Josh vs the world: different fret positions in tabs - why & how?

Technique
21

@Gio

My current approach is:

  • Stick to the tabs I find, except when it feels f#cked up from a beginner’s point of view.
  • Try to find positions that are very close and can possibly play without moving my fretting hand too much. That means:
  • Prefer string crossings to moving “long” distances, except when
  • There are necessary slides (ie “Sweet Jane” by Cowboy Junkies)
  • Prefer open strings, except when it’s the dreaded open G (for reasons I described above)

Downloaded tabs seem to prefer notes on the same string, not string crossing. My guess is that this allows for cool slides, which everybody likes to do now and then.

PS I now found a way to efficiently move fret positions to other strings using the really bad UI design of MuseScore 4 (MuseScore 3 was way better in that respect).
Export is clean with MuseScore 4, so I can import into Guitar Pro to create a GP5 and than do all the magic with other software to create files that are usable for Tonelib Jam.
It’s still tedious…

22

That has to be a Velvet Underground cover, right?

23

Yep! But haven’t you seen Natural Born Killers? You should know it!!!

1 Like
24

Yep :100:

25

Another thing to consider is how close you want your fretting hand to be to your body, and the spacing of frets. Like, you can play the same A on the 12th fret of the A string or the 7th fret on the D string. You’ll get different tone, of course, but one may also feel more comfortable to play than the other (bigger/smaller stretches, stronger bend in your hand, tense shoulder etc.). Shifting the same shape around like that can be good practice to learn the fretboard and if your hand gets tired in one position, you can move it to another to losen up a bit.

3 Likes