There is an ongoing debate about the place of tablature in guitar education in the public schools. My view has evolved over the past ten years of classroom teaching at the high school level.
We are charged to teach "music reading". There are many good reasons for this including lifelong learning and brain development and others.
Can tablature be a step towards reading, or a handicap that prevents reading? In my personal development I remember being extremely thankful for tablature as a teenager because it expedited my ability to play great music. When I was ready, and my technique became automatic, I improved my ability to read music, during my late high school years.
From the standpoint of reading English, we talk long before we read, therefore a case can be made for doing "whatever it takes" to musically and technically "talk" before we read. "Whatever it takes" is going to vary based on the student's past experience and skill level.
The use of tablature is in my opinion not a curse but one tool on the journey towards musical success.
But.....as a school music teacher I have made it my business to become an expert at teaching music reading on the standard staff. I have done this by studying what the reading experts do in the field of language and have presented "What Music Teachers Can Learn from Reading Experts" at our local reading conference.
In short, we do a lot of "stuff" during our class time. The question is, how can I direct all my stuff towards the goal of reading? In my classes all "stuff" involves and is directed to the goal of literacy. This includes melody, technique, improvisation, solo guitar, scales, fingerpicking, strumming and ensembles. To go into all the details is beyond the scope of this blog. But you can get a better idea by obtaining my Guitar Essentials and textbook Teaching Classroom Guitar.
So in summary, accept the fact that a percentage of students will not learn to read standard notation - and don't fret about it. With the other 85% use all the other "stuff" as a way to inch towards literacy. You have a good incentive to do so - "the better they read, the less you have to talk".
Steve Eckels
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