On TAB Reading

I want to share what I think about TAB readings. For those who don’t know, TAB stands for “Tablature.” In other words, TABs are like the fretboard of your guitar. I have studied several methods using tabs and I still do. I am always expanding my vocabulary, studying harmony, accompaniment etc.

In particular, TAB helps you a lot when it comes to fingering a scale, a pattern or a chord. You basically learn the the technique the author of the book uses to play a number of notes.

A while ago, for example, I bought book of transcriptions from some of the best Joe Pass’ recordings. It cost me something like $20 and, years later, I am still studying it. I also use it to teach my students.

Beware though, that, if your goal is becoming a musician or simply playing live, not knowing how to read music will make your life impossible! You should be able to read music at least in treble and bass clef.

If you have been reading TAB all your life, OK. Time to grow. There many books out there that you can buy for just a few bucks. So no need to pay for expensive music reading classes.

Also, your approach will vary whether you play with your pick or fingerstyle. I suggest that you learn both. It’ll take time but it’ll help you immensely to adapt to different kinds of gigs. I actually had to learn fingerstyle to play low budget gigs where there was no money for a bass player. Now I love playing fingerstyle when I accompany singers in duo and using the pick when I play with bands with a bass player.

So, start to work on your reading skills immediately. Just read one page a day and you’ll get better and better each time.