Sources of bad tab?

Bad notations probably stem from a number of reasons, but I know my cheapo notation software can garble something beyond playability (my recording software does the same).
I took the liberty of circling where it all goes wrong.
If it wasn't 135 BPM, maybe...
:)

That's the sort of thing I've encountered. Awkward fingering one string off an easy fingering.
Moving from 3040xx to x90xxx then back to x02xxx

So it IS software, eh??? (I figured as much)

I still find the puzzle helpful because it forces me to work thru the notes-per-string issues and get to know the fretboard better. But of course it's time consuming and I may not learn the piece for many weeks while getting the tab sorted out.

Thanks for the responses folks.

The Dunning-Kruger effect ;)
hahahhahaha I cant even deny that :lol: .... :roll:

hahaha

I tried to learn Bron-Yr-Aur using a tab I found on the web a while back. It was really baffling and I couldn't get it at all. Then I bought a commercial tab that made it really easy.

The difference was, the person who tabbed it and posted it on the web had it worked out to play in standard tuning :roll: which is pretty much impossible. In the right tuning the song practically plays itself.

Tab isn't the problem - it's the people transcribing things. And I agree, the publishing industry isn't smart enough to seed bad tab - I've seen plenty of pretzel-fingerings in "official" transcriptions.

I think there are a few problems:

- transcription software. I bought a transcription program a few years ago and used it exactly once. The end result was garbage - not even pitch-accurate.

- 13 year olds who got a guitar for Christmas posting tab. As the tab sites all copy off each other, garbage replicates quickly.

- people doing transcriptions who don't play guitar. I think that's the cause behind the "official" ones that are unplayable, and probably some of the ones on the internet. Today I was going over an internet tab with a student for a John Lee Hooker tune, and it was largely pitch accurate, but had needless position shifts

- software glitches. I've found bugs in all the free tab programs I've tried; in most cases they're problems when accidentals are applied or sections are transposed.

- bad ears. Some folks simply get it wrong. And the folks who can get it right aren't about to give it away

I totally agree with Noteboats statement about the people that really can do it right have no need to post it on the Internet for free.

That's why there are no good tabs out there on the Internet. If you really have a good ear and can tab things out correctly why would you be putting them out there for free? Nothing better to do?

I'm not quite ready to believe that altruism is entirely dead. Close (hence the username), but not quite there yet.

My biggest problem is one of the things Noteboat eluded to earlier. Every site seems to copy each other's tab or chord sheets. All's you need is one putz to post an incomplete or improperly done song somewhere and it's the same thing on all the sites from there on out.

I've also found Guitar Pro to be pretty decent, but there are still issues from time to time.

You could try a slow down program, some have free trial downloads. I got the Amazing Slow Downer.
It will slow the music down to 20% speed without changing pitch, you can crop single notes, loop, so
there can be like no mistake of the actual pitch, you can hear the bends (in rock) as the progress.

....Granted this does take time, patience and focus,

Great for figuring out solos. Can't say I've had much luck picking out chords though,
(is it a minor, 7th or what), but I guess that just takes more ear development.

[
So it IS software, eh??? (I figured as much)

Sort of.
You were asking about software that can import an audio file and spit out tab or sheet music.
That doesn't exist.

What does exist is software that can be told (via keyboard) what note is wanted, and it converts that into "dots on a page" or TAB.
Sometimes the translation from standard notation to TAB doesn't work for normal human fretting hands.

The conversion of sounds into notes is still an "ears and brains" job.

You were asking about software that can import an audio file and spit out tab or sheet music.
That doesn't exist.

Actually it does. You can import a midi file into guitarpro and it will tab out all the instruments for you. I've tried it once and it worked well. Of course the fingerings have to be fixed.

Actually, AK, it doesn't exist - if you have a MIDI file to import, somebody's already done a transcription; MIDIs are not the original recording, and it's not possible to do a decent conversion from CD-A, wav, or mp3 formats to MIDI without human intervention.

There IS software marketed that allegedly takes a wav input and cranks out sheet music. I bought one of those, thinking it might save time. I was wrong - it took more time to clean up the garbage it put out than it takes me to transcribe the same tune from scratch.

I have to put a good part of the blame for bad tabs on the RIAA.

I run a network of web sites. I would absolutely love to set up a tablature site that was devoted to doing it right - quality transcriptions, letting users discuss and rate them, and maybe even allow wikipedia-like community editing. Altruism and the efforts of the community could easily make it the best out there. Just look at Wikipedia or the Firefox browser. Community efforts work. It might take years but if I stood behind it it could be amazing.

Unfortunately, if I set up such a site the RIAA would threaten me and it would be down within a month. That's no time to build a community and fine-tune hundreds of tabs to perfection.

Sigh. :|

More reliable tab is available through Powertab. You need to download the powertab editor from Power-tab net. Then tabs are archived at Powertabs.net. You might have better luck there.

+1
I've found the most reliable stuff via Powertab. Although there have been some clunkers there as well. Not many!- just a few.

+2 And you know why it is good? Pure plagiarism. :lol: With the Power Tab program you can transpose your tab direct from books and guitar mags and I think thats what people do. It is not their own work, but I don't mind. I have a most complete collection on my PC and it is easily cataloged. For many of these songs I have the Guitar World issues they came from and they are note perfect copies.

Don't blame the RIAA, mmoncur - blame the Congress. The RIAA is only defending property rights that our representatives have given them.

PowerTab is great, but I hate that they don't have words or time markers on each section so you know where you are in a song. Just printed out a PT and it was 20 pages!