When learning iconic songs like “Seven Nation Army” on guitar, the tabs you use can significantly impact your playing experience. You might notice variations between guitar tabs downloaded online and those presented in structured courses, like those from JoshFossgreenGuitar. These differences aren’t just about notation; they reflect distinct approaches to finger positioning and playing efficiency.
Downloaded tabs often prioritize staying on the same string as much as possible. While this can sometimes simplify reading the tab visually, it can lead to less efficient finger movements across the fretboard. In contrast, “Josh style” tabs, often seen in professional lessons, tend to favor fingerings that keep your fretting hand compact and minimize unnecessary travel. This approach enhances playability and speed.
A perfect illustration of this is “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes. Let’s compare different tab styles for this famous riff.
Seven Nation Army guitar tab in Josh style showing efficient finger positioning on bass guitar
In “Josh style” tabs, like the example above, you’ll notice an emphasis on keeping notes within a closer fret range. Observe the D5 note; it’s positioned to minimize hand movement, making transitions smoother and faster. This is beneficial for maintaining rhythm and playing the riff efficiently.
Now, consider a typical downloaded tab version:
Downloaded Seven Nation Army guitar tab example with less efficient finger positioning and wider hand movement on bass guitar
Here, the same D5 note is shifted to A10. While technically correct, this placement forces your hand to travel further up the neck. Although slides become an option, the overall hand movement becomes less economical, especially when playing repeatedly. This style is commonly found in many freely available tabs online.
Even automatic tab generation software can produce interesting, though not always practical, results. Guitar Pro’s “Automatic Finger Positioning” feature offers another perspective:
Guitar Pro automatic finger positioning tab for Seven Nation Army showing open G string usage, which can be problematic for bass guitar players
In this automatically generated tab, the D5 is moved to an open G string (G0). While keeping the hand position compact, the open G string can present its own challenges. The tonal quality might differ slightly, and for some players, the open G can be accidentally muted by the fretting hand, especially in faster passages.
This comparison raises a couple of important questions for guitarists looking to optimize their tab reading and playing:
- Are there general guidelines or “rules of thumb” for creating or optimizing guitar tabs in the efficient “Josh style”? Understanding these principles could help players choose better tabs or even refine existing ones.
- For users of tab editing software like Guitar Pro, are there efficient methods to globally adjust finger positions? For example, is there a way to quickly shift all instances of a D5 note up to A10 across an entire song, rather than manually editing each note?
Exploring these questions can lead to a deeper understanding of guitar tab optimization and help players find the most playable and effective “Seven Nation Army Guitar Tabs” and tabs for other songs as well.
