Guitar tabs show you where to play the notes on your guitar and on which strings or frets should be played. While sheet music demonstrates to a musician which notes to play as well as the rhythm in which they should be played (for a quarter beat, a whole note, etc.).
Therefore, the fundamental distinction between the two systems is that guitar tablature is a set of fretboard fingering instructions that allows you to locate and produce those notes, whereas standard music notation is a visual representation of the pitch and duration of the notes of a piece of music.
In this article, I will be clearing most misconceptions people have about guitar tabs and sheet music. I will be talking about how they are read, which is more accurate, which is easier, which is better to learn, and at the end, I will be wrapping it up with icing on what I recommend.
I will also answer some frequently asked questions about guitar tabs and sheet music. If you have always had doubts or confusion about any of them, you are most welcome to the right place
Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music: 7 Differences
| Guitar Tab | Sheet Music | |
| How to Read | Read from left to right across the page. | Read through the knowledge of clef, staff and symbols. |
| Accuracy | Less Accurate | More Accurate |
| Used by Pros | Yes | Yes |
| Which is Easier | Easier | Harder |
| Required to Learn | No | No |
| Better to Learn | For those playing only | For music composers |
1. How To Read: Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music
Learn how to read music sheets properly
To read conventional notation from sheet music, It is necessary to have a prior understanding of each symbol, staff, and clef, as well as how they all work together.
For guitar tabs, finger positions are simply shown indicating where to place your hands to get the desired tone.
Tabs are read similarly to sentences in a book: across the page, left to right, sliding down to the next line only when you reach the end of the preceding.
When read from left to right, the notes and chords can be played in order. It should be noted that the sequence of all notes in a tab is chronological. Reading music can be a far more time-consuming process to master, but it helps to unlock a greater range of understanding and interpretation, as well as translatable skills to other instruments.
This form of sight reading for guitar requires players to understand the five lines and four spaces that make up the music staff. The top number indicates the distance between each vertical line or the number of beats in a measure (called a bar).
The note value (the length) of each beat is indicated by the bottom number. All notes printed in sheet music are one octave lower than they would be when performed on a guitar.
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2. Accuracy: Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music
Sheet music is often credited as more accurate
Compared to guitar tabs, sheet music is far more accurate because it typically includes all the information you need to play a song at its best. Tabs are simpler yet have many serious flaws, particularly in terms of timing and rhythm.
The dynamics (volume), tempo (speed), time value of each note, length of each note and chord to be sustained, and occasionally how and when to count to better coordinate with the rest of the band are all additional details that can be found in sheet music.
Because the guitar tab is so straightforward, these details are missing. In practice, most tabs are “crowdsourced” thus, evidence that it is typically less accurate.
3. Used By Pros: Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music
Truth is, pros can use both guitar tabs and sheet music. It all boils down to choice or what a particular situation calls for. While learning to play by ear is undoubtedly a wonderful skill to have, many guitarists find themselves using guitar tabs or reading standard notation.
But, according to what I know, tabs aren’t used by the majority of professional guitarists nowadays. Since most times, these professionals won’t be handed sheet music with tabs, they must instead learn sight reading. In circumstances where all they are given is the chord progression, skilled musicians rely on theory, expertise, and their hearing to play.
However, this does not imply that tabs are terrible or, as people think, that they are recent developments for guitarists who are too lazy to learn traditional notation. Truthfully, players of fretted instruments have been using tabs for well over 400 years. So, you see, it depends more on personal choice or preference.
4. Which Is Easier: Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music
Music sheets can make it easier to learn guitar
Tablature is the simplest and easiest way to read music for the guitar. This is the most significant advantage of the guitar tab that it is incredibly easy to learn.
As one of the most accessible ways to get started playing right away, beginners can quickly understand what notes to play by visualizing the fretboard and finger placements.
Compared to learning to read the music manuscript, it is much simpler. In fact, in tabs, you don’t even need to know the names of the notes you’re playing to understand a guitar part and play it correctly.
When learning the guitar, it is simpler and less frustrating to concentrate on learning songs via tab because they are self-explanatory and, in their simplest form, may be mastered in minutes as opposed to months. They don’t require as much time or effort to master as traditional notation or sheet music.
5. Required To Learn: Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music
None is required to learn, but you need to learn either tabs or sheet music to play. This makes guitar tablature the best way to go for those learning how to play because it’s simple and intuitive. It allows the student to learn without the need for much theory to understand it.
It makes it encouraging for beginners since they can play without having to go through all the hassles of learning sheet music from the start.
But, along the line, if desired, it is recommended that beginners can go advanced by learning the theoretical part and complex pieces of music transcription or sheet music.
So, this choice usually comes down to what helps you learn to play and make the experience more enjoyable. When it comes to sight reading for guitar, both TABs and sheet music are great options.
6. Better To Learn: Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music
It’s better to learn tabs if you just want to play sheet music if you want to write and compose your songs.
This is because guitar tabs do not require hours of practice to understand and can be a quick visual solution to playing a specific song while reading music can help provide a better understanding of music in general, more translatable skills, and greater grounding in developing musicality.
Most people that just want to play for the fun of it or mere love of the instrument can choose to stick to tabs. But if you have an interest in going into music, this would require you to learn not just the practical’s of strumming and playing but the theoretical aspect. This will help you in case you might want to write or compose your music someday.
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7. Recommendation: Guitar Tab Vs Sheet Music
Learn tabs first, then learn sheet music way later when you are advanced. Tabs are the most efficient way to enter the learning curve for proficient guitar playing because they are super easy and you can devote more time to concentrating on actual playing and fingering the notes and chords.
For someone just getting started with guitar, this is usually one of the first questions they ask. The best way to learn the instrument and figure out if the focus should be on chords or tabs.
Frankly, I believe it is usually too difficult for a novice, especially an adult, to master both proper fingering and music notation at once. Resulting in a decline in enjoyment and less motivation to practice. But by initially learning tabs, you’ll be able to play a few straightforward tunes in about a month, which boosts confidence and gives you more motivation.
So, I recommend that you learn the tabs, and then, after maybe a year or so when you can play a couple of dozen songs by tab, you are ready to branch out and begin reading music.
FAQs
Q: Can You Learn Guitar With Just Tabs?
You can learn guitar with just tabs. Tabs provide you with more than enough information to learn almost any piece of music. The easiest way to learn how to play the guitar is through them. This is because it is a way of notating music that enables beginning players to pick up songs fast and effortlessly.
Tablature teaches you to play by providing visual guidance of what strings to strike to generate each note in a song, even if it doesn’t provide as much performance information as traditional notation. With enough practice, you can eventually advance to the point where you can play songs entirely using tabs without needing any sheet music.
However, the major drawback is that tablature can not translate to other instruments. By solely learning TABs, not only are players unable to interpret sheet music, but rhythmic information, dynamics, and articulations can be lost.
It is also often said that tabs have a way of inhibiting your ear from getting better and as we know, ear training is one of the most important skills for any musician. So it is usually advised that once you are off the beginner’s track, advance to standard notation.
Q: Is Using Tabs Cheating?
Using guitar tabs is not cheating. Similar to sheet music, guitar tabs just provide you with the components you need to compose a song.
Even though tabs can be simpler to read than sheet music, they also demand effort. People who are unfamiliar with using tabs to play their music frequently believe that doing so is a quick route to success. It’s best to dispel such assumptions as soon as possible.
Although some people find it easier to read tabs and play with them, they are not the musical equivalent of a get-rich-quick scheme. They should be viewed as training tools instead. They make it possible for you to get at ease with playing the guitar without having to worry about learning anything else.
They won’t train you, just like training tools, or in this case, play the guitar for you. They stand for a more conducive learning atmosphere. Even if your objective is to play flawlessly, you will still need to put in the necessary effort to learn how to play properly.
This will only come with time and practice, much like many other things. There is no alternative for practicing, whether your method of choice is regular sheet music or tabs. So, if I were you, I would stop assuming that using guitar tabs is dishonest.
Q: Do Most Guitarists Read Music?
Many guitarists perform without having to read music if they learn to play by ear. Although it takes longer to learn and is challenging at first, it is possible to master guitar by ear without reading music.
Though some guitarists may be proficient readers of music, they are undoubtedly the minority. Many high-caliber musicians do not even know how to read standard music notation. Even modern songs developed without standard sheet music still fit all of the aspects of what makes music what it is.
So, you don’t need to read music to learn how to play the guitar. Pop guitar players and writers mostly rely on their understanding of chords and perhaps a little theory.
Since most guitarists have developed their aural (hearing) skills, they rarely read music. They can hear a song and then figure out how to play it.
