Great advice @Mark_Rocka I was waiting on a response from @2Timothy4 Robert to find out how he is using TAB before handing out advice. Maybe he was just having a bad day we all get them.
Too much reliance on tab!
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Good luck with that one Neil I struggle to read it. Mind you I am getting on in years and my eyesight is not as sharp as it once was. 
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I came here to recommend that Tex Critter lesson as well! It’s a painful thing to get weaned off tab but a great process!
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I’ve been playing the banjo for 6 months.
Using the tab since I became a gold pick member. I use the tab and the tef files for practice.
Perhaps I’m just expecting too much too soon.
I 'm not against tab, I see it as a learning too. I just want to come to the point where I can just play a full song without it.
After reading all the great advice and wisdom from this thread, I can see that it will take time.
I’ll continue to practice.
Thanks
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I’m just beginning banjo.
Thanks for the great advice! I’ve been trying to memorize a line at a time.
I guess it will just take more practice.
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Thanks for the great advice!
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Hi @2Timothy4 Robert. Ok so as I mentioned earlier TAB is just a tool to help you learn to play banjo. My experience is those that describe TAB as being a crutch just don’t see the true value of TAB and just push negative vibes out to others by suggestion it’s bad.
So I am glad to hear you are new to the banjo and you are using the TEF Files to learn and practice. Using the TEF files is going to be key to helping you learn to play banjo.
Unless you are gifted like @BanjoBen or @Michael_Mark and can play tunes on the fly then you have a lot of study and practice ahead of you and the key to you making any significant progress is TAB.
TAB will help you learn the basic fundamentals, The Rolls, Pinches the Slides, Pull-offs Tag Licks etc. that will give you the foundational skills to go on and learn more complex elements later on.
It might help you to know that almost every banjo teacher out there uses TAB as an aid to teaching so if it was such a crutch - (this negative label it seems to have earn for it’s self) - then teachers just wouldn’t use it.
So how do we make best use of TAB to help us learn to play banjo @Mark_Rocka sets out how he uses it by learning one or two measures at a time. I agree with Mark although I tend to work with musical phrases which can run to four or five measures at a time.
TAB is like an apple pie, The thing that most beginners try to do is eat the whole pie in one sitting and it all becomes too much. Instead of cutting it up and learning little sections at a time.
In time and as you gain experience you can often learn a verse or chorus in one sitting. Which is what my goal is when I sit down to learn a new tune. But if it’s an advanced lesson I tend to tackle the tough bits first and if that means spending a day or two on two measures then I am just as happy to work on this. At times you’ll hear Ben say that was a tough one to learn so even Ben finds some tunes a challenge.
The other important factor in using TAB as an aid to learning is the ability to HEAR the TAB being played (and you cant do this from a PDF file or Printed Sheet) So to do this your going to need either TefView or TablEdit. As Mark mentioned earlier there is a feature in both these applications that allow you to loop a phrase to practice. Also a feature that lets you adjust the speed of the play back to your skill level.
If you are watching @BanjoBen Video’s (which I hope you are) you will see the TAB on the screen as he is describing licks, rolls and note duration. You will hear him mention sixteenth note hammer - ons and pull offs, or eighth note slides and chokes. and with the aid of TAB you can read this on the screen.
Once you know all the elements you need to play banjo with confidence you can begin to wean yourself off TAB . That is to say stop reading it and focus your attention on listening to it as you practice . When you are able to play along with the TAB and backing tracks you’ll begin to put away the TAB till the next time you need it and begin jamming with others.
Ben has created lessons on reading TAB and on TablEdit he has also put in a lot of hard work creating all his lessons with accompanying TAB, TEF and Mp3 files to help you learn and develop your playing skills. It seems only fitting that you put in at least half as much effort to using these tools before labeling TAB a crutch.
If you have any problems reading or understanding any TAB I am always here willing to help.
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Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration… we are ALL gifted, in that the human brain is an incredible wonder. Ear training/improvisation is not like perfect pitch, which is almost 100% naturally occuring.
Keep in mind that sheet music/musical notation was originally used (before the age of widespread long-distance communication) to convey specific musical arrangements, especially when it was impossible or impractical to play a song repeatedly for someone so they could learn it. It’s an arbitrary system of communication; music transcribed on paper for dissemination purposes.
It works quite well– but no system of comprehending musical communication matches the ear, because that’s how music is designed to be communicated.
With the technology of the modern age, TEF files are a great combination of both communication methods– you can see and hear the music being played. It’s like reading words vs hearing words vs reading AND hearing them at the same time.
Since the ear is the most direct form of musical comprehension, I believe that it is better to use tab as a supplement to ear training.
But transcending the notion of tab vs. no tab: Whether you learn an arrangement by tab, hearing, or both, every time you learn an arrangement, you should seize the opportunity to accomplish a larger goal than just learning a solo for a song. That’s why Ben’s lessons are so good– he’ll tell you not just what to play, but WHY.
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TAB is not a crutch if used properly. Anything can be a crutch or hinder your progress as a musician if done improperly. 
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Finally we agree 
Can we move on now!
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Tab is not inherently a crutch. It’s a wonderful tool, but I see way too many students abusing it as a crutch. I have a goal of having more lessons that are ear-only on the site and helping folks use both of these great tools.
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Wait, at what point did we disagree 
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No no no, I think we can agree that we disagreed that we disagreed over what we agree on
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You nailed it now on what the agreement or disagreement or whatever that was about! 
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That would be a awesome course! That is something I don’t see on other subscription platforms I’m apart of. A lesson on feeling and listening. And how theory ties in and when to use it.
Great idea.
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visible confusion
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Thanks Archie. I am using the tef file and looping it.
I’ve slowly been going through each lesson. I’m not against tab by any means.
I was just concerned I (personally) would not memorize material, but I realize I am just at the beginning and it will come. Thanks for all the encouragement .
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All I can add is my progress has improved dramatically since I started using TEF files, before that I had started out learning banjo by ear using the Murphy Method my progress with Murphy was excellent but her teaching materials were pretty limited with just a handful of licks which rapidly became redundant for me as I wanted to learn more advanced material.
I turned to printed TAB books for a time but I rapidly became disheartened with all the negative comments about TAB on another forum and began to loose all interest in trying to learn banjo and it was then that I found Banjo Ben on YouTube
Ben really inspired me and gave me the inspiration to stick with it and I soon found myself signing up as a life member. Since then my progress has been steady and I have learned so much from studying his lessons. But I don’t think I could have worked through any of the advanced lessons on this site without the aid of the TAB TEF files and TablEdit.
Once I learn a tune from Ben’s lesson, I work through the TAB TEF File, Then I pop on the headphones and read the TAB as I listen. Soon I am playing along with the TAB and recording my progress as I go. I have to say in the beginning it was hard, and for much of the time I didn’t think I would ever get to where I am now.
Unlike other teaching methods I have work with that barely cover the fundamentals Ben’s lessons teach you more than just a solo he teaches you how to play banjo using accurate TAB in support of his excellent instructional video’s. If you still feel TAB is holding back you progress then set it aside and find your own way forward. We all learn differently and TAB might not work for you. I wish you well whichever path you decide to follow.
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