How to Learn to Read Tablature
Tablature, or tab for short, is music transposed for guitar. Tablature shows guitarists which strings to strum and when, and also how to make chords when necessary. By learning to read tablature, you can learn to play those impossible sounding lead runs easier than trying to play by ear. Read on to learn how to read tablature.
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Instructions
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Pick out a song to learn to play. This will be your tutorial on playing a new song and learning to read tablature.
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Understand the tab staff. The staff has six lines with corresponding letters. These letters correspond to the strings on your guitar. The first line is your first string, or low E. The other five strings are A, G, D, B and high E in that order. These may differ in the event you are using tuning other than standard.
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Learn to read the numbers on the staff. Numbers are placed on the tab staff. These numbers tell you which fret to play the string on. For instance, if a 5 is on the staff line for D, you would play the D string on fret 5. It’s important to remember that a 0 means to play an open string.
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Understand the difference between notes and chords. When the numbers on the staff are in a straight vertical line, you are supposed to play a chord, or all the notes at once. When the numbers are staggered, you are to play each note separately.
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Listen to the song to find the correct rhythm. Tablature has no way to express timing. This leads to one major flaw of tab. Unless you already know the song, it may be beneficial to listen to the song, either purchase it or find the band’s website for a sample of the song.
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Understand more advanced techniques. You may see other symbols on the tab staff. A lower case h normally represents a hammer on, while a lower case p represents a pull off. Some tablature may use the ^ symbol to represent both. For example, may see 6h8 or 5^7 on the tab staff. Slides are represented by a / or \. String mutes are represented by an x.
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Tips & Warnings
Pay careful attention to any notes that may be included with the tab.
Don’t become discouraged if you don’t get it right the first time. Learning to site read music, including guitar tab, takes time and patience.
