On Nov 14, 2006, at 5:20 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > --- Sean Smith <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >> >> It was easy to transcribe, both by hand and in >> print. It allowed the >> individual to transmit his own fingerings and >> provided a diagram that >> was easily absorbed by the brain at speed for those >> weak of harmonic >> education. I don't know which of these benefits I >> appreciate most, >> really. >> > But why are we speaking of tab as if its a thing of > the past?
I was only describing how it got that way but I think I know what you're getting at. > It is very much alive and well for the > guitar, in fact it must surely be the prefered form of > notating guitar music if we go by shear popularity. > > Why has it survived so long? Why is it still popular? > Its easy for the player. Today's incarnation of tab > is vastly poorer than ages past in that it doesn't > even include the rhythmic notation. Hear hear! What's the point of a musical notation of ANY sort if you need to have already heard the music to decipher the notation? I remember going online to find the tab for Oldfield's Tubular Bells. If I hadn't heard it before I'd've found it utterly useless. (and so probably wouldn't have bothered to look.... so maybe this system works) > No need to > compute what you're doing, just move your fingers like > so, then like so, etc. hmmm, how much time between "just" and "then"? A half beat? a dotted 'something'? I think it lost a little too much in the evolution, imho. But you and I still see the efficacy of the string/fret/time matrix even after ~550 years. On the whole, I prefer tab. I understand, see and hear the intervals and regardless the lute in my hands I have a good idea of what actual notes I'm playing. Yes there must be some interpretive guess work on how long hold individual voices and other trade offs but there enough clues for even that usually. It's "All part of the rich tapestry of life" Jamie Muir Sean To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
