How to Read Guitar Tablature

Neck of the Guitar

So you want to learn how to read guitar tablature. Tablature is commonly referred to as "tab". This is the most common way of writing music for the guitar. This format however, is different from the classical music notations. The tablature format of writing notes, does so by using ordinary numbers and characters. The classical way uses standard musical notes which are also known as symbols.

Since guitar is written in the tablature format, anyone with a computer can read or compose "tab". This obviously makes "tab" the most user friendly note writing system worldwide. The system also directly relates to the actual fret board on the neck of the guitar. This makes it easy to see where you must put your fingers.

Jamorama contains both classical music notation and the guitar tablature format. However this site only uses the "tab" format. The reason for doing this is because "tab" is simple to understand and read. You should be able to pick it up after a few minutes. So without further delay, let us learn some more about guitar music.

Guitar tablature does have its weakness though. What is the worst thing about guitar tablature? You cannot detect the rhythm. At least you cannot do so very easily. I will tell you the rhythm for any excercise covered though.

Alright, why don't you take a look at your own guitar if you have one. You will notice that it has six strings. These strings go from thick to thin. On a "tab" diagram, the smallest or thinnest string (1st string), is at the top. The 6th string or the thickest string, is at the bottom. You can see this easily in the example below. This diagram shows you how "tab" relates to the fret on the neck of a guitar.

You may also notice that this guitar actually looks reversed. It appears to look upside down as opposed to how you normally play. Well, it is upside down. This is just the way that guitar music is composed. If you take this format, convert it to "tab", you will get something as shown below.

The lines overhead are meant to indicate the strings on a guitar. The very top line of this "tab" is the thinnest string. The bottom line is the thickest string of the guitar. Have a look at your own guitar now and you will see metal bars that cross the neck of the guitar. These are called the frets of the guitar. The "tab" format uses numbers to show you which fret you have to play.

Have a look at the example to the right here. You can plainly see that the thinnest string, which is the 1st string, is being played. The number on this "tab" is referring to the fret you should press down. This number is a zero. This means you should not press down anything.

Ok, so if you were going to play the note on the "tab" above, you would just pick the 1st string. You would do absolutely nothing with your fret hand, which is the left hand. What if we were to push down on some strings though? Have a look at this next diagram and try to figure it out.

Think about it for a second. Do you have it? You are going to press down the 6th string, which is the thickest string. You are also going to do that at the 3rd fret on the neck of the guitar. If you guessed wrong here, go back up and read the first example over again. It helps to read things a couple times before moving on.

Guitar tablature is the simplest way for reading and composing guitar music. Remember this is different from classical music notation. You can also find guitar notation for pretty much any song out there. Tablature is also easier to learn as compared to other forms of sheet music. It is easier because it directly relates to the neck of the guitar. It also tells you where to place your fingers. There is still the downside of not knowing the rhythm, but I am sure you already know the beat of the song you want to learn. How to Tune Your Guitar >>

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