[Harp-L] Sheet Music vs Tab it's a personal choice

[Philharpn@xxxxxxx]

In a message dated 8/5/2004 8:30:07 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
gigs@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
To me, the sheet music
Version of me playing sounds far better than reading the tab. Has
Anybody else had a similar experience? Also, I'd like to ask if anyone
has a favorite book of music that they play harp to.

I suspect the sheet music sounds better than the tab because you can figure 
out the timing of a tune. You can play a lot of wrong notes, but if you can get 
the timing right, people (and you yourself) will accept the song. But if the 
timing is all off -- slow then fast because you're not sure how it goes in 
certain parts -- even playing the correct notes won't help.

You can play Jingle Bells with just one note or one chord and if you're 
rhythm is right on, people will know that's what it is. 

Thanks, Brandon
Your question is too general about a favorite book. I have about 50. It 
depends on the tune. I also have about 20 fake books I've collected over the years. 
I also have a lot of books with tab and notation. Unfortunately, reading 
music has never interfered with my playing. I learned how to read music (more or 
less) in third grade on the piano bench. I always thought everybody could read 
music. What's so hard about 7 different notes? Or five lines and 4 spaces? The 
tricky part is connecting the dotes on the paper to the holes on the 
harmonica. But with only 10 (12-14- 16) holes, how hard can that be.


Fake books offer the most songs for least amount of money. Take your pick: 
Whatever you like, you can get in a fakebook: blues, country, pop, jazz, hymns, 
gospel, classical, Broadway et cetera ...(Caution: Et Cetera is often out of 
print). 

Notation shows you the notes, tablature shows you where to play them. 

There must be 20 different kinds of harmonica tab, each slightly more 
convoluted than the other. I prefer the number and notched arrow for bent notes. I'm 
not very good at overblows, so I ignore them. With the new XB-40, you can bend 
any note you need, easily and on pitch. I find the same is true with my 
chromatic CX-12.

The other thing you need to know whether you pick notation or tab is where 
the notes are on the harp. If you are going for a Bb, (3rd bend Draw 3 on C 
harp) you need to be able to play it or at least know where it is located.

Every time this dread (ed) topic comes up it's like the chicken and the egg. 
People who read tab** have no use for notation; people who read music** feel 
the same way about tab. ****With a few exceptions.

While the archive is full of people who can't read complaining what a waste 
of time to learn to read is; I could be wrong, but I don't recall anyone ever 
saying he/she regretted knowing how to read music.

Even if you aren't a fluent sight reader (meaning you can play notes at 
concert speed just by looking at them) you can tell a lot just by looking over the 
chart. Does this song require bent notes? Overblows? Can it be played in the 
first octave? The second octave? Third?

But I'd hate to live in a world without both tab and music notation. 

Phil Lloyd/AHN