Many excellent musicians don't read a note of music. Why should you bother?

In my view, those excellent musicians succeed regardless of reading skills: they hear the important relationships between notes. They also have the talent and intuition to deal with thier chosen musical situations. Great players such as Eddie Van Halen, Bill Monroe, Steve Howe, Wes Montgomery are just a few non-reading greats.

I am not one of those musicians! Although I feel blessed with a certain amount of talent and aptitude, I must admit that my knowledge of music and ability to play are greatly enhanced by being able to read music.I figure I should take advantage of every avenue available to me to broaden whatever natural abilities I have. We all have to learn to hear the relationships, just as they above mentioned players did–I found it very helpful to augment the ear training with theory and note reading skills.

Tablature is a wonderfully easy to read style of notation. It shows exactly where to put your finger, and upon which string.It saves the player the trouble of recognizing a pitch, or rhythm, and gets them directly onto the fingerboard. It takes 5 minutes to learn how tab works, and it takes hours and hours to understand how traditional notation works.

So, why bother learning standard notation, if all you want to do is play the piece?

BECAUSE IT IS JUST A ROAD MAP OF ONE POSSIBLE ROUTE.

If all you really want to do is play the piece, and aren't concerned with a deeper understanding of the music, sure, tab reading will get you where you want to go. Standard notation may be unnecessary if you are content to rely upon the recordings to decipher rhythms, and feel your understanding of musical materials to be adequate for what you want to play.

However, I have found that many tab-only players are disillusioned with their abilities. They faithfully acquire tab and commit it to memory, often playing along with recorded versions of the tunes, yet feel they are not growing as players and feel at a loss to understand how to improvise or expand their own musical personalities.

Music theory can be a very intimidating and confusing pursuit, although it contains the many keys to unlocking many mysterious musical padlocks. The language of music theory is standard notation, so without the skills of note reading, players are left to their own devices.

1.A deeper understanding of chord/melody relationships. In a nutshell, understanding how notes relate to chords is a major route to understanding jazz improvisation, composition, and general msuical structure. Tablature does not give you notes as such, only a fret/string position. If you don't know what notes you are playing, and how they relate to the chord of the moment, you'll have difficulty improvising with consistency.

2. A better understanding of rhythm. Rhythmic notation reading skill is almost always absent in tab-only readers. The ability to understand and play with the right feel depends on how good your sense of time is, and understanding the notation of rhythm can help your playing. (A metronome or drum machine can be a player's best friend!)

3. The ability to learn your instrument in-depth: you can make your own choices where the play the notes, rather than having to stick with the tab positions. By understanding the fingerboard, you gain the kind of freedom of expression great instrumentalists need. You don't need to know the note names to understand the fingerboard, if you can do it intuitively and hear all the relationships. I find it much easier to "think music" on different instruments (as I play guitar, mandolin, octave mandolin, dobro and pedal and non-pedal steel guitar) by knowing what the chords are and what melody notes "work" (all 12 of them do, but how they relate to the chord is what makes them sound like they do).

There actually IS AN ORDER TO THE MUSICAL UNIVERSE, and things can actually make great sense once you understand the relationships. You don't have to be come a scientist to learn this craft, and it won't destroy your soul. I promise.

4. The language of music theory is standard notation. To understand how the basics of music work (harmony, melody, keys, etc.) is to become conversant with the universal language of music, regardless of style. This gives you a big head start in learning- when you hear a passage and can identify the notes and chords before playing, it saves you a lot of hunt-and-peck time. Hunting and pecking helps you, too, of course!

5. You don't have to be a fast sight reader to gain from knowing the notes used in building chords and melodies. It won't make you a musician, but it can make you a better musician.

6. All of this means nothing if you can't hear the relationships. Reading actually helps you develop your ear as you begin to recognize the sound of various intervals. The practice of sight singing, away from an instrument, is invaluable in helping develop your inner ear. It doesn't work with tab!

7. Wanna learn to read an orchestral score? Viola parts? Transpose on the fly?

From the pen of mighty bassist Jeff Berlin, interview with Dan Glenn (used with Jeff's permission):

DG: ...It amazes me that almost everywhere I read posts that Tab is worthless, and players should just learn to read music, yet virtually every bass website still has a Tablature forum. Can you imagine showing up at a film date and finding five music stands full of Tab, set up for each player? (Laughter) Man, Points…Tab spelled backwards is “Bat,” and that’s just what I’d like to take to it. Do you ever think it’ll burn itself out and younger players will come to their senses… or are they doomed?


JB: They are doomed if they keep using tab because tab doesn’t exist outside of being used by some music magazines and websites. A hundred thousand kids are doing nothing for their playing by reading tab and they don’t even know it. How about that? Besides! There’s no reason for tab because the music that it represents doesn’t need written representation. Tablature practically always represents rock guitarists and bass players lines and solos. You don’t learn those lines by reading tablabture.  You learn them through listening to the players then imitating what you heard. Without exception, this is the way that every single player in every style of music learned how to play.  Imitating is not only the sincerest form of flattery, but outside the classroom, it is the sincerest form of musical growth. Tab doesn’t exist anywhere in music except in rock education (which is an oxymoron since rock education is useless to everyone, and I can prove it). Readers, you are being conned with tab and you don’t even know it.

John McGann: I doubt there is a great jazz player alive who is exclusively a tab reader...they'd either be a "totally by ear" player or read at least some standard notation.

From the mind of Larry Bell, ace pedal steel guitarist:

I guess what really bugs me (from the pedal steel point of view -- which is what I do 99% of the time now) is that when tab is the learning mechanism, the ear to hands wire is not being connected. I'm a terrible tab reader and have always resorted to it as 1)an archiving tool (so I don't forget something that took me a week to cop 5 years later) and 2)as a teaching tool when you need to give the student a picture of HOW to play a phrase or a tune. It's only dangerous as a teaching tool when the student is not learning to play what he/she hears. Ear training is so important. On pedal steel I think it's more important than learning to read/write std notation. Most students seem to want to be able to make a sound they've HEARD. Most who want to play tunes out of the fake books have a pretty good handle on reading anyway -- I THINK. There's a wealth of written literature out there in the wide world of music. Those who don't speak std notation can't take advantage of it and many don't know (or CARE) what they're missing. I believe the same is true for the musician who can't hear a simple melody and play it -- then turn it into an arrangement.

I believe that musical memory is also a very important skill. Learning to play what you hear and REMEMBER IT is as important as writing it down, I believe. I've played in enough orchestra pits to know that musicians who are lost without a sheet of paper in front of them. Many of whom are considered CONSUMMATE MUSICIANS. Not in my book -- at least outside the realm of classical music. I'm very much skewed toward the improvisational, so I come at it from that angle. A good musician should just be able to PLAY. Whether or not there's a score -- or a sheet of tab. There are NOTATION JUNKIES TOO. I do have a bit more respect for them (for SOME REASON).

Your rant makes a lot of sense and exposes a number of important points. However, I have a problem with std notation on pedal steel. It probably needs some embellishment to tell WHICH E above middle C is referred to. The open string? The string below at the nth fret? Two down, WAY up the neck? None of the above -- there's a pedal or a lever in there? It's great for six string (with a bit of markup as well) and even better for piano or horn where there's only ONE of each note. I'm really partial to tab that INCLUDES std notation. If more pedal steel teachers would employ this system we might have more pedal steel players who can read AND the needed extensions would be developed and standardized. As it is now, when you ask a steel player if he can read all you get is the 'deer in the headlights' stare. I know -- that's what you'd get from me. ESPECIALLY if it's SIGHT READING.

(John McGann): Yep, pedal steel guitar makes straight guitar look like piano for ease of reading- while on the "straight guitar" the same pitch may occur on 5 different strings, on steel guitar not only do you have 10 strings (or 12 or 14, depending on your setup), the same pitch may occur 4 times ON THE SAME STRING- for example, the A string on the C6th neck can be raised a whole, a half, or lowered a half. So the D note, 4th string 5th fret no pedals can also be played at the 3rd fret (whole step raise, usually pedal 7), 4th fret (raise lever 1/2) or 6th fret (lower lever 1/2). Same pitch- 4 locations on the same string. No wonder we steel players are insane.

To deal with this, the sanest approach is standard notation with tab below. The Mus-Sym-Tab system, developed by Jimmie Crawford and Winnie Winston, uses symbols next to the tab notes to indicate how the string is altered, if at all- rather than indications for specific pedals or levers, that vary from player to player, it tells you "raise 4th a half" or "lower 6th a whole"- a very intelligent system that reinforces exactly what those pedals and levers do- essential knowledge for the thinking player!

From a dialog between the great banjo/steel player Winnie Winston and excellent banjo player/educator Pete Wernick:

Winnie: I've been thinking about the problems involved learning to play this beast ever since someone asked about getting tab to "Last Date."

I've been in touch with Peter Wernick, an old friend, who goes by the name of "Dr. Banjo." Pete runs music camps for aspiring players. When I asked him about the problems of learning how to play from reading tablature he equated it with the difference of learning to "recite", when one should be learning how to "speak" the language. He says he's seen this with ESL adults learning to read English. "Sometimes they are fluent, without actually knowing how to put together a simple sentence on their own. That works for some kinds of music, such as classical, or Broadway show
music. But it has not much to do with bluegrass." And, I will ask that we substitute (in this context) "steel" for "bluegrass.

I recall Nils Tuxen telling me about watching Lloyd do a number of shows and how "he never played it the same way twice." We might THINK he did-- after all "San Antonio Rose" is just "San Antonio Rose." But to Lloyd is is just a structure of a tune where the pieces can vary in subtle ways.

Pete: The problem you mention, and it's *rampant*, is what I call people learning
to "recite", when they should be learning how to "speak" the language. I've
seen this with kids or ESL adults learning to read English. Sometimes they are
fluent, without actually knowing how to put together a simple sentence on their
own. That works for some kinds of music, such as classical, or Broadway show
music. But it has not much to do with bluegrass.

I remember, Winnie, speaking of music epiphanies, as we've just started --
you went to see Reno play, and it amazed and sort of dismayed you that he played
lots of stuff that *wasn't on the record". That stuck in my head (obviously).
And Earl S. once told me, "I have no idea how anyone could play the same
piece exactly the same way twice."

This really is "the bluegrass way", but very few teachers or instruction
methods take note of it. Which is one reason why my Bluegrass Jamming video and
camps have been doing quite well.

I do a lot of group teaching (eleven multi-day camps this year), and quite
regularly encounter people who have never been taught how to play music with
other people, but maybe have had *years* of lessons guiding them through tabs
only. So they can (sort of) play one break to various instrumentals, but
AMAZINGLY, don't know the chords! They have no idea what to do when people jam on Will
the Circle Be Unbroken. This drives me crazy (in case you wonder what did
it). Their teacher never covers the subject, but recommends they go find a jam.
When they do, they realize they are not able to do it, and it actually
discourages them mightily. That leads to a lot of people *quitting*. When I think of
that, my blood starts to boil. I hate when people quit something that I love so
much, just due to poor guidance.

So I am waging what Nondi (Joan) calls a jihad regarding how bluegrass should
be taught. Bluegrass Unlimited gave me an opportunity to expound in a guest
editorial last May, and IBMA let me do a panel on the subject last October.
I've written articles about the subject in Banjo Newsletter, and the interviews I
do for publication also generally address the subject. Some of these are on
my web site.

My position is that people who learn how to *play* tend to do it for life.
Jamming is such a fun activity, once you get connected, it becomes more than a
mere hobby -- shown by how we old picking buddies have bonded and stay in touch
from far distant points, all these years later. I love that!

So how do I deal with individual tab-bound students? I give them the
unpleasant news that I think they've been taught wrong, and then say I'll be showing
them how to speak the language. Luckily, it will use pieces of what they
memorized, but it will also involve starting to develop a fast learning curve in
learning chord progressions, and at some point "hearing" chord changes. This news
bewilders those poor folks who've invested hundreds/thousands of dollars on
lessons and tab books. Sometimes it bums them out. Luckily I have them in the
class long enough so they begin to "get" the other way, that bluegrass really
does use and always has. That gives them some much-needed optimism.

I don't let people play with books open. Chords are followed by watching the
guitar player (who if no one knows the chords, is allowed to look in a book).
The lead singer can use a book to sing the lyrics. For learning choruses, *no
books*. I tell people, "The Star Spangled Banner" is a really hard song. How
did you learn it?" That's the way bluegrass is learned. They hate it when I
walk over and close their book, but I sort of relish doing that.

Suzuki learning involves making a sound/ear connection before it brings paper
in. Of course, they teach classical, and reading, but their method does
constitute a breakthrough. I'm trying to catalyze a breakthrough in bluegrass
teaching. Many people have told me I've changed their lives by showing them how to
jam, when after years of frustration, they were on the verge of quitting
playing their instrument.

Knowing there's an easy way for people to get into bluegrass (in the first
few weeks of their playing an instrument, by strumming, chording, and singing),
and seeing almost no one attempting to teach it, is quite frustrating for me.
At least, while I'm trying to change the way bluegrass is taught, I'm doing
pretty well as one of the few teachers who sees the need and addresses it.

Pete

Winnie: So Pete hits the crux of the problem. When you learn from Tab you are learning to "recite" but not to "speak."
This is not to say that Tab is "wrong." What Tab can tell us is what positions are being used, and how certain things are phrased.
When I started out I got Jeff Newman's "Music to E9th by." I've never gone through it completely. It was, to me, boring. In was in a hurry to learn to speak. But, I DID listen to it and isolate those few places where I could not figure out how to play the phrase-- and then, the tab gave me guidance.
And... I played with people. I started with playing along with records. They are great people! They do it the same each time, and don't complain when you screw up. I had a few records that were my faves-- two of Kitty Wells, one of Ray Price, one of Loretta, two of Tom T Hall. I just put them on and played along. It is GREAT ear training-- none of them tell you what key they are in... Sometimes I listed to the steel ON the record, most times I didn't.
I learned a lot about how to play and how to "speak."
I rarely spent time working on instrumentals.

But now, we have all this material available to learn from and, in some ways, it has taken the "learning" out of the process.

Just my two cents.

JW

Michael Maddux <Maddux@mail.dec.com> emailed me with these observations I'd like to share:

* playing with an act that is a 'reading' band. While most bluegrass musicians use 'head' arrangements ("you've just got to feel it, man") during performances, many other acts don't. As a case in point, on Wednesday nights in Colorado Springs we have a rehearsal band. For those not familiar with the term, a rehearsal band is a big jazz band that gets together for the expressed purpose of sightreading new literature. This band has a book of more than 300 tunes (to date) with more added all the time, generally each week. We'll read tunes down that no one in the band has ever seen before. This happens in front of an audience, as we play in a club here in town (Bogarts, 6-8pm, if you're in the area stop in). Sometimes we crash and burn, as these tunes are not easy. Imagine having a bluegrass band sight read Manzanita, all parts, in a performance situation, having never heard the piece before. That's what we do; sometimes it doesn't sound too great. With practice though, sometimes it's sounds fabulous, and it's always fun, always challenging, never boring. I've been trying to sight read the piano book on guitar... which is so challenging that I frequently find my self watching the music go by... ;^)

* additional point, I've got books like 1000 Fiddle Tunes, subtitled 'the fiddlers bible'. No tab. No recordings. If you want to get some of the great music out of that literature, you better be able to read.

* studio work; maybe you never wanted to be a studio player, but a well rounded studio musician is normally expected to be able to read any kind of fly specks that they throw in front of him/her, including tab, including stuff written in bass clef, treble clef, and sometimes in alto clef (or other weird cleff).

[Soapbox]

What a shame if the whole world had to lose some of those traditional tunes because all of the flatpickers or fiddlers couldn't read them; instead, all of the players play TR's version of 'Big Mon' note for note, because they had the tab or the album. sigh. The joy of art and music is growth, making your own statement even if it isn't as good as TR's - at least it's your contribution. Reading is one of the tools that can help you make that statement.

[End of Soapbox]

Thanks, Michael.

Once you understand how to deal with notes and rhythms on your instrument, you can practice sight reading all kinds of material. You'll have everything from Bach to Coltrane at your fingertips!

From Glenn Nelson:

I really enjoyed your article regarding the importance of learning to read music as oppose to using tab. It was a motivator for me to learn to read standard notation. It only took me about 3 months to be able to read standard notation. I recently joined a forming mandolin ensemble and knowing how to read standard is required. I am glad I took the time and effort to learn standard notation.

I will add this: there are some popular books of tablature from which an awful lot of flatpicking guitarists are learning settings of tunes. When they get together, say at a festival picking party/jam session, they all play the same breaks designed by Player X on the same tunes! It is easy to avoid developing your own personality if you don't go beyond the roadmaps.

There is a stereotype out there of the musician who cannot play without a piece of music in front of them. They have developed reading skills, but not the ability to memorize (which is greatly aided by the ear and the understanding of chord/melody relationships). To be a truly well rounded musician requires a lot more than fluent reading skills, whether tab, standard notation, or owner's manuals!