Reading Guitar Tabs

January 26th, 2008

When you first look at guitar tabs, they look like they are in a foreign language. In fact, to the beginner, guitar tabs may seem hard to understand. But actually, with a little bit of knowledge, you should be able to learn how to read guitar tabs in less than two hours. Then once you do that, you can try out any song you wish to learn!

First, let’s talk about the numbers you see on the guitar tablature. If you see the number six, that means the sixth fret down is the note that is going to be played. However, that is a different note on each string. So the next thing you need to realize is what lines on the guitar tab represent the strings on your guitar. The lowest line is going to represent the lowest pitched guitar string, and the highest line is for the highest string.

Additionally, you will have to have your guitar tuned accordingly, depending upon the song you’re playing. Most songs are in standard e tuning, and unless otherwise noted on the tablature, your guitar should be tuned in standard e. To learn how to read guitar tab, you will have to learn about different guitar tunings, in case a song is not in standard tuning.

Occasionally, you will see more than one number to be played at the same time. These represent chords. If the number is zero on the string, then that means you play the string open, meaning you do not put your finger on the string when you pluck it.

There are a variety of other notations on guitar tab, such as hammer ons, bends and pulls, which are for the more advanced guitar player. But for now, just use the advice in this article, and you should have a simple guide to follow along to, when it comes to learning how to read guitar tabs.

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