Or even better converting guitar tabs into sheet music.
I’m trying to learn “Jessamyn’s Reel” (as played by Chris Thile…I’m not sure if he wrote it or not, but I wouldn’t be suprised if he did…awesome guitarist), and all I can find are guitar tabs.
I got the tabs here, if anyone can help.
First of all, it looks like mandolin (or fiddle) tablature.
The numbers tell how many half steps (which fret) to play above the open string.
First note would be g (5 half steps above d).
Next note would be a (0 half steps above a).
Next note would be d (5 half steps above a).
Next note would be g (3 half steps above e).
It helps if you make a “cheat sheet” or spreadsheet of the numbers and notes so you don’t need to count them up every time. A guitar, lute, banjo, bandora, etc would use different starting notes for the “0” numbers because they’re different tunings. Tab makes it easy to play string instruments with different tunings, because for the most part you don’t care how it’s tuned- you just put your fingers where the tab tells you.
Better tablatures list the rhythm above the notes, but if you’ve heard the tune you can figure that out.
As you can tell, it would be pretty difficult to play whistle directly from this!
ps- the 7h9, you would ignore the h and play a 7 then 9. The h means Hammer-on: slamming your left hand finger down on the fret without plucking it. A p is similar, in which you pull off that finger without plucking it.
Thile is to mandolin what Eddie van Halen was to guitar. Check out any of Nickel Creek’s stuff.
That is mandolin tab, without a doubt.
Chris Thile may play the guitar-I don’t know- but he is best known for playing the mandolin and the tab is for mandolin as already suggested. It’s too bad the person who tabbed it out didn’t put in bar lines. It would really help in figuring out some things.