One of the main debates in private guitar lessons is that of tabs versus traditional notation. Tabs are a system of numbers and dots on a guitar neck grid that show the player exactly where to play the pitches in a given song. There is no rhythmic notation included in this code, thus one needs to either practice with a recording or know how the song sounds beforehand. Private lesson teachers and students can access tabs quickly and easily on line, thus making them a good tool for instruction.
Traditional music notation is the language of music, including melody, harmony, rhythm and dynamics. It is all inclusive, allowing the musician to know all that is necessary to play a given piece of music. It is not as "instant" as tabs, however. One must study music notation to be able to read it fluently. That is the one drawback as I see it for guitarists.
At Music of the Bay, our teachers use a combination of traditional music notation and tabs in their lessons. We do require that all beginning students learn music notation so that they will be able to play any song from any sheet music. Tabs are used as a tool to help students access songs they hear on the radio or on CD's quickly. This keeps the student motivated to learn and interested in their lessons even more.
