An interview with Banjo Instructor Richard McKeon

Keith: As a banjo teacher, what attracted you to TablEdit?

Rick: I have tried a lot of different music/tab programs and TablEdit is my top choice. I use it as a tool for working out arrangements, for writing tabs for my students and to develop graphics for my instructional videos.

Keith: Can you list a few specifics?

Rick: TablEdit has some great features for teaching banjo. For starters, there's the treatment of the 5^th string, placement of lyrics, easy highlighting of notes, nice export features. TablEdit is a good transcribing tool with easy placement of chord diagrams and special characters. Not to mention that TablEdit has become The de facto standard for banjo...

Keith: Those are some great points. Let's take a look at the treatment of the 5^th string...

Rick: TablEdit recognizes that the 5^th string is shorter than the other strings. Some other TAB programs don't do that. I like to use the “print preview” of chord diagrams blown up real big, as much as 800 percent, and together with a screen capture program to grab nice graphics of chord diagrams that I import into my instructional videos and documents.

Keith: I see, so you get a nice crisp and clean look even at high magnification. No doubt that contributes to the professional quality of your lessons. You mentioned the placement of Lyrics?

Rick: For banjo songs especially placement of the words exactly where they go in the tab is important. This helps my students keep track of where they’re at in the song.

Keith: Again, helping you make a quality learning tool for your students.

Rick: That's right, and TablEdit allows for easy highlighting of melody notes with a background color.

Keith: So the students can pick out the melody as they are learning to play. So, how do the export features come in to the mix?

Rick: When putting together an instructional booklet I often use the Print View page and export a metafile to the clipboard. Then I can easily paste the page into a Word document. Then I will save out the Word document as a PDF file.

Keith: That is handy, isn't it? So what makes TablEdit a good transcribing tool?

Rick: When I'm creating a banjo arrangement I start with the melody and then add in banjo rolls and embellishments. Many times the only source for the melody is music written for piano – usually in a different key. TablEdit allows for easy input in standard notation and easy transposition to the key I want – usually the key of G. Once I have the arrangement worked out I usually display the tab only.

Keith: That makes sense, and I see how that can open whole worlds of music for banjo players too. You mentioned chord diagrams and special characters?

Rick: I did, easy placement of chord diagrams and special characters. With the banjo we use a lot of partial chords and finger placements that might not be obvious. TablEdit allows for easy chord diagram creation and placement. So, instead of just naming the chord I can show the diagram in the tab where it belongs.

Keith: I like the idea of TablEdit as the de facto standard for banjo, but isn't that a bold claim?

Rick: In my opinion TablEdit is becoming the de facto standard for banjo tabs. There are hundreds (probably thousands) of tabs on the Internet available for downloading. When I exchange songs with other banjo players it is always in the TEF format.

Keith: OK, well, you're the expert on that, I'll take your word for it. Now, what do your students like about TablEdit?

Rick: Several of my students use TablEdit or your free TEFview. There are many advantages over just giving them the printed tab.

Keith: Such as?

Rick: For starters, they can listen to the sound of an unfamiliar tune.

Keith: So they know how it's supposed to sound and have a practice goal to work toward. That makes sense. How about another example?

Rick: They can play along at different speeds.

Keith: Right, and using the Loop and Increase Speed options to improve their mastery of the piece. I like that point! How about one more?

Rick: I might give them an assignment of writing some variations or an arrangement starting with just the melody. Once they are familiar with the program, writing tabs is much easier than writing them out by hand on tab paper.

Keith: I'm sure that makes it easier for them to explore their own arrangements too. Rick, it's been really nice chatting with you, thank you so much for your time!

Rick: My pleasure.

Richard McKeon is a banjo and guitar player and instructor in Prescott, Arizona. He has written and published four DVDs on playing banjo and guitar. His books, guitar and banjo instruction videos and his TablEdit arrangements can be found on his web site at http://www.rickmckeon.com