Shaganappi
7 posts
Feb 18, 2013
4:40 PM
|
Have just put up a web page (currently only easily accessible from the link below in this forum until I get the bugs out) for a new system to notate Rhythm with Harp Tab. I find it very easy to use. But that is what everyone says when it is theirs. So evaluate it yourself. Will be interesting to hear your comments (& corrections?).
Standard Tab is pretty useless if one does not already know the tune being learned. I maintain that if any piece is properly notated with Beat Tab, that a competent player should be able to figure it out the rhythm from scratch. I am not saying that it will be simple to just hear a piece and quickly write out tab without a good ear (or some program) but if you CAN figure out what a player is doing, then it normally can easily be written out by using Beat Tab.
It was an ambitious project for me as I am not a webhead, but I feel strongly that this is "the way" to notate the blues harp as opposed to the typical patchwork that people have been using. It is concise and precise yet maintains the familiarity of standard tab and is also fully QWERTY. And it uses symbols in a logical, consistent and non-obtrusive manner that is easy to remember once one understands the system.
I recommend players to go to the website and take sufficient time to understand the system, either through the Quickstart Puzzles (recommended) or through the Machinery section which details the system. If interested, an example of the first few bars of Adam's K&S that I showed him last year at HCH3 is included there. Also the familiar Last Night as played by Sayles at HCH2. More examples are in the Practical section.
There are a number of features of the notation that may surprise some including the ability to transpose licks to different positions as well smaller features such as to condense repeats, account for combinations of both straight and swing rhythms, typical chording and a bunch of other stuff.
See:
https://sites.google.com/site/btabnotation/
But take enough time with an open mind to really look at it while trying a few examples. Remember that Standard Music notation which a few forum members have recommended in the past (at least as a dual system with tab), takes more than 10-15 minutes of study to learn it. So expect SOME time to be spent on this too if it is to be properly learned.
|
nacoran
6508 posts
Feb 18, 2013
9:03 PM
|
Qwerty compatible! That's one of the reasons I've never really worked on my system. I wanted to use a moveable 'do' system. It would work like regular sheet music except it would make it so that the holes would always be on the same line or space. The biggest problem in my system is the 3 octave range means you still can't fit it all on one clef. And of course, regular sheet music isn't Qwerty friendly.
----------
Nate
Facebook
Thread Organizer (A list of all sorts of useful threads)
Last Edited by nacoran on Feb 18, 2013 9:05 PM
|
KingoBad
1245 posts
Feb 18, 2013
10:10 PM
|
Looks like it could work, but I think it might be just as easy to learn to read music.
----------
Danny
|
mr_so&so
647 posts
Feb 19, 2013
2:24 PM
|
Holy cow, Shaganappi, a whole lot of work and thinking went into that. It will take me a while to go over it all. I really like the keyboard-friendliness of it.
@KingoBad, Music notation does not capture what you have to do on the harp to play the song. It does capture what Western music requires, but I'd argue that it does not capture micro-tonal music and "swung" music very well at all. So don't underestimate the usefulness of a compact, easy to type, and comprehensive harp tab. It's long over due actually.
----------
|
Shaganappi
12 posts
Feb 22, 2013
9:42 AM
|
Yes, QWERTY & Swing are big with Beat Tab but also is great to quickly notate for if ALL the beats are accounted for too. It's a lot of factors to make a good system. As stated:
"A good notation system should not only be ACCURATE and CONCISE, it should also be easily learned, be INTUITIVE and at least account for the most COMMON occurrence of notes, rhythm & ornamentation. In the end, it should allow the player to rely less on notation and to encourage more time spent playing and improvising."
Maybe check out "Further Examples" to see some simple and not so simple uses. I just finished throwing in a tab on Eleanor Rigby and there one can easily see the use per accounting for beats. It is so easy once you get the hang of it. Waaay less time than Standard Music notation. Excuse the disorganization of the web pages at the end. Was running out of steam there. To improve later.
Remember that the skeleton is often the most useful of the piece as harp players will embellish anyway so why bother to notate for these in many cases and then it becomes VERY simple to tab and complete the Rhythm part. Just a bunch of - - 's mostly really after thinking about where the down beats are.
|
Greyowlphotoart
1131 posts
Feb 22, 2013
9:59 AM
|
Good stuff man! I'm going to give it a go.
----------
Grey Owl YouTube
Grey Owl Abstract Photos
|
KingoBad
1252 posts
Feb 22, 2013
6:23 PM
|
I should probably note that I'm not a fan of Tabs. While I can read music, I would'nt do that either (at least at this point). I'd rather depend on my ears anyway.
----------
Danny
|
Shaganappi
16 posts
Mar 07, 2013
7:39 AM
|
Born in the east (Nova Scotia), moved out west. I like mountains & skiing. I understand you spent time this way too Winslow. Btw, nice job on that Blues book. LOT to digest. Thanks. Am thinking that I would love to see a book written with Beat Tab though. It would be so much better for the reader in my mind. It is an ideal teaching tool for book or classroom. Don't try using Standard Music notation in a classroom with typical blues harp players. Beat Tab works easily for blackboard teaching.
KingoBad: If you can do without tab, it probably is the best way to go IMO. Good harp is way more about the ears and heart. I truly envy that type of ability. Some of us tend to do a lot of dissecting - years of doing detailed technical stuff has likely ruined me haha. I am trying not, but damn, cannot stop easily (as you may have figured from my web site). But it has opened up a number of doors for me in my learning when taking apart certain licks.
Some people need tab, at least to teach others per some of the detail. I doubt if any courses you have attended did not have a tab handout or two. Why? Because we forget stuff a week, a month or a year later and wish we still had the information. And not just the note stuff - think RHYTHM.
|
