Now this is getting out of hand!!

[Sock]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4508158.stm

What ever happened to playing music for the love of it?  If someone wants to learn your songs, you should feel honored that they liked it that much to take the time, not charge them!   >:(

Honestly, I can understand sharing music files (You take a big hit in the profits department when its easier for people to get your product for free than to pay for it)...!  Its not enough that you need to pay for the record or to see the musican, but you have to be charged to learn how to play the music!?

Plus, there are a lot of bands and musicans out there that don't have song books readily availible for people to buy.  What then?  You can't learn it unless you're good enough to write it out for yourself by ear!  And Lord forbid you give it to your buddy to learn.  >:(

Online Tabs are the way that I have learned every song I know.  I don't have the money to shell out twenty bucks to learn one song in a book that has thrity I don't want to know!

Pretty soon they'll be charging you a dollar every time you put the record on!  :-/

[Hagar]

The situation is different now but sheet music sales were once the most common way composers & songwriters could get some reward for their efforts. It's still possible to purchase individual sheet music for most types of music & in theory anyone wishing to play it should have the sheet music. Every time they perform other people's compositions in public a detailed list of every composition performed should be submitted to the Performing Rights Society in order that the royalties can be distributed. The organisers of the event are responsible for submitting the list & paying the royalties.

This is fine in theory & some of the bigger venues I used to play at during the 1960s-70s actually asked for a list of songs we had performed during the evening. The fact was that this list was usually very different to what we had actually played so some very obscure composers were paid royalties for songs that we had never played.

PS. This is done for the composers benefit & not the record companies so no musician should have any complaints about it. Unfortunately it can lead to some ridiculous situations. http://www.simviation.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=music;action=display;num=1134668394

[Whitey]

I saw an interesting reason as to why they're getting banned...not true at all, but funny none the less.

It's because people take the online tabs and lyrics, record there own versions of the songs and just listen to them versions instead of buying the CDs.  Everyone I know does that, it makes perfect sense...

Add this to the fact that most sheet music books (for guitar and drums at least) aren't even official or accurate and I don't see the need to do this at all.

[Hagar]

[quote]I saw an interesting reason as to why they're getting banned...not true at all, but funny none the less.

It's because people take the online tabs and lyrics, record there own versions of the songs and just listen to them versions instead of buying the CDs.

[Whitey]

OK, but does all that make transcribing a song by ear and posting it online (or even giving it to a friend), with a disclaimer that it's all your own work, illegal?  Genuine question.

My friends guitar tecaher does that for him.  When he wants to teach him a new song/technique he puts the song on and wrotes down the tab for him...so technically should this teacher be buying all the books if he wants to teach the songs?

[Hagar]

[quote]OK, but does all that make transcribing a song by ear and posting it online (or even giving it to a friend), with a disclaimer that it's all your own work, illegal?

[elite marksman]

If any serious musician wanted to get sheet music for a song that is not available he would be able to do it very easily. All you need is an instrument, the song, paper, and a pen. At school, my freinds and I have worked out over 50 different common marching band tunes that dont really have a name, nor are published anywhere, we do not claim that we composed them, only that we arranged them. You just listen to the song, write down what you think it is, then play it and if some parts don't sound right you just go back and look them over again. It isn't very hard to do, you just need a talented ear.

[Hagar]

That's fine as if the sheet music isn't available it's quite likely the copyright has lapsed & it's in the public domain. It's also quite possible that someone already did it & published it online. Not everyone has the knowledge to transcribe music even if they can play by ear. Many highly paid professional musicians can't read or write a note.