Where Did The Guitar Tabs Go?

[kent_eh]

It's not only tabs that have gone away. Standard notation, lyrics, chord charts ... verboden.

Huh??
Chord charts?
They can't possibly believe they can claim copyright on a chord fingering chart can they?

As in, if I said:

Strum quarter note downstrokes of an A major (x02220) for 4 bars, then switch to D major (xx0232) for 4, then repeat.

Then that runs afoul of their demands?


* The diagrams I linked are from Wikipedia, and were released to the public domain by the creator of the graphic. No lawyers were bent, folded, spindled, or mutilated in the creation of this post.

[rparker]

* The diagrams I linked are from Wikipedia, and were released to the public domain by the creator of the graphic. No lawyers were bent, folded, spindled, or mutilated in the creation of this post.

They can still bring action against you. You have to prove that what you said is indeed true. The burden is not on Wikipedia. You can use Wikipedia as an exhibit, or evidence, but you had better have whatever source wikipedia uses and so on and so forth. and if you happen to lose, it's up to you to go to wikipedia to collect damages. You can't say "I got this from them, so sue them". You, as a site owner, are ultimately responsible for the content.

I'm not picking on anyone, especially you, Kent_eh. It was merely an easy illustration (and taken way out of context) to state that morals, right vs wrong, logic vs illogical and cats vs dogs ain't got nuttin on the literal translation of the law. There are tons of arguments already posted that would be valid and correct if big-picture logic were called into the equation. Sadly, this isn't the case.

[slejhamer]

Chord chart as in lyrics with chords written above. Maybe that's not the precise term, but I didn't mean chord diagrams like those, Kent. Sorry for any confusion.

Example of chord chart (as I think the term is sometimes used):

Code: Select all

THE BALLAD OF JED CLAMPETT
Earl Scruggs
 
G                              Am        D
Come listen to a story 'bout a man named Jed
                           G6              G
A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed
                    C                Bm
Then one day he was shootin' at some food
    D                            G6       G
And up through the ground came a-bubblin' crude
 
Oil that is. Black gold. Texas tea.

There, I did it. Clear violation of the law.

[Scrybe]

Y'know, if I'd never learned to play guitar, my music costs (and I mean CDs, DVDs, books, n concert tix, etc., not my equipment, tho that's cost a bit) would be way less substantial than they have been over the past 10-12 years. And if I hadn't had free resources available to me while learning (and still do!) I'd have been totally screwed for learning, so those costs would be much less. In other words, business can be incredibly dumb.

[TRGuitar]

Exactly! It's the old cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

Oh, and Mitch .... Jed Clampett called and he is p*ssed! (I just heard on the radio that in England p*ssed means really drunk. Over here it means really mad. Funny huh?)

[Ricochet]

And over there really mad means really crazy, not really angry.

[Nick]

You know as I sit here at my desk I am amazed at the sheer volume of guitar books I have. I probably have four bookcases full. And if it wasn't for tab, I wouldn't own any of it.

Silly really.

[Scrybe]

Exactly! It's the old cutting off their noses to spite their faces.

Oh, and Mitch .... Jed Clampett called and he is p*ssed! (I just heard on the radio that in England p*ssed means really drunk. Over here it means really mad. Funny huh?)

Over here it means both!

[tinsmith]

Is that like where I am, "wicked good" means really well. Usually has the word "pissa" in there too.


Wicked pissa good......


I have quite a collection of published tabs as well. I got sick of getting crap or virus' from looking for wicked pissa crap.
So if I'm serious ( & lazy) I just buy it.

[kent_eh]

Chord chart as in lyrics with chords written above. Maybe that's not the precise term, but I didn't mean chord diagrams like those, Kent. Sorry for any confusion.

Ahhh.
Your probably right. I am often accused of not remembering the right term.

And Roy, I agree that normal concepts of right and wrong don't seem to apply when corporate interests and expensive lawyers get involved.

I think I'll just shut up on this topic, before I get both of my feet into my mouth

[rparker]

Is that like where I am, "wicked good" means really well. Usually has the word "pissa" in there too.
Wicked pissa good......

I totally went somewhere else with this at first. I was thinking of something like being able to clear the hood of a dumptruck.

back to topic at hand:

Who exactly is raising a big stink behind the scenes? Here's my romantic thought. I bet no musicians are driving this. If not them, who else has a vested interest?

And that's when I had this really weird thought, after I posted earlier this afternoon. It would be horribly ironic if the same people behind the people enticing David Hodges to write books are the ones cribbing about his very own internet content. You know, the content that helped make his good name and his books sell. It's not inconceivable that it's only a couple connections away from being a reality.

[rparker]

And Roy, I agree that normal concepts of right and wrong don't seem to apply when corporate interests and expensive lawyers get involved.

I think I'll just shut up on this topic, before I get both of my feet into my mouth

Dude, I'm really sorry about pointing your comment out. Everyone here, myself included, has said the same types of things earlier. It doesn't add up and it stinks-on-ice.

[Staffan]

It would be horribly ironic if the same people behind the people enticing David Hodges to write books are the ones cribbing about his very own internet content. You know, the content that helped make his good name and his books sell. It's not inconceivable that it's only a couple connections away from being a reality.

- Yeah, I think you´ve got a point here! Man, that would be weird... and not so nice for our David. Not nice at all

[slejhamer]

Who exactly is raising a big stink behind the scenes? Here's my romantic thought. I bet no musicians are driving this. If not them, who else has a vested interest?

MPA and NMPA represent the sheet music publishers, not the artists. So, it's Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, Alfred, MusicNotes, etc.

Penguin, who publishes the Idiot Guides, probably has to pay a royalty to those guys if they use copyrighted music in their publications.

[rhgordon]

WOW! What an impact this has had on your site! This is by far the best learning site out there. The rest are for the most part worthless. You have an amazing ministry here.

I agree that you should comply with the "legals", but Is there a way that we can pay for the tabs? Without them, the time to learn has increased by 10 fold. I would be more than willing to pay a subscription or a fee to access the tabs if that keeps people happy.

BTW, I can't think of a single lesson you have posted where I didn't purchase the song. You put money into the composers pockets, not take it away!

I hope something can be done, as without the tabs, the value of the site has been greatly hindered.

I look forward to this being resolved and hearing the result of these actions.