Author Topic: Tablature.... What the heck happened (Read 425 times)

alembic_doctor · « **on:** May 26, 2007, 08:24:26 PM »

Can anyone shed some light on this new law that has made everyone remove any tablature from their sites. I just went looking for some Kansas Tab and even Bassmasta.net is down.

Now I'm all for buying music to support the artists. I rarely download mp3's. I only do that when I either need to learn a song I don't like or the album it was on is just not available.

But, this thing with tablature is ridiculous.

Talk amongst yourselves publicly.

glocke · « **Reply #1 on:** May 27, 2007, 03:21:25 AM »

Yeah, I noticed that awhile ago. I was looking for some tabs of dead tunes ar rukind.com. All the G. Dead tabs were still up, but everything that were cover tunes they did were gone....

karl · « **Reply #2 on:** May 27, 2007, 03:55:05 AM »

Hi guys,

I work for a music publisher, so I have some inside knowledge of what's going on in this field.

Bassically, according to copyright law, it's illegal to give away transcriptions, whether standard notation or tab, of any copyrighted material without the explicit consent of the copyright holder(s). In most cases, the copyrights are held by the labels/publishers, who will distribute royalties onto the artists/writers (after taking their cut, of course). Copyright law states that the copyright holder is entitled to receive a royalty for every single copy of the copyrighted song, whether a recording or a writen transcription (eg standad notation, tabs or even just lyrics) in circulation. This is why it's illegal to photocopy books of sheet music (or any books at all, basically), or make copies of CDs etc. These sites that offered free tabs of copyrighted material have always been doing so illegally - the diference now is that the labels have finally got the powers that be to agree to clamp down on them.

The reason, I suspect, why The Grateful Dead's material is still available is that the band retained the copyrights to their own material and have stated that they are quite happy to let transcriptions be freely distributed.

I realise that this new move will upset a lot of people who are used to finding tabs for free, but as a songwriter myself, I can understand the reasons behind it. Songwriters and composers invariably put a lot of effort and passion into their work, and it seems only right that they should be paid for it eventually if it turns out to be popular.

I can recommend www.sheetmusicdirect.com as a vey good place to find tabs legally.

Karl

olieoliver · « **Reply #3 on:** May 27, 2007, 06:09:20 AM »

I foound some great books and ordered them from Borders.
The Bass White Pages of Tab being the newest.

As for Christian Music http://www.1christian.net/guitar/
has tab and chord charts.

olieoliver · « **Reply #4 on:** May 27, 2007, 06:14:50 AM »

If I can't find tab or music or charts I can always rely on old faithful(s), my ears.
Thats the way we did way back in my High School days.

OOh...ohhh School Days, now that gives me an idea for a new song..ooohh....hmmmm but where have I heard that before....

(Message edited by olieoliver on May 27, 2007)

bsee · « **Reply #5 on:** May 27, 2007, 07:03:35 AM »

Part of the reason why tab started showing up is that people couldn't hear or read music as well as they could play it. Another reason is that the music industry has absolutely sucked at making transcriptions available. When tab started going, most of what came out in sheets or books were semi-accurate piano arrangements.

Then there's the question of profits. Do you think any label is going to put out a book of Kiss tabs for some young throwback fan? No, they aren't. There's no money in it.

While I appreciate the ownership of copyright, I don't like this. If the music industry was going to come out with an iTunes-like service for tab, then it would make sense. I could better accept selectively enforcing the copyright for anything that the owners would like to publish themselves. Either that, or working out a licensing agreement with one or more tab services so the players that are looking for help can still get it.

glocke · « **Reply #6 on:** May 27, 2007, 07:07:31 AM »

I dont like it either. It is a little too heavy handed for me. I have copyrighted songs out there, and could care less whether or not someone transcribes my bass lines....

bsee · « **Reply #7 on:** May 27, 2007, 07:35:57 AM »

I just took a look at SheetMusicDirect. They have about 4K guitar tabs and 424 bass tabs. I did a quick perusal looking for a couple things and didn't have a great hit rate. If this is the best that's on offer, it's no wonder that individuals trying to help other individuals started writing and passing along tabs.

Sure, it's better than nothing if you really need a tab (for $4 per tune), but that's about the best that can be said for it.

dtrice · « **Reply #8 on:** May 27, 2007, 08:30:09 AM »

I still don't understand the practical side of banning tabs. I understand the theory of property rights of songs, but I don't understand the harm in free tabs. How would you know you wanted to learn a certain song without having bought the CD first or paid to see an artist's show? We all know tab is never a sure bet to getting the correct parts, but it usually saves a lot of time. Banning free tabs won't stop people from learning others' tunes so what is the practical reason, other than the poor old record industry is not seeing profits like they used to. We all know the reason that the labels are not profiting like they used to is not due to free tabs. Ehh...well that's my $.02 .

lbpesq · « **Reply #9 on:** May 27, 2007, 08:34:14 AM »

Try this site.

Bill, tgo

j_gary · « **Reply #10 on:** May 27, 2007, 08:51:50 AM »

I think this stuff of sqeezing every penny you can out of something is conterproductive. If you make the information, or product more difficult to access, the less likey it will be dispersed.

It's occures to me that half the success of the Beatles was due to the fact that their whole approach to marketing was free. Anyone who wanted to make a Beatle hat, pin, plate, you name it, was free to do so and did. Did it cost them money, yep. Did it help promote the band, I would argue yes, as they appear to have done okay for a group of street kids from Liverpool.

keith_h · « **Reply #11 on:** May 27, 2007, 09:24:32 AM »

I was just hit by this as well. I have been trying to pick up a very fast run that is hard to hear in the recording. I tried to find a tab that might have the run but no luck. In this case the owner of the copyright does get payed as we play the song at gigs.

There still is this site that has tabs on it though I don't know how complete it is.
www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs

Keith

alembic_doctor · « **Reply #12 on:** May 27, 2007, 02:10:26 PM »

So then this poses a question; At what point will they throw you in jail for showing a friend how to play a song. Oh. and then what happens to cover bands who are playing in clubs and making money on playing other peoples music?

What if a frend came over and I played for him the new Maroon 5 CD and I don't have an ASCAP license. AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I quit.

Back to ear training 101.

lbpesq · « **Reply #13 on:** May 27, 2007, 02:15:06 PM »

Doc wrote: So then this poses a question; At what point will they throw you in jail for showing a friend how to play a song.

I believe it depends on the song. Teach a Yanni song, go to jail! Works for me! LOL

Bill, tgo

alembic_doctor · « **Reply #14 on:** May 27, 2007, 02:19:18 PM »

Actually....... Does anyone know of any action committee or anything that might be challenging this. If so, I'd like to get involved. I think this is a load of hooey. I truly believe that having this information, freely available, fosters young musicians. And keeps us older ones from becoming frustrated beyond belief whenwe just want to figure out two or three measures of something.