But one look at some tab of Mississippi John Hurt's music, I gave up!

It is easier to listen and figure it out than to try to decipher fingerpicked tab!

khandu

Okay I'm on the far side of fourty and finally learning to fingerpick. I can "hear" chords and figure them out, put listening to even a "simple" song by Mississppi John Hurt and I couldn't begin to separate all the notes. TAB lets me play a song practicing the picking ( and that's plenty hard ) with out spending weeks figuring out what to play.

I've gotten enough inspiration from Mudcat that I've learnt to pick out a simple melody from ear, but I'm not yet ready to arrange it. I think for many of us it's a necessary learning tool, but it takes alot of self confidence to go out on your own and create arrangements.

Tinker