indicate dynamics (the volume and intensity of a sound) and articulation (the way a note is played, such as smoothly or abruptly). In tablature, symbols typically indicate the method of sound production, including techniques such as bending (“b”), releasing (“r”), sliding (“s”), hammering on (“h”), pulling off (“p”), and vibrato ("~"). Although tablature has its own set of symbols, musical notation symbols are sometimes also used to provide additional information.

Let’s look at the key elements of each method of recording music. Musical Notation Elements:

• Staff: A set of five horizontal lines and four spaces on which notes are placed. Clef (or G Clef): A symbol placed at the beginning of the staff to indicate the pitch of the notes. The most common clefs are the Treble Clef (G Clef) and the Bass Clef (F Clef).
• Notes: Symbols that represent the pitch and duration of musical sounds. Common note symbols include whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and eighth notes.
• Time Signature: A symbol at the beginning of the staff that indicates the number of beats in each measure and the type of note that gets one beat.
• Key Signature: A symbol at the beginning of the staff that indicates the key of the music, showing which notes are to be played sharp or flat.
• Dynamics: Symbols that indicate the volume or intensity of the sound, such as forte (f) for loud and piano (p) for soft.
• Articulation: Symbols that indicate how notes should be played, such as staccato (short and detached) and legato (smooth and connected).

Guitar Tablature (Tab) Elements:

• Lines: Six (if we are talking about a six-string instrument) horizontal lines represent the six strings of the guitar, with the top line representing the high E string and the bottom line representing the Low E string.
• Numbers: Numbers placed on the lines indicate which fret to press down on the corresponding string. For example, a “3” on the top line means to play the third fret on the High E string.
• Rhythmic Indications: While tablature does not typically show rhythm, some tabs include symbols or numbers to indicate the duration of notes, such as “h” for half notes and “q” for quarter notes.
• Bending and Sliding: Symbols like “b” for bend, “r” for release, and “s” for slide are used to indicate specific techniques.
• Hammer-ons and Pull-offs: Symbols like “h” for hammer-on and “p” for pull-off are used to indicate these techniques.
• Vibrato: The symbol “~” is used to indicate vibrato, where the string is rapidly bent and released to create a wavering effect.

Understanding these basic principles is not enough to use musical notation. You need to learn where each note is located on the fretboard. Tablatures allow you to jump right into playing because they provide a clear indication of where to hold down the fret. While tablatures can get you started quickly, knowing where each note is located on the fretboard is very helpful in developing your musical understanding and improving your overall musicianship. Without mastering the fretboard, you risk being stuck as a beginner, limiting your musical growth and potential. Using musical notation provides the motivation and practice you need to learn your instrument and take your playing to the next level.