Misplaced Pages

#636363

44-543: Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar , lute or vihuela , as well as many free reed aerophones such as the harmonica . Tablature was common during the Renaissance and Baroque eras, and is commonly used today in notating many forms of music. Three types of organ tablature were used in Europe: German, Spanish and Italian. To distinguish standard musical notation from tablature,

88-486: A monospaced font such as 'Courier New' so that characters maintain vertical alignment across all strings. By early 2006, an unprecedented legal move was taken by the Music Publishers Association (MPA), initiating the removal of unlicensed guitar tablature from websites. The MPA had been pushing for websites offering free tablature to license or be shut down. MPA president Lauren Keiser said that their goal

132-608: A C major (CEG) chord (on a C diatonic instrument): 456e However, they may simplify it, especially when playing blues. For chords, it was common to just play three or two holes instead (sometimes even just one), especially when the instrument is not of the same key. For example, in the blues progression in G (G G G G7 C C G G D7 D7 G G) it is common to use a C diatonic instrument, and notate the following: There are many harmonica tablature systems in use. The easiest tablature system works like this. Diatonic Harmonica tablature chords are shown by grouping notes with parentheses (2 3) = blow

176-404: A Russian free tablature website, entered a licensing agreement with Harry Fox Agency . The agreement included rights for lyrics display, title search and tablature display with download and print capabilities. HFA's over 44,000 represented publishers have the opportunity to opt into the licensing arrangement with UG. In light of the legal questions surrounding user-created online guitar tablature,

220-400: A few fret dressings can be performed on a guitar before it requires complete refretting. Tied gut frets, used on instruments such as the lute or viol , wear quickly, and must be replaced regularly. Fret buzz is one of the many undesirable phenomena that can occur on a guitar or similar stringed instrument . Fret buzz occurs when the vibrating part of one or more strings physically strikes

264-607: A letter on its home page that its ISP had been jointly threatened with legal action by the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) and the MPA "on the basis that sharing tablature constitutes copyright infringement". In response, GTU's site owner(s) immediately created a website named Music Student and Teacher Organization (MuSATO) to attempt to reposition themselves from an illegal-copyrighted-materials provider to an "education provider". MuSATO's main objective

308-564: A much lighter fretting hand than most guitarists can achieve, and often significantly heavier strings as well. Fat frets : on older guitars (especially the Fender Stratocaster ), frets were typically made out of thin wire, and some electric guitar players replaced that with thicker wire, for "fat frets" or "jumbo frets". Fat frets make bending easier, and they change the feel of the guitar. As well, large frets, offering more metal, remain playable much longer than thin frets. A side effect of

352-432: A number of "legal" services offering guitar tablature that have been licensed by music publishers. One site, MetalTabs.com, contacts the bands themselves for permission to post tablature. Few bands have declined the request. The tablature debate was featured on NPR 's Morning Edition in a segment entitled "Music Industry Goes after Guitar Tablature Websites" on 7 August 2006. On 10 April 2010, Ultimate Guitar (UG),

396-457: A number of companies have been formed that claim to offer consumers legal online tablature, which has been officially licensed from songwriters and/or music publishers. These companies offering legal content generally fall into three categories: Mxtabs.net closed because of copyright-holder complaints. However, as of 23 February 2006, the owners of Mxtabs put the website back online with a letter explaining their position. In short, they believe that

440-427: A special compensation on the saddle and nut. Every time a string is fretted it is also stretched, and as it stretches the string rises in pitch , making all fretted tones sound sharp. When the saddle is positioned properly, however, the fretted tones all sound sharp to the same degree as long as the distances between the frets are correct. With the right nut compensation, the pitch of the unfretted string can be raised by

484-666: A system of tablature licensing. On 29 February 2008, MXTabs.net relaunched as the first legitimately licensed site designed to provide musicians with access to free tablatures, while also compensating music publishers and songwriters for their intellectual property . As with other user generated content sites, MXTabs.net users are encouraged to create, edit, rate, and review their own tablature interpretations of their favourite songs. However, unlike other user-generated content sites, only songs that have received explicit permission from participating copyright owners will be made available online. On 17 July 2006, Guitar Tab Universe (GTU) posted

SECTION 10

#1732869749637

528-602: A thicker fret is a less precise note, since the string is held over a wider surface, causing a slight inaccuracy of pitch, which increases in significance as frets wear. It is also possible to find semi-fretted instruments; examples include the Malagasy kabosy and the Afghan Rubab . Semi-fretted versions of guitars and other fretted string instruments, however, are usually one-off, custom adaptations made for players who want to combine elements of both types of sound. One arrangement

572-413: Is divided into twelve semitones. Fret is often used as a verb, meaning simply "to press down the string behind a fret". Fretting often refers to the frets and/or their system of placement. Pressing the string against the fret reduces the vibrating length of the string to that between the bridge and the next fret between the fretting finger and the bridge. This is damped if the string were stopped with

616-408: Is evident in some famous recordings; an example is " Friends " by Led Zeppelin (although this example is undoubtedly caused by alternate open tunings that reduce string tension). In some songs, such as " My Last Serenade " by Killswitch Engage , the guitars are tuned to Dropped C and the low tension of the strings is used to create fret buzz by the bass player in order to create a dirty sound. It

660-422: Is for owners of free tablature services to face fines and even imprisonment. Several websites that offered free tablature have taken their tablature off-line until a solution or compromise is found. One of the proposed solutions is an alternative compensation system , which allows the widespread reproduction of digital copyrighted works while still paying songwriters and copyright owners. In addition, there are now

704-408: Is for the frets to extend only part of the way along the neck so that the higher notes can be played with the smooth expression possible with a fretless fingerboard. Another approach is the use of frets that extend only partway across the fretboard so that some courses of strings are fretted and others fretless, for example Ryszard Latecki's Latar . Instruments with straight frets like guitars require

748-463: Is grey, and a sounded root is black. Lowercase letters or "glyphs" are placed on each of these lines to represent notes. If it is required to play an open D course, for instance, a small a will be placed on the appropriate line. For a note with the finger on the first fret a b , a note on the second fret a c , etc. However, as mentioned above, j was not used since it was not considered a separate letter from i , and c often looked more like r or

792-561: Is not known when frets were first used. An early example from about the 3rd century C.E. was discovered in 1907 in the Niya ruins in Xinjiang , China, a broken lute's neck with two gut frets intact. The neck and pegbox of the lute are similar to the lute painted on the wall in the Dingjiazha Tomb No. 5 (384–441 A.D. ), which also has frets. Buddhist artworks from the 6th-10th centuries C.E. in

836-412: Is sometimes referred to as "tabs." The same style of tablature is also used for other fretted instruments such as the banjo , mandolin , and ukulele . The following examples are labelled with letters on the left denoting the string names, with a lowercase e for the high E string. Tab lines may be numbered 1 through 6 instead, representing standard string numbering, where "1" is the high E string, "2"

880-431: Is the B string, etc. Also, the order of lines is not standardized. Some tablature is written in pitch order, with the high "e" string on top, and descending in pitch order to the low "E" string on the bottom. Other tablature is written the other way, with the string closest to the ceiling (the low "E") on top and the one closest to the floor (the high "e") on the bottom. To avoid confusion, tablature writers will often write

924-815: Is to be played using a capo , the numbers always indicate the number of frets from the capo, and not from the nut (thus, it is transposed into the capoed key). For chords , a letter above or below the tablature staff denotes the root note of the chord, chord notation is also usually relative to a capo, so chords played with a capo are transposed. Chords may also be notated with chord diagrams . Examples of guitar tablature notation: The chords E, F, and G as an ASCII tab: Tablature can use various lines, arrows, and other symbols to denote various legato techniques, such as bends , hammer-ons , trills , pull-offs , slides , and so on. Common tablature symbols represent various techniques, though these may vary, include: Further symbols to indicate note lengths may be used along

SECTION 20

#1732869749637

968-594: Is to use fair use as their rationale to publish tablature free of charge . By claiming to be an educational provider, they do not have to obtain publication rights or pay royalties to the original composers. MuSATO claims to be educational by classifying users downloading tablatures as "music students" and transcribers as "music teachers". GuitarTabs.com has been contacted by the NMPA and MPA with similar copyright infringement allegations. The NMPA and MPA have also threatened Guitar Tab Universe with similar legal action. A copy of

1012-432: Is true for bending or button-press indicators. To indicate the beat, in the arrow system the length of the arrow may be varied. However, the more popular method is to use a slightly simplified rhythm-symbol notation, such as "o" for a semibreve, // for a minim, "/" for a crotchet, "." for quavers, and place them above the characters, while spacing them accordingly. For chords, the numbers to play are shown, so, for example:

1056-441: The neck or fretboard of a stringed instrument . Frets usually extend across the full width of the neck. On some historical instruments and non-European instruments, frets are made of pieces of string tied around the neck. Frets divide the neck into fixed segments at intervals related to a musical framework. On instruments such as guitars , each fret represents one semitone in the standard western system, in which one octave

1100-466: The 15th century. Blind organist Conrad Paumann is said to have invented it. It was used in German-speaking countries until the end of the 16th century. For example, on a "C" diatonic instrument: To indicate button-press on a chromatic instrument, a similar indication to first-level bending may be used. The breath indicator may be placed right next to the hole number, or below the number. The same

1144-527: The 16th-century Orpharion , a variant of the cittern , tuned like a lute . John Starrett revived the idea in the late seventies on his innovative instrument, the Starrboard . Rickenbacker employed a slanted fret, but it was not multi scale, or fanned. Novax Guitars among others offers such guitars today. The appearance of angled frets on these modern instruments belies the antiquity of this technique. Scalloped fretboard : Scalloping involves removing some of

1188-460: The 2 hole and the 3 hole at the same time Chromatic Harmonica tablature Here is an example of harmonica tablature: "Mack the Knife" C Diatonic Various computer programs are available for writing tablature; some also write lyrics, guitar chord diagrams , chord symbols, and/or staff notation. ASCII tab files can be written (somewhat laboriously) with any ordinary word processor or text editor, using

1232-920: The Turkish Saz (with frets spaced according to the Makam system of Turkish folk music ), the Arabic buzuq (with frets spaced according to the Arabic maqam system), and the Persian setar and tar (with frets spaced according to the Persian Dastgah system), and the Turkish tanbur (with as many as 5 frets per semitone, to cover all of the commas of the Turkish Makam system). Fan frets (also fanned frets, slanted frets), or multi-scale : while frets are generally perpendicular to

1276-437: The certified letter received by the site owner, along with a brief note similar to the one posted on Mxtabs, has been posted on their website. The On-line Guitar Archive (OLGA) is another tablature site that has been removed after receiving letters from lawyers representing the NMPA and the MPA. Fret A fret is any of the thin strips of material, usually metal wire, inserted laterally at specific positions along

1320-594: The fingerholes is to be closed or left open. Guitar tablature is used for acoustic and electric guitar (typically with 6 strings). A modified guitar tablature with four strings is used for bass guitar. Guitar and bass tab is used in pop, rock, folk, and country music lead sheets, fake books, and songbooks, and it also appears in instructional books and websites. Tab may be given as the only notation (as with chord tab in songbooks that only include lyrics and chords), or, as with guitar solo transcriptions, tab and standard notation may be provided. Sheet music consisting of tablature

1364-553: The former is usually called " staff notation" or just "notation". The word tablature originates from the Latin word tabulatura . Tabula is a table or slate, in Latin. To tabulate something means to put it into a table or chart. Organ tablature is the first known tablature in Europe, used for notating music for the pipe organ around 1300. While standard notation represents the rhythm and duration of each note and its pitch relative to

Tablature - Misplaced Pages Continue

1408-411: The frets that are higher than the fretted note (or open note). This causes a "buzzing" sound on the guitar that can range from a small annoyance, to severe enough to dampen the note and greatly reduce sustain . Sometimes, fret buzz can be so minimal that there is only a small change in the tone ( timbre ) of the note, without any noticeable buzzing. Fret buzz can be caused by different things: Fret buzz

1452-512: The instrument's neck centerline and parallel to each other, on a "fanned" fretboard, the frets are angled (spread like a fan) with only one center fret perpendicular to the neck's centerline. This gives the lower-pitched strings more length and the higher strings shorter length (comparable to a piano or a harp where heavier strings have different lengths). The idea is to give more accurate tuning and deeper bass . Some think that fanned frets might be more ergonomic . Fanned frets first appeared on

1496-413: The pitches to the left of the tablature so the reader knows the convention being used. The numbers that are written on the lines represent the fret used to obtain the desired pitch. For example, the number 3 written on the top line of the staff indicates that the player should press down at the third fret on the high E (first string). Number 0 denotes the nut  — that is, an open string. If music

1540-547: The purpose of Mxtabs is to "...aid musicians in learning their instruments." They claim that Mxtabs has accounted for as much as $ 3,000 a month in sheet music sales, and offers many tablatures that are not published in sheet music, so Mxtabs and similar sites are the only place that musicians can find a way to play these songs (other than figuring the songs out for themselves). The letter concludes by pointing out that nobody has shown that tablature renditions are illegal, then requesting that sheet-music companies contact Mxtabs to create

1584-514: The same amount. As a result, when the tension of the strings is lowered, the pitches of all notes, both fretted and unfretted, become correct. On instruments equipped with steel strings, such as folk guitars and electric guitars , frets are eventually bound to wear down as the strings cut grooves into them. When this happens, the instrument may need refretting (the frets are removed and replaced) or, in less severe cases, "fret dressing" (the frets are leveled, polished, and possibly recrowned). Often,

1628-450: The scale based on a twelve tone division of the octave , tablature is instead operationally based, indicating where and when a finger should be placed to generate a note, so pitch is denoted implicitly rather than explicitly. Tablature for plucked strings is based upon a diagrammatic representation of the strings and frets of the instrument, keyboard tablature represents the keys of the instrument, and woodwind tablature shows whether each of

1672-452: The soft fingertip on a fretless fingerboard. Frets make it much easier for a player to achieve an acceptable standard of intonation since the frets determine the positions for the correct notes. Furthermore, a fretted fingerboard makes it easier to play chords accurately. A disadvantage of frets is that they restrict pitches to the temperament defined by the fret positions. A player may still influence intonation , however, by pulling

1716-506: The string tension and pitch. However, except for instruments that accommodate extensive string pulling, like the sitar, much less influence on intonation is possible than on unfretted instruments. Since the intonation of most modern western fretted instruments is equal tempered , the ratio of the distances of two consecutive frets to the bridge is 2 12 {\displaystyle {\sqrt[{12}]{2}}} (the twelfth root of two) , or approximately 1.059463. Theoretically,

1760-440: The string to the side to increase string tension and raise the pitch. This technique (commonly called " bending ") is often used by electric guitarists of all genres, and is an important part of sitar playing. On instruments with frets that are thicker off the fingerboard, string tension and pitch vary with finger pressure behind the fret. Sometimes a player can pull the string toward the bridge or nut , thus lowering or raising

1804-543: The third letter of the Greek alphabet, Γ (gamma). Thus: would represent a G-minor chord (on a Renaissance lute in G-tuning), All open strings would represent a D-minor chord: The strings below the sixth course are notated with additional short ledger lines : glyphs are placed below the staff. These courses are tuned in accordance with the key of each piece played: The origins of German lute tablature can be traced back well into

Tablature - Misplaced Pages Continue

1848-486: The top of the tablature, examples include: Guitar tablature is not standardized and different sheet-music publishers adopt different conventions. Songbooks and guitar magazines usually include a legend setting out the convention in use. The most common form of lute tablature uses the same concept but differs in the details (e.g., it uses letters rather than numbers for frets). See above . When circles are used to indicate fingering, sounded notes are white, an assumed root

1892-405: The twelfth fret should divide the string in two exact halves . To compensate for the increase in string tension when the string is pressed against the frets, the bridge position is adjusted slightly so the 12th fret plays exactly in tune . Many instruments' frets are not spaced according to the semitones of equal temperament , examples: Appalachian dulcimer (with frets in a diatonic scale ),

1936-485: The wood between some or all of the fret. This is intended to allow a lighter touch for more precise fingering, while easing bends or vibratos (since there's no contact between the fingertips and the wooden surface of the fingerboard). It has some popularity with musicians playing heavy metal music , although the concept can also be seen in ancient instruments such as the sitar . Scalloped fretboards have not found widespread popularity because tonally accurate play requires

#636363