Say hello to BrassTabs!
BrassTabs is a revolutionary way to read and play brass music.
BrassTabs brings the simplicity of guitar tabs to trumpet, trombone, and other brass performers.
Where guitar tabs show strings, BrassTabs uses the harmonics or partials of a brass instrument, with valve or slide positions on each harmonic for trumpet and trombone respectively.
BrassTabs encourages players to develop their ear training and the basics of brass, making it a hit with beginners and returning players.
How does BrassTabs work?
Traditional notation gives performers all the information they need - pitch, duration and directions. Tablature, most commonly seen in guitar tabs, shows players where to physically place the fingers, without showing note duration or pitch. This means players must use their ears to absorb the song, and then follow the tab to play along.
This is the fundamental idea behind BrassTabs. It removes the barriers to reading notation when players are still learning the basic techniques of buzzing and blowing. It helps musicians who are starting out or rediscovering their instrument to focus on placement and getting to grips with harmonics. It also encourages players to listen and learn.
BrassTabs allows musicians to focus on the technique and have fun with the music.
Reading BrassTabs
This is BrassTabs.
Each line shows the harmonic: Super High, High, Medium or Low.
On each line, a number indicates the valve combination you need to get the pitch of the notes in each tune. In this example, we’re playing with no valves down. This is called zero or 0.
BrassTabs gives you a guide to the pitch of each note and where it is found on your instrument. Players need to listen, remember when to play, and what rhythm they need to make to tune work!
Modern Band with BrassTabs
BrassTabs have been used in schools across the USA and the UK. Music education experts Chris Fower and Grant Golding have released Learn to Play Rock & Pop in both trumpet and trombone, using BrassTabs to give learners access to a range of hits to perfect their playing.
Each book contains a range of tracks to suit players of all ages, all in the key of the original recordings. There are rock tracks from bands like Queen, Kaizer Chiefs and Nirvana, along with pop tunes that include Camilla Cabello, BTS and Lady GaGa. Players can scan the QR codes to hear real musicians playing all the licks.
