*FOR EVERYONE* Please answer this questionnaire.
Hey everyone,
I'm in a Philosophy of Music Education course this semester, and my final project is a research paper about informal learning and how motivation can be transferred to a formal setting. I chose to use horntabs.net to facilitate my study, so I'm hoping to get lots of participants. Please answer the questions posted below to help with my research.
If you feel comfortable, post them right here in the thread. If you don't (or if you don't have an account), then you can email them to savager_11@hotmail.com (just make sure your answers are numbered). I will only be using screen names in my paper, and if anyone specifically requests, I don't even have to do that. The more detail, the better, so don't feel like you have to be brief. Also, although I'd like everyone participating to answer all the questions, if you have a really good answer for one, but aren't comfortable or don't know how to answer another, then just answer the ones you can (again, just make sure your answers are numbered).
1. How did you find the site?
2. What were your motivations behind joining the site? What were you trying to accomplish then, and what are you trying to accomplish now?
3. What do you get out of the site on a regular basis?
4. Have your intentions for using the site changed since you joined?
5. What is your musical background? What instruments do you play and in what capacity? Do you have any formal training in any aspects of music?
6. Are there any things you are specifically pleased with about the site?
7. Are there any thing you are specifically displeased with about the site?
8. What is your age?
9. What are your thoughts on sheet music versus tablature for horn?
10. A while back, the site was revamped. Has this changed your interaction with the site at all, and if so, how?
11. (If applicable) Does horntabs.net help you with music in school or private lessons?
12. (If applicable) Does your school music teacher, band director, or private instructor incorporate any ska into their teaching?
13. Where do you live?
Thanks for any and all cooperation.
Savage
1. How did you find the site?
Found the site by searching through google
2. What were your motivations behind joining the site? What were you trying to accomplish then, and what are you trying to accomplish now?
It seemed like a good site for getting tabs for my alto sax. I'm pretty much just looking to have fun, and play some songs I like, which is what I'm still doing.
3. What do you get out of the site on a regular basis?
Normally I can find tabs I like to the songs I wanna try out, though often they're in trumpet, so I'll have to transpose them with the tool thats provided, so it's nice.
4. Have your intentions for using the site changed since you joined?
Not really, no.
5. What is your musical background? What instruments do you play and in what capacity? Do you have any formal training in any aspects of music?
Played through elementary school to middle school, but couldn't continue taking band in high school (too many credits already), but I've recently gotten back into playing and this lets me pick things I really like.
6. Are there any things you are specifically pleased with about the site?
The transposing tools and to-sheet music tools really help with getting things ready to play, as well as the sheet music section which has really helped.
7. Are there any thing you are specifically displeased with about the site?
I can't really say there is. There's not many places to get tabs for horns, and this site makes it really easy with a great selection. Only thing I'd like to see is more alto specific tabs, but that's just personal preference.
8. What is your age?
21
9. What are your thoughts on sheet music versus tablature for horn?
I really prefer the sheet music, because it makes the initial learning a lot easier, but tabs definitely work.
10. A while back, the site was revamped. Has this changed your interaction with the site at all, and if so, how?
Other than the addition of sheet music, I can't really say it has, but I don't remember too much of the old site.
11. (If applicable) Does horntabs.net help you with music in school or private lessons?
N/A
12. (If applicable) Does your school music teacher, band director, or private instructor incorporate any ska into their teaching?
N/A
13. Where do you live?
USA, Pennsylvania
1. How did you find the site?
Can't remember, it was probably about 7 years ago. I think Google would be the most likely.
2. What were your motivations behind joining the site? What were you trying to accomplish then, and what are you trying to accomplish now?
Probably just wanted to play along to some songs I'd heard. That hasn't changed.
3. What do you get out of the site on a regular basis?
Well I no longer use it on a regular basis, but right now I'm trying to get some Blue Meanies tabs out of it.
4. Have your intentions for using the site changed since you joined?
No. Ohh...actually back in the day I do recall posting on the forum; sharing knowledge and whatnot. I don't really have time for that anymore.
5. What is your musical background? What instruments do you play and in what capacity? Do you have any formal training in any aspects of music?
I've played trumpet for the last 7.5 years and had lessons at high school for the first 5. Years before that I played tenorhorn in a brass band. I'm not great at trumpet, certainly don't play like someone with 7 years of experience but I'm in a band now and doing alright. I also play bass guitar fairly well but haven't had formal training on that.
6. Are there any things you are specifically pleased with about the site?
Not really. The users are friendly if that counts.
7. Are there any thing you are specifically displeased with about the site?
The password reset function could be better. I'd also like to see more tabs for more instruments, bands and genres but that's moreso a problem with community interest rather than the site itself.
8. What is your age?
20 years
9. What are your thoughts on sheet music versus tablature for horn?
Quite the opposite of previous answers; I've always preferred to play by ear. I can read music but tend to use it more as a rough guide than strict instructions, so I've never really understood why anyone would need sheet music if the tabs are there. I can hear in the piece what's going on so as long as the right notes are in the tab, there's no reason why I can't figure out where to put them. I like tabs because they save me the time of figuring out songs from scratch.
10. A while back, the site was revamped. Has this changed your interaction with the site at all, and if so, how?
No. I think my interaction with horntabs.net dropped before the change. On the occasions that I've come back for a visit I haven't noticed it being any harder to navigate.
11. (If applicable) Does horntabs.net help you with music in school or private lessons?
N/A but I think it used to...
12. (If applicable) Does your school music teacher, band director, or private instructor incorporate any ska into their teaching?
N/A (I gave them no choice =P)
13. Where do you live?
Adelaide, South Australia
1. How did you find the site?
Searching in google few years ago.
2. What were your motivations behind joining the site? What were you trying to accomplish then, and what are you trying to accomplish now?
Find some tabs and I foung it, now make tabs too.
3. What do you get out of the site on a regular basis?
Tabs and news.
4. Have your intentions for using the site changed since you joined?
Well, I been trying made tabs now, this is something new for me.
5. What is your musical background? What instruments do you play and in what capacity? Do you have any formal training in any aspects of music?
Like a few years ago, when I started the University. I like to play trumpet more that others, but I play trombone, sax and guitar too. My capacity are like rockie than a profesional player, but I love it. I have two bands, ska band and beirut' covers band.
6. Are there any things you are specifically pleased with about the site?
The tabs and the news.
7. Are there any thing you are specifically displeased with about the site?
Not realy, maybe if the page works with another format to make tabs like noteflight. The page will turned great.
8. What is your age?
I've twenty six years old.
9. What are your thoughts on sheet music versus tablature for horn?
I learned the method of the page, its very useful. But I prefer if the page will have a new system to make tabs. The sheet music its always universal from all instruments.
10. A while back, the site was revamped. Has this changed your interaction with the site at all, and if so, how?
Not realy, its the same.
11. (If applicable) Does horntabs.net help you with music in school or private lessons?
Totally, always in private, my own private music ♪.
12. (If applicable) Does your school music teacher, band director, or private instructor incorporate any ska into their teaching?
I'm trumpet teacher. Not now, but I always teach ska music in my lessons.
13. Where do you live?
I'm peruvian. I live in Lima (Capital from my country) Perú, SouthAmerica.
1. I found this site when i started to look up for tabs to play.. so i found some ska here and i loved it.
2. When i first started i just wanted to have the tabs, now i submit the ones i do.
3. I dont know what basis means 
4. Yes, i want to submit many tabs.
5. I like reggae and ska, ive been playing guitar for 5 years so i know more than basics. I do study by myself and with my saxo teacher every now and then, i can read tabs and sheet.
6. That i can found the music i want to play
7. All the tabs i submit last like 1 or 2 weeks to appear on the list, so i get kind of dissapointed. i tried to show off and my tabs werent there, lol... they appeared 2 weeks later... :S
8. im 16 years old and im mexican 
AHUEVO!
9. they both help us to play, i do prefer sheet music because when you know how to read them is waaaay more easy to know how many times you need to play or which tone is it.
10. i wasnt a memeber yet
11. Sometimes, i mean, when my teacher asks me to play something i like to play, it is easiest for me.
12. Yes he does, he played in a ska band, and he is actually been studying that.
13. I live in Toluca, Estado de Mexico, Mexico
MEXICO!
1. first a friend showed it to me when i first started playing only went to it a few times, then found it on my own looking for horn tabs later
2. getting horn tabs out there and to get other people to take the time and write out more tabs
3. What do you get out of the site on a regular basis?
4. no they have not
5. well we are a band, we usually take requests of people and just write out stuff and if we like the song we might perform it. and we use it if there are any correct tabs for the songs we want to do.
6. pretty easy to post and sign up.
7. the incorrect tabs
8. 19ish
9. most of us are music majors now in college and for ska music we perfer the tabs usually.
10. not really. good things come and go and things improve
11. it helps us with ear training and writing out songs from ear
12. not really but our high school teacher was the trumpet player from fighting gravity
13. VA
1. I think just by google.
2. I just wanted to find a place to start with ska, being that I'm a beginner trombone player. In reality, I'm still not that great of a player, so my intentions are similar.
3. A list of some good bands to listen to, and some guidance in the ska genre.
4. No, not really.
5. I am a percussionist, first, then piano for my theory classes. I play trombone as well, but to a lesser degree. I am a music education major, I auditioned with percussion, but started trombone for my education classes.
6. I like how it is a unique site, guitar tab sites are a dime a dozen. Also, I like how it isn't over run with advertisements and popups.
7. I wish there were more "sheets" instead of tabs. It would just be a little adjustment, but I feel that sheet music is easier for me.
8. 20
9. I feel that tabs are a great stepping stone, especially if you're just starting out, but for me, I have a hard time using tabs. And if all you use is tabs, then that is fine too, because they are easier to make.
10. I really haven't been on this site for very long, so I don't know.
11. I don't take private trombone lessons, and my brass methods class was last semester, so it is mainly just for me.
12. Unfortunately, no, mostly everyone at my school is either a jazz player, or an orchestral player.
13. Salt Lake City, Utah
1. I found the site when I was 15 through the other trumpet player in my old ska band.
2. My motivations in joining were to help correct tabs and post new ones I'd figured out myself. My motivations then were a little more bombastic? I wanted to learn new songs, but I could do that without joining. I initially created an account so I could comment on tabs and correct people, so I was a little mean (my old account was asdfg). But now I use it to post new tabs, learn new tabs, and do things like this.
3. I get help on a regular basis. Whenever I can't remember how to play a song, I come here. Whenever I want to learn a new song, first I check to see if it's posted here.
4. As mentioned in 2, they kind of have, but not really.
5. I've been playing the trumpet for nearly 13 years (at a professional level), trombone for nearly 7 (at an intermediate level), and piano for over 6 (at an intermediate level). I was in every band in high school (wind ensemble, pep band, jazz band, orchestra) and was 1st trumpet in all of them as well as being Drum Major in pep band my senior year. I went to UMass Dartmouth for Music Composition/Music Education where my main instrument was trumpet and I obviously studied things such as music theory, ear training, etc and was in the concert band. I've been in ska/punk bands (covers and originals) since I was 14 (I'm 22 now). I played in the Tri County Wind Ensemble as 3rd trumpet, 1st chair. I've been composing music since I was 16 and now write music for short films and movies, my own pleasure, and I even dabble in writing beats for people to rap over.
6. I'm really just pleased the site exists and it's not filled with, pardon my word choice, douche bags. Everyone really seems to be here to help each other out.
7. Not particularly. For a long time it was physically impossible for me to log in and it wouldn't let me make a new account either, but they've fixed that. Other than that, the site's simple and easy.
8. I'm 22 years old.
9. Sheet music is obviously easier for those who know how to read it. It took me a long time to get used to the tab format when I first started, but it's easy enough. The only issue really comes from the fact that it doesn't give you rhythms and a lot of posters don't give you octaves either. However, that's easily beaten down by the fact that people are usually here to learn to play a song they already know, so they don't really need to be told that information. As a musician and composer, I prefer sheet music, but when it comes to ska, the answer changes.
10. I didn't use the site for a long time. I don't know when it was revamped. Maybe that was when I couldn't log in. I haven't really noticed anything.
11. This question is not applicable. I am no longer in school, nor am I taking lessons. It helps me help other people and it helps in bands unrelated to school.
12. This question is not applicable currently, but my instructors always dismissed ska and I had to teach my private instructor in college as to what ska was myself. He enjoyed it, but we were into classical training. My high school band teacher encouraged listening to ska, but only to the jazz band players.
13. I live in Massachusetts.
1. How did you find the site?
It was about 9 years ago and I was just getting into ska. This was before I attended music school and my dictation abilities were non-existent. I Googled something alone the lines of "How to play Everything Goes Numb on trumpet" and this site came up.
2. What were your motivations behind joining the site? What were you trying to accomplish then, and what are you trying to accomplish now?
I actually just joined this site 5 minutes prior to this posting. I recently formed a ska band as a side project and I come here to get a bit of a framework for whatever songs I'm learning and writing out/arranging for my horn section.
3. What do you get out of the site on a regular basis?
As stated above, a simple framework of the music.
4. Have your intentions for using the site changed since you joined?
Nope.
5. What is your musical background? What instruments do you play and in what capacity? Do you have any formal training in any aspects of music?
I have a degree in music education, I teach professionally, perform semi-professionally. I'm mainly an orchestral musician but sometimes it feels good to play some "fun stuff."
6. Are there any things you are specifically pleased with about the site?
There's a lot of room for improvement and contributions.
7. Are there any thing you are specifically displeased with about the site?
I can't say I like the notation converter or whatever it is.
8. What is your age?
23
9. What are your thoughts on sheet music versus tablature for horn?
I think tabulature should only be used as a stepping stone. People have been reading and writing sheet music for years and not being able to, especially nowadays with so many good musicians out there, is nothing but a handicap.
10. A while back, the site was revamped. Has this changed your interaction with the site at all, and if so, how?
I have not used the site very frequently in the past 5 or 6 years so I probably didn't notice it.
11. (If applicable) Does horntabs.net help you with music in school or private lessons?
Not at all.
12. (If applicable) Does your school music teacher, band director, or private instructor incorporate any ska into their teaching?
Not at all.
13. Where do you live?
Long Island, New York.
1. How did you find the site?
I was referred to it by my friends who play horns, and found it by searching on Google.
2. What were your motivations behind joining the site? What were you trying to accomplish then and what are you trying to accomplish now?
At first, I used the site to find interpretations of third wave ska songs for trumpet and alto saxophone. I was in a band and the horn players could not play by ear. They needed something to read in order to play.
3. What do you get out of the site on a regular basis?
Most of all, I get interpretations of popular songs with horns from the site. I also get information, feedback, thoughts, and comments from other musicians on the site. However, more than anything, I get to give back to the community through my sheet music transcriptions, as well as any tips and advice I can offer.
4. Did your intentions change?
Yes. My intentions changed from simply using the site to get tabs, to actually contributing to the site and making it better for everyone in anyway that I can.
5. What is your musical background? What instruments do you play and in what capacity? Do you have any formal training in any aspects of music?
I was in band for all of middle school. In high school, I was in marching band (pit/front ensemble), concert/symphonic band, and percussion ensemble. For my first two years of college, I majored in Music Education, and was in a variety of ensembles including marching band, symphonic band, percussion ensemble, and steel drum band. I took four semesters of private lessons in percussion as required for my major. I also took two semesters of music theory, aural skills, and keyboard skills as required for my major.
I play percussion, drum kit, and keyboard. I played melodic/keyboard, battery, and auxillary percussion for 10 years. I have been playing the drum kit for 7 years. I am decent at marimba and drumset, and passable at keyboard.
6. Are there any things you are specifically pleased with about the site?
I am pleased with the sheet music contributions to the site by the members.
7. Are there any thing you are specifically displeased with about the site?
I wish the site was more active, with more sheet music contributions, so it can be a better site in general and be taken more seriously in the online musician community.
8. What is your age?
25 years old.
9. What are your thoughts on sheet music versus tablature for horn?
I think that while tabs may be a quick, easy way to notate songs, sheet music is ultimately the best way to go. Tablature is a better way to notate music for guitars (and other stringed instruments) than sheet music because tablature can notate the subtle intricacies and nuances of guitar playing that standard notation cannot. Also, horn "tabs" are not actually tabs, since tablature is for stringed instruments only. They are simply note names, and even with the help of software that translates note names to staff, it still cannot notate rhythm, pitch, octave, dynamics, or form (structure) of the music. All in all, I think horn "tabs" are largely an amateur, impractical, crude, and inaccurate method of notation when compared to sheet music. Although, I do understand that not everyone can write sheet music or has access to sheet music software.
While I am not against them, I will always prefer sheet music over horn tabs. The main reason is that horn players are taught in school to read sheet music from the start. That is the way they play music, plain and simple. To do so otherwise via tabs is inconsistent. In my personal experience, horn players that I have worked with found tabs to be confusing and they seemed much more natural at learning new songs when presented with sheet music to read.
10. A while back, the site was revamped. Has this changed your interaction with the site at all, and if so, how?
The relaunch of horntabs.net has significantly changed my interaction with the site for the better. It is much more user friendly, with more features, and the inclusion of the sheet music section of the site has improved the quality of the site in my opinion. I am very thankful for all of the users contributions to the sheet music section in particular. I only wish there were more contributions. In any case, it has motivated me to work on transcribing songs to sheet music so that many horn players all around the world can enjoy them.
11. (If applicable) Does horntabs.net help you with music in school or private lessons?
Not Applicable
12. (If applicable) Does your school music teacher, band director, or private instructor incorporate any ska into their teaching?
No.
13. Where do you live?
Duson, Louisiana, USA
Thanks for any and all cooperation.
You're welcome!