and one more rant if you fine musicians dont mind. I did a little research on this too. When a musicians submits his song to be copyrighted they submit an audio version
and sheet music. not tabs. I believe that therefor tabs are completely legal, because no one copyrights them. maybe they do to some, Ive heard profesional musicians say look up songs u wana learn on tab sites. a good educational resource to learn from. anyway thankyou all.

and to the creator of olga.net thank you for creating a wonderful site that so many have benefited from for so many years in the search for knowledge and inspiration. thank you sir, and to all the musicians who posted tabs and such other helpful articles and knowledge about such a great instrument. I wonder if maybe if u turned it into a site where we as the surfers donate to keep the site running, if that would bypass any laws, I understand that its risky as there are those who cant or just wont donate, but I believe there are enough out there to help keep the site running if it where possible. and thanks again.

Sincerely
M.A.B.
Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

It’s not as if people are trying to take credit for this music, they saying “This is what I think it sounds like” giving full credit to the orginators of the song.

It saddens me that a trivial civil suit is raised against OLGA and they are forced to shut down until things are resolved while muderers and rapists can stay in their own home if bail is set and met. It’s almost as if the people maintaining OLGA have been determined to be guilty and they need to prove their innocense. That’s not how our judicial system is supposed to work.

1. I agree with all you guys on every single point (quite a feat! )
2. Great letter to the MPA, Moody! (run it through a spell-checker though ;-))

Guitarist of the World: Unite indeed!

To whom it may concern,

I have read the explanation of your position on the take down of copyrighted materials on web sites like OLGA. I do understand your position and I do understand that your company tries to protect the creative interests of its clients. But there are several things wrong with what is happening right now with the take down of these web sites.

First, there are un-copyrighted songs available on these web sites. I’m sure that most of the classical section of Olga is un-copyrighted, or the copy writes are out of date. I’m sure that even some of the newer artists are the same way. For example Bach, Stravinsky, etc. These are valuable lessons for young, up and coming guitar artists. Their is something to be said for having an idol to look up to, learning how to play like them is what drives even your business. New artists are developed through educations that websites like these provide. Maybe they even go on to have their material copyrighted by M.P.A.. But not after travesties like this. We should be free to access these materials on web-sites like OLGA. Just the the same as you compared us as steeling copyrighted music at a music store, I can tell you that it’s OK to go to the library and research music and tab at a local library. you can even copy it at the library if you wish. While I know that this is not the material that you are concentrated on, you are shutting down access to this type of music as well.

Second their are valuable tools for guitar players besides the songs theme selves on websites like OLGA. Chord charts are very important for building basic fundamentals for playing guitar. Riffs for blues and rock are very common and are taught to guitar student world wide. I know that the focus of the “Take Down” is not on these materials, but you are shutting down access to these types of free and general information at the same time. There are valuable lessons to amateur students trying to learn guitar that have nothing to do with copyrighted material.

Third, there are artists that don’t even care about having their music interpreted and taught through tablature for learning purposes. You can’t say that you know for a fact that every artists that has tab on OLGA feels that they have been creatively violated!

I am one of those people that would not take music books from a music store without paying, nor would I take copyrighted material from a website with the knowledge that the material is copyrighted. I didn’t understand that using these materials for personal use was a crime, especially when they are interpretations. I’ve never printed material out, I have only used the material for quick lessons and for strictly personal use. I just want someone to understand that it’s not OK to take something away that they have nothing to do with, or they don’t even care about.

I would be curious as to just how many copy writes of yours were infringed upon on OLGA. Are there numbers like that out there? Is it just one artist that feels strongly about taking down websites as harmless as Olga? Maybe I’m off base. I’m not a lawyer but I do understand greediness. As far as keeping interpretations of music off the Internet; GOOD LUCK! I’m sure that many people share my opinion that companies like M.P.A., that will demolish a website that has good intentions to save their clients a buck or two are corporate vultures and indignant folks in general. The mentality of the corporate “Lars Ulrich” types don’t understand something as simple as “We the people that use OLGA don’t give a care about ripping off their music, we just want to learn”

All the best,

West Moody