Re: Gt-tabs and drum-notation

[David Raleigh Arnold]

I hope that you would do tab in general and not guitar tab. Banjo
players need it and guitar players do not, except possibly when using
deviant tunings. Besides, what about balalaika, colascione, bouzouki,
guitarra battente, theorbo, guitaron, guiterne, cuarto, charango, tiple,
baroque lute, even viola da gamba, just to mention a very few western
instruments? If the strings are set, the number of lines is set, the
first string/line on top. If the tuning of the instrument is to be
indicated somewhere, then give it after arbitrary tabline designations:

strings = dbgxy (B, G#, E, A,, E)

The above example is not arbitrary, however. It would be a sensible way
to write the banjo part in "Mack the Knife", the last banjo music,
ironically from Germany, using the American tuning. Kurt Weill isn't 70
years gone is he? I'm not quoting Kurt Weill, then.

Then the data by string and fret: d3 d0 (g0 b1 d2) x0
Use parentheses to get vertical alignment. It is easy for me to see that
the chord is a C/G chord with modern tuning, which I am more accustomed
to. It would be A/E with American tuning. If dealing with an unfamiliar
instrument, strings = abcde or strings = banjo might be better. Anything
but numbers.

The tab barlines and the vertical alignment come from *all* the other
included parts on the instrument's notation staff or staves, and that's
it. Most tab software is useless because tab doesn't have multiple parts
and consequently the software isn't written to deal with multiple parts
in the notation. Thus the notation is written in one part to make the
tab. Then it becomes possible to have both the notation and the tab and
still not be able to figure out how the music should sound! :-( :-(  :-(
:-( :-( :-( :-( :-( :-(.

Don't bother trying to translate the notes into tab. If you have
automatic tab generation, it only does the simplest case, where you
don't need tab anyway. I am positive that it is quicker and easier to
type in the tab than to repair, *if possible*, automatically generated
tab. You would end with a useless toy, like the stuff that's already out
there. Don't bother with stems, beams, ties, rests. They are in the
notation, so you get only clutter. Fortunately, getting alignment from
the included parts is the only nontrivial thing to be done. :-)

Those who want to have tab without notation could get it by writing on
one (transparent?) line. :address@hidden

Thanks a million in advance. And also not in advance.