FAQ: The Guide to Tablature - How to read and write TAB
 
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                ***     THE GUIDE TO TAB NOTATION :      ***
                ***      HOW TO READ AND WRITE TAB       ***
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                                     Written by Howard Wright
                                     Howard.Wright@ed.ac.uk
 
 
                                 Last update : 15th July 1997 
 
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***            Copyright Howard Wright and the olga-grunts               ***
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*** This document may be distributed freely as long as NO CHARGE is made ***
*** and my name and email address are not removed. If you want to edit   ***
*** or re-format this document for public consumption, please contact me *** 
*** first. If you try to make any money by selling this guide to TAB, in ***
*** part or as a whole, you will be struck down by a bolt of lightning.  ***
***                        Probably.                                     ***
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I have now got a version of this guide in HTML.
If you would like a copy of the HTML version, drop me a line.
 
 
 CONTENTS
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1.0  What is TAB 
 
1.1  What TAB will tell you
 
1.2  What TAB won't tell you.
 
 
Reading Tab :
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2.0  TAB notation - The Basics
 
2.1  Other symbols used in TAB
 
2.2  Hammer ons and pull offs
 
2.3  Bends
 
2.4  Slides
 
2.5  Note length information
 
 
 
Writing Tab :
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3.0   Getting Started
 
3.1   To Tab or not to tab
 
3.2   Things to do when writing TAB
 
3.3   Things to avoid
 
 
 
 
 
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***  1.0    WHAT IS TAB   ***
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TAB or tablature is a method of writing down music played on guitar or bass.
Instead of using symbols like in standard musical notation, it uses ordinary
ASCII characters and numbers, making it ideal for places like the internet
where anybody with any computer can link up, copy a TAB file, and read it.

Continued in the next message...
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