Electric Guitar Playing Tips

How to Read Guitar Music Tabs

Guitar tabs (or tablatures) can appear quite strange at first glance because they look nothing like regular sheet music. A tab is a diagram showing the guitar strings and on which fret each finger should be positioned. Many guitarists are more likely to have a ´how to play the guitar´ book than a guitar teacher. They don't want to practice scales or learn music theory. They just want to pick the guitar up and start getting tunes out of it. You do not know how to read music to be able to read guitar tabs. Tabs are strictly for guitars and are a handy way to share and read guitar music. Each of the six lines represents a guitar string. The lines represent the strings E, A, D, G, B and E working from bottom to top so the E on top is the first E (the one at top on your guitar). The numbers represent the fret the tab is telling you to play. Here is an example:

E-----0-----------------
B-----1-----------------
G-----7-----------------
D-----0-----------------
A-----0-----------------
E-----0-----------------

In the example given above, you will notice that there is a number 1 along from the B and a number 7 along from the G. What this is telling you is to play a B chord (second string) at the first fret and a G chord (the third string) at the seventh fret. When a line has a zero in, this means you should play these strings open. When the numbers are all stacked vertically, you need to strum the strings on the corresponding strings simultaneously.

With the following example, the strings are to be played one after another, the A on the second fret, the D on the second fret and all the others played open.

E-----------------------0
B----------------0------
G-----------1-----------
D-------2---------------
A----2------------------
E-0---------------------

Played correctly, this will result in an E major chord. One problem with tabs is that you cannot convey timing and rhythm correctly, so it is best to stick to songs you are already familiar with. If the timing or rhythm is too far out of kilter, it might sound nothing like the song at all. Someone who does not play the guitar will not understand tabs so a piano player playing with a guitarist might be confused if they try to read it. If there is a letter ´h´, this means you should put the hammer on. A letter ´b´ means string bends. 8b5 means bend the eighth fret until it sounds like the fifth. A ´/´ denotes an ascending slide and a ´´ denotes a descending slide. There are many more symbols and letters besides! To be honest, there is lots more to learning tabs than this basic introduction, so finding either a teacher or a good handbook can be a wise investment for you.

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