Is this possible? (guitar related)

planters

Is there some kind of applet out there somewhere where you put in a note on the guitar, say string e 6th fret, and it tells you what that note is?

Partialartist

There's some good information here

http://forums.penny-arcade.com/showthread.php?t=15782

And you can do what you're asking here

www.chordbook.com

mooshoepork

OR, if you have a tuner, just play that note and it will show you on the tuner. Sounds too simple, but I think that's what you mean.

planters

Okay I should've clarified a bit more, I want to take guitar tabs and find out what every note is so I can play it on a keyboard, since piano tabs aren't popular like guitar tabs.

I do have a tuner but I recently sold my guitar so I can't do that, good idea though.

Tube

just get a fretboard diagram and work it out for yourself. hell you can work it out from the strings

e
b
g
d
a
e

Dehumanized

Cardboard Tube wrote: »

just get a fretboard diagram and work it out for yourself. hell you can work it out from the strings

e
b
g
d
a
e

This.

And for every note above "12" on the tab, subtract 12 and transcribe the result an octave up.

planters

Sample tab:

e ---4---
b

---

8----
g --5

---

d
a
e

So what would those notes be? And how would I determine sharps and flats?

Dehumanized

each increase in number denotes a half-step increase in pitch.

e -> 4 is 4 half steps above e. E -> F -> F# -> G -> G#.
b -> 8 is 8 half steps above b. B -> C -> C# -> D -> D# -> E -> F -> F# -> G
g -> 5 is 5 half steps above g. G -> G# -> A -> A# -> B -> C

Sharps and flats are context determined by the key of the piece. If you just want accurate pitches, then it doesn't particularly matter.

Here's a complete list of the notes:
A -> A# -> B -> C -> C# -> D -> D# -> E -> F -> F# -> G -> G#

Or in flats:
A -> Bb -> B -> C -> Db -> D -> Eb -> F -> Gb -> G -> Ab

planters

Ahhhh I get it now. So I could do it by looking at the keyboard and figuring it out, but such a program that I ask of doesn't exist?

Daenris

planters wrote: »

Ahhhh I get it now. So I could do it by looking at the keyboard and figuring it out, but such a program that I ask of doesn't exist?

You can figure it out yourself, but some programs do do this. The website linked in the first response to you (chordbook) does this. You can use the Guitar Chords app on the website, and it lets you place markers on the frets you want, and at the top it tells you what note that string is now.

Demerdar

What helps me is that I visualize the notes on a piano and step it up accordingly (in regards to moving from say.. b to c, because there is no c flat or b sharp).

OremLK

The way the scale works is just something you should memorize as a musician, honestly--and knowing that one fret = 1/2 step is basic knowledge for a guitarist.

Crashtard

I think this is what you might want:

Demerdar

To be honest, knowing all of the notes on the fretboard isn't all that useful, but knowing the intervals between notes is key.

shutz

There's some software out there that can read tablature files (meaning the text files you'll find online, not any specific proprietary format) and play it back as midi. It probably also generates actual musical notation from the tablature, which I think is what you're looking for. I can't remember the name of the software right now, though...

planters

Yes, thank you that picture is perfect.

Eh, I'm not really a musician or a guitarist, I just like to mess around on a keyboard.

If you can think of the software I'd like to know what it is.

Crashtard

Demerdar wrote: »

To be honest, knowing all of the notes on the fretboard isn't all that useful, but knowing the intervals between notes is key.

I think it's more useful than you're making it out to be, but I would agree that it's much better to know the intervals.

chuck steak

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/chord_name.php

Khavall

Demerdar wrote: »

To be honest, knowing all of the notes on the fretboard isn't all that useful, but knowing the intervals between notes is key.

Knowing all the notes on the fretboard is incredibly useful if you're going to be reading music.

Tube

or doing pretty much anything

planters

chuck steak wrote: »

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/chord_name.php

That's a good one, thanks.

planters

One more thing, how do you determine the octave?

Icemopper

planters wrote: »

One more thing, how do you determine the octave?

What do you mean? What note is an octave?

The octave is 12 frets up. The 12th fret is the octave, basically.

It is very easy to tell because they make the same note, just higher.

Like how the low E and high e are 2 octaves apart. It shouldn't be too hard to tell...

planters

Like 3 strings give you a C but they're not all the same pitch and should be played on different octaves, am I not right?

Demerdar

planters wrote: »

Like 3 strings give you a C but they're not all the same pitch and should be played on different octaves, am I not right?

What?

An octave is the same note just a higher or lower pitch. For instance... if you are in standard tuning (EADGBE), notice how there are two E's? The low string is an octave higher than the high string. That's it.

acidlacedpenguin

I'd just like to point out that Guitar Pro 5 is a relatively cheap program, most tabs you would commonly look for can be found in Guitar Pro format at ultimate-guitar.com, guitar pro shows both the tab and the musical staff one over top of the other, and has support for many different tracks/instruments. Its RSE (Realistic Sound Engine) is actually starting to sound pretty good in the newest iterations.

Khavall

Demerdar wrote: »

planters wrote: »

Like 3 strings give you a C but they're not all the same pitch and should be played on different octaves, am I not right?

What?

An octave is the same note just a higher or lower pitch. For instance... if you are in standard tuning (EADGBE), notice how there are two E's? The low string is an octave higher than the high string. That's it.

2 Octaves.



I think he's trying to ask how you know which octave you're in so:


Middle C is 3rd fret 2nd string. 3rd space C in the treble clef staff is 2nd fret on the B string.

Go from there.


Also note that guitar reads on octave down. so middle C is really 2nd fret on the B string, if you're reading from a piano score or something not written for guitar.

Seol

Also, just to state the obvious, the guitar and piano are different instruments. Trying to play guitar tabs on the piano is likely going to be a bit of a nightmare, you're probably better off takin the chord progression and working from there. What exactly are you trying to do and why?

edit: and it sounds like you don't really understand theory at all. I would strongly recommend learning theory on a keyboard or piano over a guitar - once you understand it there, it's easily transposed to other instruments.

planters

Khavall wrote: »

2 Octaves.



I think he's trying to ask how you know which octave you're in so:


Middle C is 3rd fret 2nd string. 3rd space C in the treble clef staff is 2nd fret on the B string.

Go from there.


Also note that guitar reads on octave down. so middle C is really 2nd fret on the B string, if you're reading from a piano score or something not written for guitar.

Yeah that's what I was trying to get at.

To the above poster: you're right I don't know theory, people said I should learn it but I never wanted to be a serious "musician". It is difficult playing guitar tabs on piano but piano tabs aren't available like guitar tabs, they're off sometimes but it puts me in the right direction and I can pick up the rest by ear.

acidlacedpenguin

once again, often songs that have piano in them have the piano all "tabbed out" in the guitar pro formats.

shutz

Honestly, if you don't want to put in the effort to learn basic theory, terminology and basic musical staff reading (I don't mean being able to read and play at the same time, but at least, deciphering actual musical notation) then you should just try to learn to play by ear. Listen to a song, gradually figure out the notes by listening and playing back. Eventually, it'll become easier, and you will notice some of the theory stuff on your own. Trying to learn to play music on a piano by translating guitar tabs seems like a very roundabout way of doing things.

planters

acidlacedpenguin wrote: »

once again, often songs that have piano in them have the piano all "tabbed out" in the guitar pro formats.

I was looking to play songs other than just the ones played on guitar.

shutz wrote: »

Honestly, if you don't want to put in the effort to learn basic theory, terminology and basic musical staff reading (I don't mean being able to read and play at the same time, but at least, deciphering actual musical notation) then you should just try to learn to play by ear. Listen to a song, gradually figure out the notes by listening and playing back. Eventually, it'll become easier, and you will notice some of the theory stuff on your own. Trying to learn to play music on a piano by translating guitar tabs seems like a very roundabout way of doing things.

I know how to read music, if I find music sheets online I use those. I prefer playing by ear, but sometimes I just need to push in the right direction and I get the rest.

Khavall

What really helped me read on guitar was writing out scales, then putting the fret number above the notes, and then a line with the fret number not above the notes.

So I'd play the scale with seeing which fret to hit, then I'd read the scale, knowing the fingering and positions already, and look at the notes.



But keep in mind that every trick I have comes from endless amounts of theory and aural skills, as well as being a professional piano player and a senior in Music Composition. So that may just end up being frustrating and slow if you're not all that comfortable with theory and notation. Basically I just powered through learning to read on guitar.

acidlacedpenguin

planters wrote: »

acidlacedpenguin wrote: »

once again, often songs that have piano in them have the piano all "tabbed out" in the guitar pro formats.

I was looking to play songs other than just the ones played on guitar.

shutz wrote: »

Honestly, if you don't want to put in the effort to learn basic theory, terminology and basic musical staff reading (I don't mean being able to read and play at the same time, but at least, deciphering actual musical notation) then you should just try to learn to play by ear. Listen to a song, gradually figure out the notes by listening and playing back. Eventually, it'll become easier, and you will notice some of the theory stuff on your own. Trying to learn to play music on a piano by translating guitar tabs seems like a very roundabout way of doing things.

I know how to read music, if I find music sheets online I use those. I prefer playing by ear, but sometimes I just need to push in the right direction and I get the rest.

what I meant for example, is I have a guitar pro tab of clocks by cold play. It has the piano part tabbed out in both guitar tab format and in the staff. So, you could choose to read the piano part as a guitar tab so you could feasibly play it on your guitar, or you could choose to read it in actual musical notation.

DirtyDirtyVagrant

I have a question. If you're reading music and the bar says "C", which C is that? There's like 7 of them up there.

Dehumanized

The bar? Like, in letters above the staff? That means that a C chord should be played on in the rhythm.

shutz

DirtyDirtyVagrant wrote: »

I have a question. If you're reading music and the bar says "C", which C is that? There's like 7 of them up there.

That's not a reference to a note, it's a time signature. It's actually a synonym of 4/4 time. Unless it has a vertical bar through it, in which case it means 2/2.

Search for "Time signature" on wikipedia for more info on this.