Preferred way to learn music? Standard Notation, Tab, Ear,..
Just wondering what people around here use as their preferred method of learning new material/songs? This does not necessarily have to be what you think is the best method, but rather what you prefer. If you have a strong opinion on why one system is better than another, it might be interesting to hear your comments.
For myself, I usually download tab from the internet and/or watch YouTube videos, then I try to use my ear to pick up on the original flavor of the artist. Although I can read standard notation, I cannot sight read fast enough to make it very useful. But, in my case, it's usually not a matter of fast I can learn how to play something. My weakest skill is learning how to play by ear, and that is what I'm currently working on.
In my current position, in a cover band, I think playing by ear would be more valuable than the other methods. But maybe I just feel that way because that is my weakest area. Also, I've read too many bad tabs and SN that don't get the song right.
For myself, I usually download tab from the internet and/or watch YouTube videos, then I try to use my ear to pick up on the original flavor of the artist. Although I can read standard notation, I cannot sight read fast enough to make it very useful. But, in my case, it's usually not a matter of fast I can learn how to play something. My weakest skill is learning how to play by ear, and that is what I'm currently working on.
In my current position, in a cover band, I think playing by ear would be more valuable than the other methods. But maybe I just feel that way because that is my weakest area. Also, I've read too many bad tabs and SN that don't get the song right.
Comments
I think using Youtube vids for instruction would be great, but there's no adequate internet connection available where I live. YTube is very stuttery with a poor stream... :?
I also use powertabs, which give you the best of both worlds, tab + music notation....and you can hear it played. Pretty awesome tool and free!!!
Yep, did not use YouTube until I had a good strong high speed internet connection. Now, it's probably my first check on new music and I hope someone has a guitar/bass lesson posted on that song. Sometimes, someone just playing a cover of the song is enough to get me there.
If you really want to watch some of the YouTube videos, and you have a slow connection, there are free software programs out there that will take the URL address and download the entire video to your computer, and then you just play back the video on your computer once the whole file is done downloading. The advantage of that, of couse, is that you can just let the video file download in the background while you work on other stuff, and then you can play the video, without the stuttering, once it's completely downloaded.
The program I use is called Any Video Converter (free edition) http://www.any-video-converter.com/products/for_video_free/. It does everything I need. However, there is also a Pro version with even more features for about $45.00.
I'll put that on my list of programs to check out. Thanks.
My vote is by ear, but there are some circumstances where the other approaches work.
Here are my pros/cons for each approach.
By ear - pros
Why I like learning by ear: I have a good ear, it's that simple. It gives me freedom to internalize not just the chords and notes, but also stylistic and performance elements, from the beginning - as opposed to rote memorization of tabs, and adding personality to it afterwards.
Another reason is when arranging pieces that either (1) have different orchestration than what I'll be playing with, e.g. keyboards instead of rhythm guitar, sax instead of lead guitar, or (2) have more instruments than are available, many times you have to pretty much rearrange the whole song. Sometimes that means using fuller chords, other times you'll leave parts out (for which you have to compensate to make it sound recognizable).
Learning by ear even when other methods are available prepares you for situations where you have no option. For example, you find yourself in an impromptu improv situation, or you're playing with musicans who only play by ear and you need to learn their songs.
By ear - cons:
There are times when the guitar part is way in the background, and it's difficult to make out the details just by listening. Other times, the original performer may use a weird tuning or performance technique that you're unfamiliar with by ear. In those situations, some additional information, such as a chord chart (see below) may be necessary to supplement the learning process.
Standard notation - pros:
There are many ways to play something on the guitar. If someone like me figures out a song by ear, learns it using unconventional methods, and tabs it out, not everyone will be able to follow as easily. Whereas, standard notation is clear-cut, like a keyboard: only one way to notate each note. I like to use standard notation to transcribe (more so than tab), and then use software to create the tablatures (Finale in my case).
Standard notation provides a very structured way to communicate timing. This has been remedied for tablature with computer-based tab programs, but once you learn the basics of standard notation, rhythm notation becomes very simple
Standard is also useful when you're looking up parts for other instruments to arrange for guitar - those won't be available in tabs, unless someone has done it before you.
Standard notation - cons:
I have never been good at sightreading, going back as early as my first piano lessons when I was six years old. Standard notation takes a lot of practice to get good at; as it stands, for me it's a desktop exercise, not a real-time reading experience. Granted, computer technology has made it worlds easier to work with standard notation, but there's quite a bit of a learning curve.
If you're a beginning guitarist, you may not know \"common\" ways to play certain chords. Majority of non-classical guitar players learn two categories of chords: the five root shapes and their minor/7th versions, and power chords on E and A strings. That's not a lot to work with; things like CAGED, various jazz-based chords (maj7, add9, etc), non-root inversions, and so forth come considerably later for a lot of players. If you don't know a good shape for a chord notated in standard, you'll need a diagram or tablature in any case.
Tablature - pros:
Pick a string, pick a fret, put your finger there, pick. Simple as that - if you've got the basic mechanics down, tabs work pretty well. They are also a good tool for notating how you play certain things, once you've figured them out by ear or from standard notation.
Tablature-based software has made many shortcomings of using this method of learning more effective, by providing playback capability and structured timing, which alleviate some of the cons. Which are...
Tablature - cons:
Tablature lacks rhythm notation; this has been rectified by software, as I mentioned above, but just downloading text-based tabs notably has this issue. Also, going back to one of my first points, learning to play something one specific way diminishes learning of the fretboard; i.e. what alternative ways there are to play something.
One recent development, due to popularity of the Internet, is the ridiculous number of wrong-as-hell tabs online. You see posts saying things like, \"I'm pretty sure how the song goes\" and it's nowhere near the truth; \"this sounds about right\" when it's dead wrong; and \"I could figure out everything except these two sections\" and yet you still decided to post it online. Because it's difficult to find accurate tabs for a lot of songs, many people fall into the trap of learning things incorrectly and then passing it on to others, compounding the problem.
Chord charts - pros:
Many times, when looking for songs online, you will find a chord chart rather than tablature. In many cases, at the beginning of the chart, the author will list the chords in tab or diagram for each chord symbol.
This is a useful tool in a band scenario, where you may have guitar, bass, and keyboard all following the same structure. One chart will usually work for everyone, given that each person knows how to read a basic chart. This is often useful even to the drummer, who does not need to know the chord, but can count along the number of beats, measures, etc. Having played in several cover bands, I know that 90% of the time the quickest way for the band to learn a song is to put together a chart that the guitarist follows and give a copy to everyone; they can then make notes on it specific to their instrument and part(s).
Many times, when picking a song apart by ear, a chord chart is the first variant that I write down of what the song will sound like, and I follow along with it as I figure out specific fills and parts. The resulting tabs or notation become a supplement to the initial chart.
For more elaborate songs, such as jazz standards or even many pop songs today, reading something like Em7b9 is usually easier than looking at the equivalent on a tab or standard, given that you know what the symbol means and various ways you can play it.
Chord charts - cons:
Out of all these methods, a chord chart provides the least amount of specific information as to how the part is actually played. Even if a song is just chords, sometimes they are strummed in a certain pattern, or finger-picked a specific way, that is not always easy to relay on the chart. In most cases, when learning a song from a chart, you have to follow along while listening to it. For less experienced players, this can be a slow and confusing process.
Overall
The method used for learning a song is largely situational and case-by-case. For some songs, tablature or standard notation is appropriate. Other times, often in the case of learning non-guitar music, a chord chart is appropriate. Picking things up by ear is a helpful skill that will help improve any of the paper-based learning methods.
My two cents.
If I had the talent to learn and play by ear alone, I'd probably never do anything else. But I'm always buying new theory books trying to improve my performance.
I used to run to the \"Real Book\" everytime I wanted to learn a tune. The real book however is full of altered, extended, and substituted chords. I've gotten to the point where I can hear the \"Vanilla\" chords, play them..(Major, Minor, Dominant)...Now I go to the real book to get those real strange altered chords that may be giving me trouble hearing.. Like G7b5b9, (Basically an alteration of the G7 chord.) But I'm getting better at picking those out as well.
If you learn 3 note chords, consisting of the 1,3,7th, it helps tremendously when sight reading. The worlds greatest rhythm guitarist, Freddie Green of Count Basie's orchestra, was famous for his 3 note chord voicings... etc..
A lot of playing, and concentrating on changes, IMO, is the key. whether it be a 2,5...2,5,1.....1,6,2,5....Blues one7, four7, five 7...Major to minor.etc.. Once you get those specific changes in your ear, and develop an improv strategy, the majority of the tunes use some sort of standard progression.
Yes...It's true... Not all tunes are as complex as \"Thus Spoke Zarathustra\" or \"Giant Steps\"...