How to Read Guitar Tabs

For the uninitiated, written musical notation can seem quite intimidating. With so many squiggles, lines and strange symbols, at the beginning it can almost seem like trying to learn an entirely new language.

In fact, this is not a bad analogy: musical notation is in effect an imperfect method for attempting to distill the sounds that surround into a common language that all musicians can understand.

Luckily, for guitar players there is a simpler method of transcribing their music into written form. This method is called ‘tablature’, or ‘tabs’ for short. Tabs differ from standard musical notation in the sense that they take a mechanical approach rather than one grounded in musical theory.

Typically, in guitar tablature the strings are ordered opposite the way they are strummed, with low E (the thickest string) at the bottom and high E (the skinniest string) at the top. The strings are usually identified by their note, but can sometimes instead be numbered 1 to 6. If the indicated notes being shown are meant to indicate a chord, the root of the chord is generally indicated. For example, an E chord would look like this:

E|---0---------

B|---0---------

G|---1---------

D|---2---------

A|---2---------

E|---0---------

E

The strumming pattern would still be from the 6th or low E string to the high E string. The 0 indicates that that string should not be fingered and instead be left to ring open.

Sometimes in a chord formation you might see an x instead of a number. This means that the string should be muted so that when it is strummed it does not sound. On occasion these muted strings are incorporated into rhythmic patterns of strumming that use the percussive quality of the muted strings as part of the song.

Other modifiers that you will see scattered throughout a guitar tab are connecting lines with terms like ‘h.o’ (hammer-on), ‘p.o.’ (pull-off) and lines to indicate slides.

Even though tabs are easy to learn and read, you should still learn technique to make them sound the way you want them to sound. No doubt you'll find that even knowing the tabs to a particular song won't immediately give you the ability to "play" the song like you hear on your favorite CD.

For this, you should check out some of the more popular online guitar training songs. I happen to like this one the best (click on the link to check it out). It's one of the top sellers and a snap to pick up and learn. Plus, you can access everything right away. Definitely give it a look.

Given their simplicity and the ability for tabs to be easily written in ASCII format, guitar tabs are a very portable form of musical transcription, and they are frequently and easily transmitted over the internet. This access enables amateur guitarists all over the world to contribute their own interpretations and transcriptions of popular music and to learn from the contributions of others.

Unfortunately, this simplicity also works against the guitarist when it comes to interpreting some of the more complex songs. Tabs are not really capable of indicating such crucial information as strumming pattern and rhythm, which are crucial aspects of guitar music. As such, it is necessary to listen to the specific song that has been transcribed in order to pick up these details, as well as other intangibles which cannot be transcribed into tablature.

I've set up some completely free guitar playing tutorials that can help you learn how to read tabs and a heck of a lot more. Click here to watch a really short video that will help you out.

Enjoy! And remember to have fun!