A guitar tablature is a type of notated music for the guitarist. The following is a sample tablature:

E|------------------------------------------
B|------------------------------------------
G|------------------------------------------
D|------------------------------------------
A|--------------2---4--5-------------------
E|------0---4------------------------------

The text-based diagram above represents the six strings on a guitar (EADGBE), and the numbers tell you which fret to play and in what sequence. Unlike sheet music, a tablature doesn’t accurately denote tempo, rhythm, types of notes, or types of rests (or rests at all), among other things. It’s simply a visual guide for a guitarist. One would have no hope of recreating the song from the tablature unless he or she is intimately familiar with the song to begin with, whereas a trained musician with sheet music could play the song in short time.

I suppose the relative unimportance of guitar tabs however is still a bit much for the music industry (RIAA) to bear. For about two years now, I’ve heard of some of the more well-known tablature websites being shut down for copyright infringment and violation of the Intellectual Property laws. The RIAA apparently believes that by-ear transcriptions are no different than copying an MP3 file. It’s absolute bullshit.

What I don’t gather is how an association or group of musicians and executives can alienate fans the way they do. Forget about the IP laws and copyrights. What might possess a person with a guitar to load up the tablature for a song and learn to play? Could it be because they’re fans of the music they’re struggling to learn? Could it be that they like the musician who’s blistering guitar solo is tabbed? Let me tell  you from experience…OF COURSE IT IS.

The RIAA seems to not like the very same people who buy the music they sell. They’ll find any excuse to pull music fans into court, shut down websites, or make PSA’s. They abuse the laws governing their domain, and I’m tired to death of it. While I’m not going to tell you that music is free, and shouldn’t be bought or sold… I am going to tell you that there has to be a limit to how far the RIAA can go.

If we let the RIAA (or MPAA) hide behind the shields of IP and copyright, it wouldn’t be long before they find a way to sue you for playing your music loud enough for others to hear. They could sue people walking by my house listening to my music, because they didn’t pay for it. Also, you could be sued for singing aloud, since you’re essentially recreating a song without permission.