How to read guitar
tablature
guitar tab explainer
Guitar tablature - usually referred to as tab - is an easy way for guitarists to read and write guitar music compared to a normal music score/sheet music. Unlike sheet music it doesn’t tell you how long to hold each note for so you generally need to have an idea of what the piece you are playing sounds like before reading the tab:
-
The 6 horizontal lines represent the 6 strings of the guitar with the bottom line being the low/bottom E string (thickest) and the top one being the top/high E (the thinnest).
-
Each number represents a fret number - where you put your fingers - with 0 being an open string i.e. the string is played without holding a fret.
-
Tab is played from left to right so in the above example the first thing you would play would be the 3rd fret on the A string, followed by the open D string and so on.
-
If numbers are stacked on top of each other you play them simultaneously, usually by strumming.
-
You will often see other symbols that are used for different musical techniques and effects but these can be learnt later on.