The year was 1988. I had just started playing guitar and I, like many others my age, heard Metallica the first time when the video for “One” premiered. Back then, MTV used to play mostly videos. One day, while shopping at the Towne Center Mall in Kennesaw, GA, with my mother, I came across four tablature books for Metallica. The albums were Kill ‘em All, Ride the Lighting, Master of Puppets, and And Justice For All. Those books were my musical bibles for the next several years.
Because I was playing their music so much, I became a huge Metallica fan. Even today I still love Metallica’s music and can play a great deal of it from memory.
At one point, I saw the video for Megadeth’s “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due” and something snapped. I started to become a bigger fan of Megadeth. In fact, in one of my earliest guitar lessons I brought in a transcription for “Holy Wars.” The teacher started showing it to me in an open position, but I knew that was wrong because I had seen the video. I was so upset, but I didn’t quit or anything. I ended up moving shortly afterward, and I went back to my tab books. Even though the Megadeth bug had taken its toll I was still practicing Metallica more often because, for whatever reason, the Metallica books were more accurate than the Megadeth books.
Dave Mustaine said he didn’t like tablature, and that if you wanted to learn something you should figure it out for yourself. I can see the value of that now, but as a kid if I couldn’t find the tab I moved on to a different band. Nowadays, tabs for bands are easily available through free programs like Power Tab Editor or Tux Guitar, but for the most part it’s not the bands’ transcriptions. Even artists who know how to write out their music don’t have the time, or interest, to sit down and write their stuff down though John Petrucci does edit the Dream Theater tablature for guitar.
Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal recently released a tablature book for his re-released album, The Adventures of Bumblefoot. During an interview, Ellen Eldridge of Target Audience Magazine, asked Bumblefoot about the transcriptions and player packs he released throughout 2011 on his website. Bumblefoot said he knows his fanbase is made up of musicians and would appreciate having the transcriptions. Check his most recent release of his infamous “Pink Panther Solo” here: www.bumblefoot.com/
So, what I have learned is that bands that release good transcriptions of their music gain more fans. You may not make much with the Internet giving it away for free, but if you release a book that shows how to play your music properly then people can learn it more accurately and possibly become a bigger fan. If you can’t write it down yourself then find someone who can do it for you or help you learn how to write it down for yourself. As a bonus, ideas can be saved and shared more easily once written down.
Lastly, I was told at the Atlanta Institute of Music a great all in one workout is to transcribe music. It works on everything you can think of: you practice ear training by figuring the song out, and then there’s the technical side of trying to play it. Finally, you get to improve your notation skills writing it down.
By Russell Eldridge, Music Editor
For online lessons visit www.RussellEldridge.com and YouTube.com/theRussellEldridge
