To get really good do I have to move beyond tab?

I think it's good to be able to read standard notation -- tab may not always be readily available. Or you may not always be playing in the key a tune was written in. It's a skill I should work on myself. My ability to read standard notation is, unfortunately, rudimentary. On the other hand, a lot of great rock musicians can't read standard notation, but they're great rock musicians. Since I'm not one of those great undiscovered talents, I think learning standard notation is a tool I should have in my kit.

Tab books generally have both standard notation and tablature in them - it's usually written as a double stave, with the standard notation on top.

A guitar has notes in more than one place. In fact, only the four lowest and four highest notes on any guitar are playable in only one place - the other notes are all available in at least two places, and maybe as many as six depending on the instrument. That presents choices in where you finger things.

It's not entirely different from the trumpet, though - you can play a G note with all valves open, or with 1&3 down, right? You make choices based on the notes around it. The guitar is the same way.

When you read 'at sight', you glance over the music to find the high and low spots, and pick a place to start. As you move through the music, you may find yourself shifting position to get an easier fingering, and maybe marking the score with position numbers for certain sections.

Because there are more choices on the guitar than most instruments, it's harder to read standard notation well. On the other hand, learning to read standard notation on the guitar allows you to really understand the layout a lot better than just tab - and that comes in pretty handy at times, like for voice leading.

What can it hurt to learn to read music? It can only make you a better guitarist yoou'll probably learn some theory on the way.

There's always some value to be had in being able to read standard notation.

And - nobody ever got fired from a band because they could read music.

Best,

A :-)

I can read tab really well now and my question is: Is there any reason for me to bother learning to read and play using real music?

So please explain to me the wholrom tab to real music thing, and whether I need to ever do it. If I can get music books that have tab, as well as note timing I can be set for life. I've seen the tab books in the stores, but never bothered to open one up. So do they have timing, as well as tab?

If you develop into a serious musician, there will be plenty of times where you will have to read music to do your job. If you're a session musician, there may well be specific licks you are expected to play, and they won't be written in tab for you. If you're in a bar band, there's plenty of music out there that you might be asked to play that at best you'll have a lead sheet for, but no tab. If you're in a band writting original material, and the keyboardist writes the music, you won't have tab. If you write the music, the keyboardist won't be able to read tab.

And maybe most importantly. . . most of the world's music is not in tab. Probably less than 1% of all the guitar music is available in tab form. Yes, there's a lot available, but there's far more that isn't.

Basically, if you want to ever do more than play in a cover band, you need to learn to read music, and the sooner you learn, the better off you'll be, because it takes a while to get good at it -- just like any other skill.

Also, once you learn to read music, you'll find that tab while usefull for telling you starting position, really does leave a lot of important information out. Very few musicians who are proficient at both Tab and standard music notation really prefere tab. I imagine there are some, but they are the exception and not the rule.

I guess to answer your subject question, we'd have to ask another question. What is "really good".

Look at some of the big names, Hendrix, Clapton ,those fellas. They are VERY good at what they do. Songwriting, improvisation, blues. They don't read music though.

So do you need to be able to read music to be a good guitar player, or really good, or amazing- I'd go with no. You don't. I'd much rather play with a guy that can improvise then play with one who can't, but can read Mozart. (I don't know if Mozart's music is hard to read or not, but you know what I meant).

I'd much rather play with the first guy because that's what I'm interested in, improvisation.

So I guess my answer is, it depends on what you want to do with the guitar.