Is this cheating?

[Iris]

Is it cheating if I use tab to double check my ear? I figured out the intro to Heartbreaker by Led Zeppelin but it didn't quite sound right. I double checked with 3 different tabs and they all said that I was correct. Turns out he was putting some bends in there that made my notes sound off. What do you all think?

 

[idssdi]

No, it is not. I always combine tabs with my ear if I'm perfectly honest. Tabs are a way of musical notation just as much as classical notation is, it just specifically for guitar.

The most important thing is to trust your ear over somebody who transcribed the music. If it sounds off it probably is off.

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

Ear training is great! It's a muscle - and you have to exercise it. The more you do it, the better you get. But when you have taken it as far as you can and it still isn't perfect - it's ALWAYS OK to double-check. That's exactly how you get better. Check the tabs and see what you're missing. Ultimately, you won't need tabs at all.
Bottom line - do WHATEVER it takes to be a better player!
Cheers!
pg

 

[Ed Seith]

#WhatPGSaid

 

[Iris]

No, it is not. I always combine tabs with my ear if I'm perfectly honest. Tabs are a way of musical notation just as much as classical notation is, it just specifically for guitar.

The most important thing is to trust your ear over somebody who transcribed the music. If it sounds off it probably is off.

Yeah. It was the low note that was getting me. Didn't realize there was a quarter bend in it. I've always understood bends as playing the string and then bending. But Jimmy Page is really good at either playing the string with the bend already on it, or just transitioning really fast.

 

[Chris Johnston]

As long as what you're doing gets you closer to playing what you want & you've still worked your ears as much as you could, it's definitely not cheating. Cheating would be learning the tab off by heart and then pretending to someone that you transcribed it completely by ear

 

[idssdi]

As long as what you're doing gets you closer to playing what you want & you've still worked your ears as much as you could, it's definitely not cheating. Cheating would be learning the tab off by heart and then pretending to someone that you transcribed it completely by ear

You know what they say #cheatercompleter