How to read guitar tabs
Learn How To Use Guitar Tabs
Rock ‘N’ Roll guitar is loud and dirty. It’s full of energy, riffs, and solos at the edge of a sonic boom! With this Too-Cool-For-School attitude, there is no time for standard musical notation and sight-reading. Guitar players need to rock! That’s why there is a system called guitar tablature aka guitar tabs. Learn how to use tabs!
WTF?! Guitar Tablature
Guitar tabs allow you to read music even though you have no clue. It is a very simple notation system that lets you learn songs with ease, write down your own riffs or helps you compose your next hit song.
In short, the tab tells you where notes should be played on the fretboard.
But don’t feel bad about yourself since standard musical notation wasn’t exactly made for guitar in the first place.
Learning how to read guitar tabs opened up a whole new world to me! I can remember the day my friend explained tabs to me. I was blown away! Instantly on a mission to learn every song and riff just because I could read tabs now. The best part? The internet is full of guitar tabs! There are guitar mags, songbooks, and whatnot that all feature guitar tabs to your favorite songs! It’s like learning how to read for a second time again.
How Guitar Tabs Work
A guitar tab consists of six lines that represent the six strings on a guitar. The first line represents the high E-string. Then it goes up just like your guitar strings. The sixth line represents the low E-string.
The numbers on the different lines represent the frets on your guitar. The G note on the fifth fret, D string, will be notated as “5” on the fourth line.
Notes can also be stacked on top of each other. That means you are supposed to play two or more notes at the same time. Check out this D major campfire classic.
What’s up with that 0? Unfretted or open strings are notated using a “0”.
Lines indicate the guitar strings and numbers indicate the frets.
Common Guitar Tab Notations
Down and Up-Picking
Look at the symbols under the tab. That means a down-pick on the first note and an up-pick on the second note.
Hammer-On/Pull-Off
The little bow above the notes indicates that you pick the first note and then hammer-on to the second note. The other way around is a pull-off. If the bow goes over more than two notes, that means full-on legato.
Slide
Pick the first note and then slide to the next note.
Palm Muting
The PM and little lines above the tab tell you, that the notes are palm-muted.
Fret Hand Muting
The “x” means that the strings are muted by your fretting hand when picked. The intro to “Voodoo Child” by the mighty Hendrix would be a good example if you have never heard of this technique.
Vibrato
Vibrato is indicated by wavy lines above the tab.
Bending
Bending a note up or down is indicated by lines next to the notes. Little numbers also tell you to which pitch or note you should bend.
Tapping
The note that gets the “t” gets the tap! Tapping can also be notated as a circle around the tapped note.
Note Value and Time Signature
You probably noticed that there is still standard musical notation with every tab? This has the advantage, that you can check out the note value and time signature! Half note, eighth note or sixteenth note triplets at 200bpm...it’s all shown in the standard musical notation.
Lifehack: Pick up any guitar magazine that features transcriptions of songs. Chances are pretty high, that there is also a guitar tab legend in the magazine. This legend usually includes and explains all the tab notations you can think of.
Trust your Ears: The Downside of Guitar Tabs
Guitar tabs are awesome! They’re easy to read and easy to write down. But the simplicity comes with some flaws as well.
The main problem might be, that the quality of a guitar tab can strongly vary. Most of the tabs on the internet are made by fans and not the original artists. That’s why there can always be mistakes. Also, a guitar tab can’t depict every little detail of a riff or lick.
A rule of thumb when using guitar tabs is, to always listen closely to the original tune you want to play. Check out the phrasing and feel of a certain riff or lick. Get it stuck in your head and then use the tab as your fretboard map.
Even though tablature software like Guitar Pro has made major improvements in the quality of guitar tabs, there is still no substitute, than for listening to the actual music you want to learn.
Now, have fun and learn all your favorite songs, riffs, and guitar solos!
Thank You for your time and May the Tab be with You!
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