March 31, 2021 – While I continue to chip away at the content for Banjo Book #3, there are little “side gigs” going on at the same time including two new books!
Jeff Belding’s Banjo Tab Sketchbook
Jeff Belding’s Guitar Tab Sketchbook
Now available for sale on Amazon for $6.99 each.
In my 40 years of teaching music, I’ve purchased many books with blank tablature and/or blank music paper that I used to write down my musical ideas. I also had my students purchase these types of books, so that I might write down their assignments or ideas we covered in a lesson. Though these books proved to be useful for their utility, I felt they weren’t without certain flaws that could be improved upon.
In the past, I’ve been to bluegrass festivals where I’ve sat down and given impromptu lessons with various people that I had met at campground jams. Usually, if I wanted to “tab out” something, I had to draw lines one at a time to make home grown tablature to jot down a lick that somebody was interested in learning. If only I had thought to bring tablature writing paper with me!
One day it occurred to me, “Why don’t I create tab-writing books to my own specifications that work best for me?” The first word that came to mind as I began this project was to call them “Sketchbooks.” This idea came from my music history professor, Dr. Sheppach from The College of Saint Rose in Albany, NY.
One thing that she emphasized was (more or less), “Keep a sketchbook on hand to write down any musical ideas that pop into your head. These musical “germs” could one day turn into full-blown compositions!” I never forgot that suggestion and taking it to heart, I have scrawled out volumes of “musical snippets.” Many are now part of my catalogue of original instrumentals, while others are still “waiting in the wings” for full development.
Thanks to some suggestions from Edwina (aka Mary) my guitar student, book formatter, as well as my wife of these past 3 decades and change, we added some extras to both of these Sketchbooks. There is a section on new licks, widely used chords and blank chord diagrams, a repertoire list, a metronomic progress chart, and of course over 50 pages of blank Tab! What’s nice about the Tab, is that it’s easy to write on with most any writing tool, and easy to see without squinting.
The Guitar Sketchbook comes with over 50 pages of 6-line blank Tab and the 5-string banjo version comes with the same in 5-line Tab. You might ask, “What about regular music writing paper, Jeff?” The banjo Tab Sketchbook doubles as music writing paper since both music and 5-string banjo Tab have 5 lines!
Finally, each book includes a BONUS exercise you can use to develop new combinations of licks you’ll want to record in your sketchbook. I made 2 companion videos to show how to use these exercises.
Banjo Sketchbook Exercise Demo
Guitar Sketchbook Exercise Demo
If you’ve never written tablature before, these videos will help you get started.
These books also fit quite handily in your instrument case. So keep your Sketchbook close at hand, and by all means…Don’t leave home without it!