How to read Gary Coover’s Tablature?

[Victor F]

Hello I am new to concertina and music and completely self taught so far. How do I learn how to read Gary Coover’s Tablature? I see sheet music I want to play that uses it but I couldn't find much resources online that teach how to read it. 

 

I have a 30 button anglo concertina that is in Key C-G.

[gcoover]

Here's a quick graphic, hope it helps!

 

Gary

 

 

[Pete Fitzgerald]

Hi Gary

 

I am very much a novice at reading music and tablature, much like Victor described in his initial note.

 

While I  look forward to deciphering and learning from your books, I must confess to being quite lost at fully understanding the Tablature Example.

 

I suspect it is because you are covering so much in the example graphic you posted, and use in your various books, that it’s easy for a complete newbie to be overwhelmed…

 

Let me try to explain where I get confused.

 

If the numbers above and below the staff represent the concertina button(s) which match the specific note(s) that appear on the staff, why are there so many other button/numbers shown in the example graphic?

 

Entirely apart from various notes being duplicated across the concertina, some button/numbers appear to represent the same musical note on the staff, but an octave apart from what is actually shown on the staff, and others appear to represent other notes altogether (perhaps representing cords or ornaments?). What is being represented by these various numbers?

 

Additionally, some button/numbers are also accompanied by dashes, ostensibly indicating the button should be held for a time, but why do the dashes then not match the length of the note (e.g. quarter, half, whole) shown on the staff?

 

Lastly, I notice that occasionally there are button/numbers both above and below the horizontal line which is used to indicate a “pull” on the bellows, as with the D Major scale on page 62 of the Easy Anglo 1-2-3 book. How should that be interpreted and applied?

 

I’m sure the explanations are all self-evident to those with more musical experience, but it is unfortunately a bit of a puzzle to a complete beginner such as myself!

 

Could you elaborate on these points when you get a chance?

 

Many thanks!

Pete

Edited February 28 by Pete Fitzgerald

[LuukSnijder]

Hey Pete,

 

I have no musical expertise whatsoever and began playing a couple weeks ago. I picked a tune I knew well from one of Gary’s books, “There is a Fountain” from the civil war book to be specific.

 

I watched the video Gary has on YouTube (You can use the QR code or just search and find it). And got a rough idea of the sound I should be putting out with my fingers, then I worked through a few bars at a time, and within a week and a half I had that tune and “Battle Hymn of the Republic” nearly memorized. 

 

To me it sounds like you know all you need to know to play it, just have to connect those dots, I think youtube and a familiar tune may help. 
 

best of luck!

[Luke Hillman]

I'm not Gary, but I can take a crack at helping him out with some customer support

 

There are more numbers than notes on the staff because the staff usually shows the melody only. The other numbers shown are the buttons for the accompanying chords and harmonies. This will become clearer if you listen to one of the examples on YouTube that correspond to the tune you're looking at.

 

The dashes you see do indicate that a note should be held. Those dashes are applied to harmonic notes not shown on the staff. They terminate under the melody note where you should stop holding them, similar to the way lyrics are often notated.

 

Not sure what you mean about numbers above and below the horizontal line (which indicates a pull). If you're talking about the numbers below the staff itself, that means those buttons are on the left-hand side. If you mean the chord symbols (e.g., Dm and G7 in his graphic above), those are just the names of the chords you're playing; they're there for convenience. They're useful when you start recognizing them, but you can ignore them for now.

Edited February 28 by Luke Hillman

[gcoover]

Hi Pete,

 

Good to see I have such good customer support worldwide! Hopefully I can help without muddying the waters any further. And yes, that graphic on p.62 of EA123 is a bit bass-ackwards.

 

In a nutshell:

 

I typically only show the melody line in regular musical notation, in actual pitch, to minimize the clutter and to not confuse the basic notes of the tune.

 

All button numbers above the music staff are played with the right hand on the right side of the instrument, and all button numbers below the music staff are played with the left hand on the left side of the instrument.

 

The durations of the melody notes are the same as the musical notes, the "dots". Sometimes the melody crosses over to the left side, and if so, those button numbers are shown below the musical staff.

 

The accompaniment, or harmony notes below the musical staff are shown only as left-hand button numbers. The little dashes indicate holding the particular button a little longer. These button numbers are suggestions only, feel free to hold notes longer, or shorter, or play something else altogether different. Or totally ignore all those extra button numbers and just play the melody only, that's ok too.

 

If you start with the simpler tunes like Oh Susanna, I think you'll find the tablature becomes self-evident very quickly. 

 

Hope this helps!

 

Gary

 

 

 

[Pete Fitzgerald]

Gary et al

 

Much appreciated, that helps! I'll certainly be focusing just on the melody line for the immediate future...

 

Pete

[Jesse Smith]

My interpretation of the D scale on page 62 of "Easy Anglo 1-2-3" is that it is showing alternates for each note. Numbers above each line are push and numbers below each line are pull. I think this is the only time that kind of notation is used, so I wouldn't get hung up on it!

[SIMON GABRIELOW]

I use a similar system of numbering, or did as I began playing years ago, and still use it here and there for more difficult passages now when needed. But it is not Mr Cover's tablature, but it does do the same thing in putting numbers above for right hand and below for left. If you persevere and practice.. then it will become second nature to use it eventually. Keep practicing and do not be put off if you progress slowly at the beginning.

[Alan Day]

One recent question came upon Face Book regarding a CG instrument that Gary usually writes his books for and a GD .

The fingering on a CG and GD is usually identical so do not be put off using Gary's system You have the dots ,the fingering pattern, the accompaniment and the Video of the music . 

Al

[Michael Eskin]

I'm able to generate a limited version of Gary's tablature in my free ABC Transcription Tools for melody lines on C/G instruments.

Happy to provide more details or a demo video if you're interested.


 

[Pete Fitzgerald]

Michael,

 

I've figured out the tab conversion for a tune I'm working on from the info and tools you've posted on your website. Wow, that's an incredible resource with a huge amount of info - thank you for creating it!!

 

Pete

Edited March 1 by Pete Fitzgerald

[Michael Eskin]

7 hours ago, Pete Fitzgerald said:

Michael,

 

I've figured out the tab conversion for a tune I'm working on from the info and tools you've posted on your website. Wow, that's an incredible resource with a huge amount of info - thank you for creating it!!

 

Pete

You're most welcome! Glad it's useful.