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Guitar Tablature - The easy and simple way to read or write Tabliture

This article focuses on teaching you the basics of guitar tablature. It will help to explain the basic concept of reading guitar tab as well as walk you through step by step how to read and apply tablature. Although it may seem difficult or complex, learning to read tab is actually very easy to do. Read this simple lesson and you will be reading tab and playing the songs you love in no time at all. Let's get started.

What is Tablature?

Tablature is a form of music notation that was developed so that people of all ages and skill levels can quickly read and understand how to play music as well as how to write music. Most learn tablature for two reasons. The first is to learn to play their favorite songs. The second reason is to learn how to write their own songs. If your goal is to learn songs or write your own songs then learning tab is a must. Learning tablature will help you to not learn to play a huge variety of songs but it will give you the flexibility to improve the technical aspects of playing guitar (should you want to do so).

Guitar Tablature Basics

Let's get started on learning how to read guitar tablature. The image below shows you what guitar tablature looks like.

Guitar Tablature has 6 horizontal lines. Each horizontal line represents a string on the guitar. The line at the very bottom represents the thickest string on the guitar. This string is known as the Bottom E string. As you look down at your guitar when holding it it's also the very first string going down. Pretty easy so far right… Then as you look at the image again the next string up from the bottom would be the next string on your guitar. Quick Tip. If you get confused just remember that the line on the bottom represents the thickest string on your guitar. The line at the very top of the tab image represents the thinnest string on your guitar.

Now that you understand what each horizontal line represents, we will teach you the next step. Notice that there are numbers located right in the middle of the lines. These numbers just represent what fret you are supposed to play the note on. The example on the image says you should play push down the 3rd string on the 7th fret. Pretty easy isn't it. One thing that might confuse you is when the number on a string is a "0". When it shows the number 0 you are just supposed to play the string open with out pushing the sting down on a fret.

One more quick tip. Guitar tab is supposed to be read like a book. Left to right. You will notice two things. The first is the numbers will be slightly to the right of the previous number. This means you play the notes one after another. The second thing you may notice is when the numbers all line up vertically rather then one after another See image below. This means you are supposed to play all the notes at the same time. Normally this means you are playing a chord.

Believe it or not that's pretty much it. Those are the basics of learning and playing guitar tabliture.

Reading Guitar Tablature: Bends and Slides

Reading when to do a Bend or a Slide is also very easy when looking at guitar tab. A bend is normally represented by the letter "B". Let's give you an example. Let's say you want to bend the note that is played on the 3rd string on the 7th fret. This would normally read 7B9 on the third string. The reason the 9 is in there is to show you how far you should bend the note. That's it. We recommend you play around with it to really understand how it works.

A slide works in the same way. The slide is represented by the letter "\" or ""/". The symbol "\" says that you should slide down the guitar. So an example would be moving from the 3rd string 7th fret down to the 9th fret. If the tablature wanted you to slide the 3rd string 7th fret down to the 9th fret. It would read 7 \ 9 . If the tablature wanted you to slide the note up from the 3rd string 7th fret up to the 5th fret, it would read like this 7 / 5. Again, take some time to practice this. You have to play it and look at it with your guitar to really understand the full picture.

Reading Guitar Tablature: Hammer On's and Pull Off's

Hammer on's and pull off's are also very easy to read with guitar tablature. The hammer on is represented by the letter "H". So if the tab wanted you to take the 3rd string 7th fret and hammer the 3rd string 9th fret, it would look like this 7 H 9.

The Pull off is represented with the letter "P". If the tab wanted you to pull off the 3rd string 9th fret to the 3rd string 7th fret, it would look like this 9 P 7.

This should give you all the information you need to really understand the basics of guitar tablature. Again, if you are really looking to learn songs or write your own music learning tab is an important step. If you have any further questions feel free to email us. We would love to help you.

External Resources

Guitar Tablature - Harmony Central
Guitar Tablature - Olga