The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
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  1. #1

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    https://www.jazzguitar.be/blog/fly-me-to-the-moon/
    I am noticing on the tab notation that a note or chord is played and right after the same note or chord is shown in parentheses. I’m not sure what the parentheses mean. Can someone please explain?

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    The Jazz Guitar Chord Dictionary
     
  3. #2

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    It means the same sound is continued for the duration of the tied notes above in the notation. You'll notice that the parentheses are always the same fingering as the previous notes.

    So in this picture the first chord in parentheses is the same as the chord before it (556). The music above it shows two lots of notes that are tied together. That means the sound of them is continued for that length of time. Same with the second example (the single note 7) and the third example (545).

    (The small numbers 1 2 3 4 are bar numbers, they're not part of the music)

    Notation question-aaaaaaaaaaa-jpg

    Listening to the 'Listen & Play-Along' audio example on that page will demonstrate it clearly. And, if you can, starting to learn music would be useful for you too.

  4. #3

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    Thanks Ragman for the explanation. I know that learning to read sheet music would be a big help but it just seems so daunting when I look at it.

  5. #4

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    It looks daunting because you don't know anything about it but, like anything else, it gets easier the more you do.

    Best advice: just start. Find a book or a site that you feel at home with and do a bit a day. By the end of the week you'll know more... etc, etc. And don't throw TAB away, you can use it to as a reference between the notes and the fretboard.

    Proceed methodically. Identify the note on the stave and where to play it on the guitar. Learn the different time values. Play it. Ultimately that's all there is to it. And guitarists only need to learn the treble clef so it's easier still.

    Go for it, I'm sure you can do it!

  6. #5

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    For what it’s worth. I’m having some success learning to read with this book. Just a couple minutes a day when I can.

    Modern Guitar Method: Grade 1 by Bay, Mel, Publications, Inc. Staff 9780871663542 | eBay

  7. #6

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    Allan -

    If you look at that Amazon link and the reviews for that book, one of them says:

    by cwol9982 Feb 21, 2018 If you don't know how to read music, this book will be a waste of time and money
    Being in my early 70s and never learning to read music, I was anxious for a new challenge. Learning to play the guitar seemed like a good challenge. After reading numerous reviews of Mel Bay publications on guitar, I figured I'd give the lesson 1 a try. The book assumes the student knows how to read music. That is a very poor assumption. The book will be useless to me until I know how to read music.



    Sorry!

  8. #7

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    See lesson one below. I think it’s as beginner as you can get.

    Notation question-8fdcf745-724a-447c-a019-bac4634362fd-jpg

  9. #8

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    I thank myself over and over for learning to read AND write with notation

    yes it takes time and practice..but its like going to the library..and only being able to read picture books vs being able to read ALL the books

    push yourself..its not that difficult

  10. #9

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    Quote Originally Posted by AllanAllen
    See lesson one below. I think it’s as beginner as you can get.
    Thanks, it does. I hadn't seen the book, obviously, only the review (which did seem pretty clear cut. Perhaps the 70+ reviewer wasn't quite ready for it).

  11. #10

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    I just wanted to give OP the advice everyone here gave me about reading. Get a book(a teacher too if you can), start at the start, it’ll get easier.