Sharing music notation over the web Aug19 '06

Guitar tab web sites (sites that share the musical tablature or notation from artists) are currently under a mini-spotlight from the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) as well as the Music Publishers Association (MPA).

( Guitar Tab Universe is one of them recently getting a lot of heat. )

The argument is that Joe Blow sharing a guitar tab from... let’s say... Jason Mraz, is copyright infringement.

I see that there is a "fine line" here, but I don’t think sharing guitar tabs is copyright infringement. The music notation is shared in order to aid learning - for educational uses only.

How can something educational be infringement?

I don’t particularly like what is going on, because I enjoy obtaining the guitar chords from songs I hear, in order to practice either on the guitar or keyboard. Being able to practice songs that I really like is very helpful in the learning process of my music-playing abilities, which includes the proper physical form of playing, as well as developing the "inner" ability to recognize notes, etc.

I’ve even gone as far as recording the songs I practice, and releasing them on this very site (My first recorded song available; New recorded song - Nada Surf).

After all, who can enjoy practicing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" on a musical instrument? You can’t. It has to be music you like.

And now that I mention that - should practicing "Mary Had a Little Lamb" be considered copyright infringement?

The problem that these big organizations are having is that the music notation is not coming from the artist themselves.

In other words, if I hear a song, grab my guitar, and start strumming out chords that "sound right" - eventually I’ll get the exact chords down, that are used in the song. So, in a sense, I figured out how to play the song, without outside reference.

Then... I post my "findings" on the web, in order to share with others, so they can learn too. Keyword: Learn.

On the other hand, if Jason Mraz allows the official "tablature" for his songs to be reprinted and sold - again, for learning purposes, that’s OK. For example, a site like MusicNotes.com legally obtains and sells music notation from thousands of different artists.

But if Joe Blow discovers the guitar chords for a song, through his own learning, he is not allowed to share that over the internet.

I’m interested to see where this goes.

Where as I have no problem paying for music notation to songs I am learning - it shouldn’t be illegal to share chords that you’ve discovered by your own "trial and error."

Categories: Guitar , Music , Tablature

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By sharing this notation online, they’re basically publishing an arrangement of copyrighted music without paying the royalties that the copyr ... Read more.

matthom is published and produced by Matt Thommes - an independent publishing enthusiast, mobile blogger, content creator, informative writer, web developer from Chicago. Never one to conform, Matt intends to promote the effect the web has on our lives, in an effort to intensify, instruct, and clarify all that is happening around us.

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