How to Read Tablature on Guitar (Tabs)

Tablature, or Tabs, is a primitive way of learning to play guitar, however useful. It dates back to before the guitar or contemporary music notation was invented. It was a way to remember how to play a song for which you already knew the tune. So the first real step is to learn the tune in your head.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

1. Structure: Tabs are written as six lines, one for each string. The top line represents the high e string and the bottom string represents the low e string with the others in-between, respectively. Often there will be vertical lines. These lines either represent a break between phrases or bar lines similar to contemporary music. There will be numbers on the lines. These lines tell you what fret to play and the line that it is on, identifies what string to play. Make not that a 0 means to play an open note and an X means to mute that string. Melodic phrases (picking) will be in a progressive order (example 1) where harmonic phrases (chords) will be identified by several numbers in the same line on different strings (example 2).
2. Hammering and Pulling: Hammering is identified by an h. For example, if you are going to pick 4th fret and hammer onto 5th fret, you will see this: 4h5. If you are suppose to hammer without picking an initial note, which is uncommon, you will see this: h5. Pulling is the same except it is identified by a p. Example 5p4. Sometimes a hammer and a pull are identified by a hat and it will look like this: 4^5^4. This is used more often when you are doing a lot of hammering and pulling in the same phrase.
3. Bending: A string bend is identified by a b. An r tells you to bend back to the initial note. Example: 4b5 or 4b5r4. Remember that you are not actually going to change frets, rather you are bending to match the pitch of that fret.
4. Slides: A slide is identified either by an s or by / or \. Examples: 7s10 and 7/10\9.
5. Vibrato: Vibrato is identified by a ~ or sometimes a v. Examples 5~ or 5v.
6. Rake: A rake is identified by X’s on several strings. See Example 3.
7. Tapping: Tapping is used in conjunction with hammering and pulling and is identified by a t. Example: 3h5t12p3t12.
8. Harmonics: A harmonic is written the same as any other not, but will be in brackets. Example <12>.