Well, the MPA has found yet another way to make a buck, and this time, severely piss me off.

The music industry is to extend its copyright war by taking legal action against websites offering unlicensed song scores and lyrics.

The US Music Publishers' Association (MPA), which represents sheet music companies, will launch its first campaign against such sites in 2006. MPA president Lauren Keiser said he wanted site owners to be jailed.

He said unlicensed guitar tabs and song scores were widely available on the internet but were "completely illegal".

Mr Keiser said he did not just want to shut websites and impose fines, saying if authorities can "throw in some jail time I think we'll be a little more effective".
BBC News

The site that I mourn the death of is the former mxtabs.net. It was a brilliant and inspired website where musicians could discuss music and post self-interpreted tablature of songs ranging anywhere from Eagle's - Hotel California to theme music from popular TV shows.

These weren't actual copywritten tablatures, and every single tab placed had a disclaimer stating how they were not the workings of the original artist, etc. They were a musician's interperatation that they tabbed out so others could learn. Some of them were dead-on correct, many were abhorantly incorrect. Apparently either is illegal regardless of accuracy.

So this is telling me that I can listen to a song and attempt to play it to my fullest ability, but if I share that with anyone I am now a pirate/theif/criminal? If I'm in a car with friends listening to a song, can I no longer tell them what a lyric was if they didn't hear it correctly? WTF??!!! Does this mean I can only play or sing a song in seclusion because (god forbid) if anyone were to hear me I would be attempting to reproduce copywritten material?! Hell, we might as well jail anyone who listens to a song on the radio and memorizes a chorus, or recognizes a chord, because they no longer need to purchase material in order to recreate that song to some menial extent!

Mxtabs was a brilliant resource that is critically responsible for my development as a guitarist, drummer, and musician in general. I have referenced it from the very first song I learned, to the most recent (right before it went down mid Dec). Now, it's effectively dead, and soon many other sites and software of learning will be to. God bless the MPA.