HOW TO READ GUITAR TABS

How to read guitar tabs

If you are going to learn how to play guitar, it is absolutely important that you learn how to read music. Just like knowing how to read English. If you can not read English you can not read this blog. So you need to know how to read music. In guitar playing there is a form of music notation called guitar tablature (tabs). It is a simple and effective way of recording music in writing. In tabs you will see 6 lines representing each string on the guitar.

E------------------------5----------(Thinnest string)
B----------------------4------------
G-------------------3---------------
D--------------2--------------------
A--------------2--------------------
E--------------0--------------------(Thickest string)

The number on that line indicates which fret you need to press on that string. It is basically telling you which part of the string you need to press. If the numbers line up vertically like the example above with 0 2 2 on the same vertical. That means you have to play those 3 strings at the same time. 0 means playing the string open and 2 means pressing on the 2nd fret. That is actually an E minor chord. Sometimes you might see chord names written just below the tab as well. For string G B E you will press fret 3 then 4 then 5 in consecutive order.

7 Most common tab symbols

There are symbols on the tab to indicate how the note is played. The way a note is played can dramatically affect the tone and the mood of that note.

1.
b : string bend – one of the most widely used techniques. Usually written like this 5b7. It means bending the string from the note on the 5th fret to the note on the 7th fret. You do this by pressing on the 5th fret, while holding the string push or pull the string until the note is at the same pitch as if you were pressing on the 7th fret.

2.
s : slide – similar to be bend you change the pitch by sliding from one fret to another on the same string. Usually written something like this 5s7 or 5/7 or 7\5.

/ means sliding to a higher pitch, \ means sliding to a lower pitch

3.
v : vibrate - sometimes written as ~ . It means vibrate the string using your finger on the same fret, prolonging the sound of that note.

4.
h : hammer on – usually written like this 5h7 meaning holding on 5th fret and then taping another finger on to 7th fret. By taping your finger on the fret you don’t need to pluck the string again. The tapping force should generate the sound.

5.
p : pull off – is the opposite of h written like this 7p5. It is done by holding on fret 7 and 5 on the same string. Playing the note on 7th fret then pulling your finger off the 7th fret in a quick action leaving only your other finger holding down on the 5th fret.

6.
t : right hand tapping (for left handed players it would be right hand tapping) – same as h, usually used in conjunction with h and p to play notes in a wider rang of pitch in greater speed. E.g. 3h5t12p5p3

7.
x : mute – meaning that string is not played. Usually dampening the sound with your fingers lightly touching that string absorbing the vibration



Now that you have an idea about how to read tabs you can write your own tab later on. You can share your tabs on the internet for other guitar player. There are lot of site which share tabs. Most of those tabs are made by guitar enthusiasts, some of them sounds a bit off and bit hard to read. But you can still find lot of good quality ones.

You can try sites like these to search on songs you would like to learn.

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/
http://www.guitartabs.cc/

Guitar strings and easily tuning them

Guitar strings and easily tuning them

If you are going to play guitar, at some stage you are going to be in contact with the guitar strings. So here is what you need to remember.

There are 6 string guitars, bass guitars which have 4 strings or 5 strings, 12 string guitars, there are even 8 and 7 string guitars. However, we will focus on the 6-string guitar for now.

Usually when the strings are played open, without pressing down any fret they should be E, A, D, G, B, E. That is from the thickest string to the thinnest

Now that you know what each string should be you can tune your guitar. There are many techniques of tuning your guitar. For now I will tell you how to do it easily.

You can use an Online Guitar Tuner like me. Just listen to the note play online and tune your guitar by tightening the tuning peg for a higher pitch and loosen the tuning peg for a lower pitch

So just press on the button below corresponding note and tune to the right pitch for each string. EASY!

It might be a bit hard to get the notes exactly right on your guitar initially but don’t worry, you will get better. If you heard some funny notes you probably playing the wrong string or the string is out of tune so tune your guitar again.

For bass guitar you usually have 4 strings which are only E, A, D, G. So you can use the same technique

Other tuning techniques include

• Tuning With An Electronic Tuner
• Guitar Tuning With A Keyboard or Piano
• Tuning In Octaves
• Tuning With Harmonics

With other techniques you can tune a guitar without using any other device other than your ear. Let’s look into those in other posts

How to start learning to play guitar

How to start learning to play guitar

Well first of all, you need a guitar. If you don’t have one, you can buy one or you can borrow one. You can even make one if you like. But I started of by borrowing my aunt’s guitar. She had a beautiful classical guitar. The strings are softer so it is easier for your fingers when you are just starting off. So my suggestion to anyone interested in learning to play the guitar is to borrow an old guitar from your friends or family and preferably a classical guitar. An electric guitar is also good because the strings are even easier to press. If you start off with an acoustic guitar it is going to hurt your fingers. So why make it hard for yourself?

There are a few basic things you should know before you start learning. My first rule is to always treat the guitar with respect and take good care of it. Put it on a stand or in a case if you can.

Then you need to know some of the basic parts on a guitar. These will help you later on. You can also sound as if you know a few things about guitars.

• Headstock/head
  
  
• Tuner/ tuning pegs
  
  
• Nut
  
  
• Fret – a small segment which divides the neck up into different sections. When you press down the string in different fret it produces different pitch
  
  
  


• Fret marker – round dots in the fret to help you count the fret number
  
  
• Neck / Fretboard / Fingerboard
  




• String – it is what you pick and strum to create the sound. There are usually 6 on a guitar. From the thickest to the thinnest they are E A D G B E
  
  
• Body
  


• Bridge
  
  
• Guitar pick – a piece of plastic which help you strum and pick the strings
  




• Guitar tab – music sheets which tell you which string to play and which fret to press
  

Just get a basic idea for now and I will go into more details on some of the terms.
Now that you have some idea about the guitar and guitar tab you can start learning more about some of the following

• Guitar chords



• Strumming



• String picking



• Guitar solo



• Guitar effects



• Different playing style

I will discuss in more details about learning to play guitar in my other blog posts. Go get yourself a GUITAR first!! HURRY!!!!