Some Tabs

chris77 · 2009-08-03T19:18:14+00:00

Hi there. I've compiled some of my favourite tabs that I posted on Box.net for a friend. I'm attaching the link, so if you want feel free to download. There'...

Some Tabs

Spyke

chris77 wrote: Spyke, all the tabs were either pulled of the net by myself or copied from someone else who did. I changed a lot of the chords and corrected some lyrics, but none of them I figured out myself. So, no credit for me there. The problem as I see it is that there is 'official' licensed tablature out there as well. So somebody somewhere loose money when the tabs are freely available and nobody buys their product. It is entirely debatable however wether the 10y old who pulls tabs from the net for free would've used his pocketmoney to buy a licenced book... But money is what its all about and nobody said economics are fair. I fully agree with you on principal, and would go so far as to say that any reproduction of music for personal usage should be exempt from copyright via disclaimer. The reality is though that it isn't, and because it isnt we shouldnt do so. Personally, I would consider it a complimet if somebody enjoys my music so much that they want to recreate it, but if they make money of it at my expense I would be less than thrilled. If I loose nothing however and still get credit for it, then thank you for the free publicity. I will not be able to play every bar in the country every night, so if you are willing to do so on my behalf and keep my music alive, then I thank you sir. At the end of it all though, fair or not, we live in a society governed by rules, regulations and laws and should as far as possible try to abide by them.

Definitely not arguing there, they should be humbled almost that someone likes the fruits of their work and passion so much as to copy, replicate, mimic it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

But to cement my argument using your example. If I go and watch Harry Potter and transcribe the script and write it down, do you think I'm going to make millions from selling that, passing it off as the book?

DonovanB

If we were to go as far as saying you can copywrite a sound, then someone would have done the 12 notes and nobody would have made any music.

Sure it is annoying but in the end, imagine teachers offering free lessons, they would never be able to earn a living, and as such there would be no teachers. I'm sure Satriani paid Billy Bauer soemthing. I'm sure Vai paid him as well. It is a unique situation where a teacher will go without payment to pass on a skill, especially one worth paying for.

As for big record companies, I can only hope that John Mayer gets proceeds from the sale of his sheet music. and while TABS may or may not be incorrect, the only sure way of knowing is from the artist themselves.

Spyke wrote:
Definitely not arguing there, they should be humbled almost that someone likes the fruits of their work and passion so much as to copy, replicate, mimic it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

and if we liked it so much we should be willing to pay at least something for it. maybe not the exhorbitant price they ask sometimes. Everybody is demanding everything for free, yet not many will perform for free forever,

rikus

For anyone interested in the legal side of it I’ll try to explain it briefly.

Copyright gives the copyright holder certain exclusive rights (these rights differ slightly from country to country, but the major elements are the same thanks to things like the Berne Convention). If anybody does anything reserved as an exclusive right without the copyright holder consenting thereto, it constitutes copyright infringement.

For something to be copyrighted it needs to be reduced to material form, which for the most part means it needs to be written down. For music what is actually copyrighted is the written down arrangement or transcription of the musical work. In other words a tune bouncing around in your head can’t be copyrighted.

Now for some extracts from our copyright act. The South African copyright act states that:

"Copyright in a literary or musical work vests the exclusive right to do or to authorize the doing of any of the following acts in the Republic:

(a) Reproducing the work in any manner or form;
(b) publishing the work if it was hitherto unpublished;
(c) performing the work in public;
(d) broadcasting the work;
(e) causing the work to be transmitted in a diffusion service, unless such service transmits a lawful broadcast, including the work, and is operated by the original broadcaster;
(f) making an adaptation of the work;
(g) doing, in relation to an adaptation of the work, any of the acts specified in relation to the work in paragraphs (a) to (e) inclusive."

So, by tabbing out a musical work you are reproducing that musical work (the arrangement or transcription), which constitutes copyright infringement if you aren't authorised to do it.

As I said, the above is the position in terms of South African laws, but it should be very similar outside South Africa.

chris77

So its illegal and shouldnt be done. Point taken. How the hell anybody is able to play a song entirely by ear and remember it, with lyrics, without writing it down is just beyond my comprehension. I am just not that good. So for me, all on my lonesome own, to enjoy my favourite passtime I have to break the law to a certain degree. What a bleak prospect...

rikus

chris77 wrote: So its illegal and shouldnt be done. Point taken. How the hell anybody is able to play a song entirely by ear and remember it, with lyrics, without writing it down is just beyond my comprehension. I am just not that good. So for me, all on my lonesome own, to enjoy my favourite passtime I have to break the law to a certain degree. What a bleak prospect...

I maybe should've mentioned the concept of "fair dealing/use"... most countries allow what is called fair dealing/use of copyrighted material, which is use for:

research or private study or personal or private use;
criticism or review;
reporting current events.

So you're allowed to do all that, provided that it falls within the fair dealing exceptions.

DonovanB

I was just saying on the chat that the record companies are caught in a tough place.

Do they
a) encourage people to buy their stuff ie give them money. or
b) encourage people to play the stuff ( by allowing free transcriptions etc) and possibly make them money one day.

What they fail to see is the sustainability of b. The players will still buy the music, but "pure" buyers wont make them any more money once their current stock of players gets old.

My old man told me of the rebels in the congo who used to rob the shop, take all the money and then burn it down. The next week they rocked up at the same shop with all this money but nowhere to spend it.

Spyke

DonovanB wrote: My old man told me of the rebels in the congo who used to rob the shop, take all the money and then burn it down. The next week they rocked up at the same shop with all this money but nowhere to spend it.

LOL! I think that's just African consumer mentality for you.

But I do agree with you, the more they encourage players and playing the better their chances are of finding new talent. Can anyone say Idols?

DonovanB

Idols. Ptui! >☹

[deleted]

Hmm. African consumer mentality? On a much, much larger scale, that's just what countries like America are doing to the Earth.

Don, I'm not sure what you're saying is actually the real issue right now. Record companies are throwing less and less money behind artists anyway, because the old music business models just don't apply. They just don't get the same return, and things will change drastically before long. So, we can't assume it's necessarily their responsibility to ensure sustainability.

DonovanB

I'm not saying it's their responsibility. But in general we are bombarded with lazy media that either encourages us to just spend ( and never earn) and media that dumbs us down and lowering our values. (if you like it then you shoulda put a ring on it. WTF?)

It may not be their responsibility, but we have been ushered into a lazy, under achieving, money-grabbing generation. No wonder crime is at an all time high, that all we know.

Its an on going issue that highlights the deep set problems in our world.

Squonk

If you look at the copyright law, it also applies to photgraphs and film etc.
That means if you record on your PVR or VCR the "Rocky 2" from the SABC who seem to get a licence to broadcast this quite often. And watch it you are in fact breaking the law.
What would be the point in a PVR?
You should have a look at the broadcasting laws and see what is breaking the law? Doesn't make sense

If I learn TAB from Guitarist, whom I assume have a copyright licence to publish it in their magazine. And I play it to my wife, I will be in fact reproducing the work and in trouble with the Law again.
So we can only reproduce our own compositions?

Doesn't make sense

But I do agree we shouldn't have TABS on the GFSA.

chris77

Sjoe! Thanks Ricus for clearing that up. So I am not a criminal after all... My mother will be so proud. It is a catch22 situation for the Copyright holders though, isn't it. Whatever concessions they make to make their product more accessible might be used by vultures to defraud them. So I say fine make it illegal and punishable and enforce it to protect the industry as a whole, but, and this is a big but, excersise discression based on common sense. If somebody deliberately infringes for financial gain, nail his ass. If not, show some mercy.

[deleted]

DonovanB wrote: If we were to go as far as saying you can copywrite a sound, then someone would have done the 12 notes and nobody would have made any music.

As for big record companies, I can only hope that John Mayer gets proceeds from the sale of his sheet music. and while TABS may or may not be incorrect, the only sure way of knowing is from the artist themselves.

Spyke wrote:
Definitely not arguing there, they should be humbled almost that someone likes the fruits of their work and passion so much as to copy, replicate, mimic it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
and if we liked it so much we should be willing to pay at least something for it. maybe not the exhorbitant price they ask sometimes. Everybody is demanding everything for free, yet not many will perform for free forever,

Sounds can be copyrighted if they indentify a brand, and that sound is associated with that specific brand. EG is the Zippo lighter click, that is copyrighted sound.

As far as guitar stuff goes. Sue me.. See if it's worth your while in the end. There is a grey area in ALL law articles.

rikus

Squonk wrote: If you look at the copyright law, it also applies to photgraphs and film etc.
That means if you record on your PVR or VCR the "Rocky 2" from the SABC who seem to get a licence to broadcast this quite often. And watch it you are in fact breaking the law.
What would be the point in a PVR?
You should have a look at the broadcasting laws and see what is breaking the law? Doesn't make sense

Nope, when you record something for your own personal use, it'll fall under the "Fair Dealing" exception. So it won't be copyright infringement. That's why pvr's encrypt the stuff it records. You're allowed to use it, but you can't copy it off and distribute it.

Squonk wrote: If I learn TAB from Guitarist, whom I assume have a copyright licence to publish it in their magazine. And I play it to my wife, I will be in fact reproducing the work and in trouble with the Law again.
So we can only reproduce our own compositions?

Yes, Guitarist would be authorised to publish the tab. When you play it at home, for friends etc that would still be personal use and fall under the "Fair Dealing" exception. When you’re playing amounts to "performance in a public place" (a band playing covers) then you may end up in trouble with the law (note I say "may", as I'm unsure whether SAMRO patrols bars and asks for licenses).

[deleted]

I smell a SHARK ? ?

[deleted]

Yeah, Squonk - check out those annoying little legal notices at the start of DVDs. There's actually a pretty comprehensive list of places you may not show/play such things (more or less overlapping with the laws around whatever you've recorded from a broadcast signal) without technically being in a position to pay royalties/rights fees. And some of the places they list are actually quite funny. Everything else (not listed) is fair game. Including serenading your wife.

LOL @ Brent

rikus

Brentcgp wrote: I smell a SHARK ? ?

:-[ I've gotta pay for my toys somehow.

[deleted]

rikus wrote:
Brentcgp wrote: I smell a SHARK ? ?
:-[ I've gotta pay for my toys somehow.

Haha my girlfriend is on the fast track to Werksmans soon so I hear all about "the law" all day ?

What would the world be like without you guys anyway ?

[deleted]

I believe this is the answer to your question, Brent:

rikus

Oi oi ☹ ☹

Brentcgp wrote: Haha my girlfriend is on the fast track to Werksmans soon so I hear all about "the law" all day ?

My old firm (I did my articles at one of the Cape Town branches though)! Pretty awesome place to work for!