...at the level of sheer musical incompetance of people posting transcriptions on the internet; putting in chord changes where there aren't any, giving incorrect chord names, not being able to tell the difference between a major and a minor, not knowing how the hell alternative bass notes are notated in a chord.

Good Lord!!!

We'd all be better off if amateurs would realize they're amateurs, and not post their wanna-be transcriptions on the internet.

[/rant]

Any examples?

Sometimes they do seem bad. The chorus for the Stone Roses song Elephant Stone sounds like it has a G A D progression, but I saw a tab that had it as D A G.

It gets really bad if you start looking at punk tabs. It's kinda funny to see 12 year-old n00bs trying to tab out "Dammit" or some other equally easy punk song, tabbing out the bass part as guitar without realising that there's a difference between the two.

I've seen some Smashing Pumpkins tab that was really bad. There was stuff thrown in there that I'm just not hearing AT ALL.

I'm glad I have no idea how to play any instruments. It's kind of like listening to people sing in different languages. What they're saying may be complete gibberish, but it sounds good.

Of course, that's not to say I don't know what bad music sounds like. I can't tell if it's bad by reading the tabs, but if I heard it, I'd probably agree it was bad.

haha, yes, popular songs are plagued with absolutely horrible tabs.

my students bring me tabs for songs they want to learn, and I usually end up scrapping the one they sent me and find a better one, and even then I have to correct it

Um, aren't you an amateur, Dogsrool?

And this is why you should do it yourself.

random jamming > playing by ear > sheet music > tabs

I guess so. I've only been playing two or three years, but I was referring to inability to distinguish chords and such.

I heart you.

heh. I hate tabs, I usually pick out most of the song by ear, and then if there are some parts I'm not too sure of, I check the tab and base my playing according to the notes.

but more often than not the fingerings don't even respect a logical sense.

example

from the song "Hate me" By children of bodom. Knowing alexi's type of playing, he often favors tapping notes instead of reaching them somewhere else. this is my version of a wrong lick.

|-----------------15-------------------15----15/12-|
|--------------17----17-------------17----17-------|
|-----------17----------17-------17----------------|
|--------17----------------14-17-------------------|
|--15-19-------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|



|--20t15-12-15-24t15-12-15-20t15-12-15-24t15-12-15-|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|


The original lick had all the right notes, but the lick is also much harder to play, -and- it's not the way alexi plays it, -and- it's not how it sounds on the record either. legato tapping =! sweep picking.

|-----------------15-------------------15----15----|
|--------------17----17-------------17----17----17-|
|-----------17----------17-------17----------------|
|-----14-17----------------14-17-------------------|
|--15----------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|



|--20----------24----------20----------24----------|
|-----20----20----20----20----20----20----20----20-|
|--------21----------21----------21----------21----|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|
|--------------------------------------------------|

So tabbers, would you please look at the guitarist you're tabbing before you tab senseless ****?

[end rant]

It's often hard to play by ear because you can't always hear the guitar too well. Especially rhythm guitar, depending on how it's mixed.
Maybe I just need to train my ear or something?

That's why (with chords, specifically) you listen to the music as a whole instead of in parts. At least, that's how I do it. My ears are sensitive (almost painfully, to some frequencies), so if I'm trying to figure out a riff or solo, I compare many things about the guitar by it's sound; comparing tone color to determine what string, timing to determine if something is a hammer-on or pull of, and things like that. The secret is to listen to the solo many times before even trying to play it.

I play hell reading tabs, so I rarely write them out or try to find them on the internet.

Frog, if you think you have trouble with pitch, try the website below (cyberfret.com). They have ear training exercises, including development of absolute/perfect pitch.

http://www.cyberfret.com/ear-training/index.php

Thank you!
I like cyberfret, except all the ads suck.