Hi Lee,
Just got your book for Christmas.
Quick question: On page 29 (Excercise 16) in the TAB image, you introduce
a “(7)” instead of just “7”. The meaning of the parenthesis is not explained in the text.
Can you tell me what the parenthesis mean in this context?
Excellent book! Thank you,
Hi Chris. Thank you.
Any fret number inside parenthesis is a tie.
It means let a note ring for that duration but don’t pluck it, let it keep ringing from the previous note.
Example: Let’s say we play a G note, 3rd fret 1st string. If we TAB it as quarter notes 3–3– then we would play the note twice, once on each beat.
If it’s tied you’ll see a curved line in the notation joining the notes and in the TAB you’ll see one of the numbers in parenthesis, something like this:
3–(3)–
In this case you’ll pluck the note once on the first beat but then let it ring for two beats.
This is hard to explain without images and audio. Hopefully that makes sense, if not then let me know and I’ll make up some images and an audio example for you.
