9 Crimes: Authentic Guitar TAB

This collection captures the exact moment when mid-2000s alternative rock and indie guitar music dominated the charts, making it ideal for engaging students with songs they actually want to learn. The TAB transcriptions represent songs from guitarists with distinctly different approaches (fingerstyle ballads, power riffs, technical passages), so students develop range rather than mastering a single style. Including "9 Crimes" alongside Snow Patrol, Muse, and Nickelback means students encounter both acoustic-driven songwriting and harder rock textures within one book.

A snapshot of mid-2000s radio rock and indie guitar culture, where quiet, fingerpicked melodies sit alongside arena-sized riffs. Songs range from intimate and introspective (Rice, Plain White T's) to driving and maximalist (Muse, Mastodon), giving the book an emotional and sonic variety that keeps practice sessions engaging across many moods and skill challenges.

Guitar students at the intermediate level who want to learn recognizable rock and alternative hits from a specific era. This folio works well for players who've mastered basic chord shapes and single-note picking but are still building confidence with fingerstyle, barre chords, and reading TAB across different musical styles.

• Study the original recordings carefully before working from TAB alone; 2007 production choices and effects shape how each riff sits in the mix, and recreating that sound requires listening, not just reading.
• Pay close attention to fingerpicking patterns in the acoustic tracks (especially the Rice, Plain White T's, and Shins material); TAB notates what fingers play, but the rhythm and dynamics come from repeated listening.
• Build your barre chord strength methodically if this is your first encounter with sustained power chords in harder rock songs; the Nickelback and Mastodon material demands clean, quick changes.
• Use a metronome when working through songs with syncopated rhythms or unusual accents; getting the timing right is as important as hitting the correct frets.

Assign individual songs to students based on their technical level and musical interests, using this book as supplementary material alongside a more structured method. The collection's breadth makes it excellent for recital programming, since students can choose songs that match their current abilities and then progress to more demanding arrangements as they improve.

• Reading and playing from authentic guitar TAB
• Fingerstyle technique on acoustic guitar
• Barre chord transitions and clean changes
• Power chord riffs and rhythm playing on electric guitar
• Translating recorded arrangements into physical finger positions
• Building hand strength and dexterity across multiple playing styles