What Classical Guitar Tabs Should I Get? - See What You Should Know Before Purchasing Your Tabs
This is an age old question for guitarists. However, for most other musicians it's a no brainer. If you want to be part of the music pros then you need to be able to read sheet music.
But why is that? Isn't notation just for snobs? Can't you make do with just classical guitar tabs? Why put in the work?
The truth is that tabs give you less than 8% of the information that notation gives you... and I'm not kidding here. After all, Mozart or Beethoven did not write classical tabs.
Tab is great... if you're doing math!?! But if you're a musician, it's all about the notes.
Tab gives a string and a fret. But what you really need is a NOTE. Because is it, after all, music. Imagine being a writer that cannot read.
Lack of sheet music reading skills also shuts the door on deep harmony and theory concepts. Gettin information like 2, 3, 5 etc... doesn't really grow you as a musician.
But it gets worse - Tab doesn't give you rhythm. This not only means lack of crucial information, but it also translates into poor rhythm skills.
This is why musicians that learn how to read music seem to get a "steroids" shot in their music skills. Their technique and mastery of the instrument just shoots up exponentially. They master music.
Because they can go through a lot more material and undrestand it, they stand head and shoulders above the crowd. They enjoy music and the guitar much more and have a lot more fun expressing themselves.
Does this mean that I'm against tab? No, not really. Tab has it's place in the beginner circle and it can help sheet music uncongest a bit by putting the fingering outside the notation. But to rely on tab is like thinking that just because you can play Guitar Hero you're a real guitarist.
Most students feel that music reading is hard. Some know a bit of reading but they find it so hard that they almost always abandon it because it's such a joy-killer. The truth is that if it's not done right it can be quite frustrating.
If you've made up your mind to join the pros and learn to read easily and effortlessly then you should go HERE and check out our course. It is the only way to learn how to read in a professional manner...
Before you buy your classical guitar tabs think about what you'd like to learn. Fun is an important part of learning classical guitar.
So what are you interested in? Is it the baroque period and material such as Bach and Vivaldi? Are you more drawn to spanish guitar?
You don't have to have only one answer. Often you'll be attracted to more than just one category. The important part is to realize just how complicated the material you want to play is.
I often see students pick material that's just too much for their abilities to handle. This robs them of the fun of classical guitar. It's good to get material that challenges you but that's also within the range of your current playing abilities.
This not only keeps up the fun factor and makes you spend more time on the guitar, resulting in much more growth as a guitarist, but they also pave the way for those complicated pieces. So get material that you like yet is also playable. It doesn't do much good to get a complicated piece that just sits on your shelf because it's way above your level.
Have a lot of material available. Build your collection and go through them. This is a killer way to build guitar chops.
Let me ask you a question:
You have 2 guitarists...
- Guitarist 1 - Studies a piece (Let's call the piece X) for a whole year. He plays it over and over again.
- Guitarist 2 - Studies 30 pieces in a year including piece X.
At the end of the year who do you think will be able to play piece X better? You may be tempted to say that the first guitarist can, because he spent one whole year on just that piece. You would be WRONG!
The truth is that the second guitarist will be "miles" ahead of the first. This is a fact! But why is this happening? Shouldn't the first guitarist by sheer virtue of the fact that he spent so many hours on piece X (as compared to guitarist 2) be able to play it much better?
NO! This is because studying more pieces evolves your technique. It grows you as a musician. You end up way ahead by the simple fact that you have more EXPERIENCE.
Think of it like this: Would you become more cultured, learn more and know more by reading ONE book 30 times in one year, or 30 books each one time in that same year?
Another thing you should consider are technique books. These books will also help you grow tremedously.