Members RedJamaX Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 Is anybody here purchasing tablature via the SheetMusic site from Harmony Central? Can anyone comment on the quality of the transcription work? I recall the OLGA database site before the copyright infringement problems, and that there were several different versions of each song based on that particular person's interpretation of how the song was played. Then there were some that were diliberately different from the actual artist-composed version in hopes of getting around the copyright laws. And typically, out of 7 different tabs you would be lucky if just ONE of them was the correct transcription as the artist composed it. I can see on the SheetMusic site that there are many transcriptions for the same songs which are simply labeled "Guitar-Tab". So here is my question... Are these offical transcriptions of the sheet music as it was composed by the artists? Or is it the same collection of user-transcribed TABs from the OLGA that we now have to pay for? I don't mind paying for tablature, but if that's the case, I want the official artist composed version that you would find in a published tablature music book. I simply want to make sure I am getting a quality product for my money. I refused to buy iTunes music when it was first available because they only offered songs at 128bit quality which is nowhere near CD quailty, but they were certainly charging CD level (per track) prices... Anybody have any input on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RedJamaX Posted July 30, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 So here is the offical reply from their support team...Dear Eric,Guitar Tab Play-Along is arranged so that all the guitar parts/melody can be played on one single guitar. Guitar Tab is closely related to a note-for-note transcription, but may vary a bit based on the transcriber's discretion, and may be arranged for multiple guitars.If you are looking for a note-for-note transcription, we suggest looking for pieces that include an album title above the actual title (visible on the first page). That will show what album the transcription is from. If there is more than one arrangement, they could be based off of different recordings (again, see the album title info), or they could be different arrangements based on playing style (i.e. fingerpicking, strumming, etc.). Usually the cover of the book that the song came from might give you an indication. Remember to see the first page/preview page to see what type of arrangement it will be before purchasing.We hire arrangers/transcribers to do our Guitar sheet music (we do not accept sheet music submitted by individuals). The artists themselves do not usually have a part in this, except for a handful of books that are "Artist Approved" (noted on the front cover of the book). This means that the arrangements/transcriptions were looked at by the actual artist, and they were approved.We hope we answered all your questions!Sincerely, SMD Support Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 Brother with the amount of effort you are going through with this you'd be better served buying a copy of Transcribe or some other slow downer software and doing the work yourself. WAAAAAYYYYYYYYY more benefits to your playing. Massive. I have said it before and I will say it again ad-naseum. Players would be far better off if they out-right outlawed tab altogether. Yet most will read this and not listen. Sorry man, I know this comment is likely not what you want or even welcome here at fear of derailing your thread. But it's the best advice i have to offer. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RedJamaX Posted July 30, 2012 Author Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 While as a previous piano and saxaphone player through middle school, I absolutely agree with you on the benefits of learning to read, play and write guitar music by the written musical score. That being said, I am a father of two adolecents with a demanding career and guitar is my hobby (along with gaming, building PCs, upgrading my home as a weekend warrior and woodworking craftsmanship). In no way do expect to compose or produce music as a professional or for any monetary gain. This is my personal hobby, and that is all. And for that purpose, I beleive tablature is absolutely acceptable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 While as a previous piano and saxaphone player through middle school, I absolutely agree with you on the benefits of learning to read, play and write guitar music by the written musical score. That being said, I am a father of two adolecents with a demanding career and guitar is my hobby (along with gaming, building PCs, upgrading my home as a weekend warrior and woodworking craftsmanship). In no way do expect to compose or produce music as a professional or for any monetary gain. This is my personal hobby, and that is all. And for that purpose, I beleive tablature is absolutely acceptable. Agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonfinn Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 I'd like to address this question from the point of view of an artist. I've released 3 CD's of my own so far. Also, I've received many emails over the years requesting that the material be transcribed and released. Most folks seemed willing to pay for the transcription.To that end, I've spent a fair amount of time transcribing the music I've released and performed. I figure that I'm probably the best person for that job since I played it. Plus I'm fully fluent in music notation; both by hand and via software (Finale).Here's what I've found: It's incredibly time-consuming to do an accurate transcription for so many reasons. Therefore, I tend to make time-management decisions. I work on it when other things aren't more pressing. I'm still working on transcriptions of pieces I recorded more than 18 years ago!What I'm getting at is that a professional transcriber is typically a 20-something music student who's willing to work for approx $5.00/page. The publisher typically won't spend a lot of time/money on error-correcting because transcription books aren't big earners. Instead they "culture" us to be tolerant of inaccurate transcriptions. Perhaps it's useful to keep that in mind while purchasing transcriptions?Is anybody here purchasing tablature via the SheetMusic site from Harmony Central? Can anyone comment on the quality of the transcription work?I recall the OLGA database site before the copyright infringement problems, and that there were several different versions of each song based on that particular person's interpretation of how the song was played. Then there were some that were diliberately different from the actual artist-composed version in hopes of getting around the copyright laws. And typically, out of 7 different tabs you would be lucky if just ONE of them was the correct transcription as the artist composed it. I can see on the SheetMusic site that there are many transcriptions for the same songs which are simply labeled "Guitar-Tab". So here is my question... Are these offical transcriptions of the sheet music as it was composed by the artists? Or is it the same collection of user-transcribed TABs from the OLGA that we now have to pay for? I don't mind paying for tablature, but if that's the case, I want the official artist composed version that you would find in a published tablature music book.I simply want to make sure I am getting a quality product for my money. I refused to buy iTunes music when it was first available because they only offered songs at 128bit quality which is nowhere near CD quailty, but they were certainly charging CD level (per track) prices...Anybody have any input on this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members NewGuyonGuitar Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 Really? I've purchased a handful of "song" books from various music stores over the last few years. I figured the tablature would be accurate and save me the headache of sifting through the stuff on the web. Interesting to know that those books may not be terribly accurate either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted July 30, 2012 Members Share Posted July 30, 2012 Whenever I have actually paid for individual transcriptions (a very few occasions), I have found them to be very high quality, and got the question I had about the piece in question answered. Just FYI I haven't bought them from Harmony Central yet though. Books are another thing altogether. I've seen books of transcriptions that are nonsense... I guess that there's not going to be any hard and fast rule. Of course you can be sure that internet free tabs are mostly wrong. My experience has been that online purchases have been good. Books are probably a mixed bag. There's also the question of 'fit for purpose'. I suspect that most books of songs have chords in them good enough to campfire sing the songs, but not necssarily good enough to answer "how does the timing work in the transition to the bridge?" GaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GreenAsJade Posted August 27, 2012 Members Share Posted August 27, 2012 One interesting thing I'm finding is that if the rhythm is transcribed correctly, the notes are as well. IE if you're looking for a quick indication of whether the transcription is going to be good (if you can see it) check the rhythm. I've got a transcription of Private Investigations from a friend from a book. Its absolutely spot on. And the rhythm is all there. GaJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members c+t in b Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 To the OP: CD bit Depth is 16 bit not 128. CD sample Rate quality is only 44.1 Khz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mcmurray Posted August 28, 2012 Members Share Posted August 28, 2012 ^ He meant lossy compression bit rate not PCM bit depth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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