How to Play Guitar Tabs

A guitar has six strings and twenty to twenty-four frets. The frets are divided by vertical bars. The guitarist generally plays the frets by pressing on the appropriate strings at the desired fret location with the fingers of the left hand. At the same time, he uses his right hand to strum or pluck the string. Guitar tablature is a chart representation of the six guitar strings.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Select a guitar tablature from a familiar song. Recognizing the tune will help in assessing progress and readjusting to correct missed notes. It may also help to have a copy of the song available to play along during practice.

2. Read the chart upside down. The six horizontal lines represent the six strings on the guitar. The top line represents the bottom string on the guitar. The corresponding notes, from top to bottom of the tabs, are high E,B,G,D,A and low E.

3. Read the numbers on the lines, and play the string at the corresponding numbered fret. For example, if the third line from the top of the tablature has a four on it, play the G guitar string (the fourth string from the top of the guitar) at fret four. If there is a zero written on the line, play the string open (strum the string without pressing a fret).

4. Read the numbers from left to right. When only one line has a number, play the guitar string alone at the corresponding fret. If several strings have numbers at once, play these notes together as a chord.

5. When a letter or symbol is listed beside a number on a line, use the corresponding technique. Play h (hammer on) by tapping the string at the appropriate fret with the left hand. Play t (tap) by tapping on the string with the right hand at the fret. Play p (pull off) by holding two fret locations with two fingers of the left hand, plucking the string with the right hand and pulling and releasing the string at the higher fret (closer to the hole) while holding the other. Play b (bend) by bending the string up or down with the left hand after strumming the string with the right hand. Play / or \ (slide) by sliding the finger of the left hand up or down the string after strumming it with the right hand. Play v (vibrato) by vibrating the left hand finger on the fret after strumming the string with the right hand.

6. Continue to read the notes as if reading the pages of a book. Pick up on the left-hand side of the page each time a line ends and read from left to right down the entire page. The tablature should contain the notation for the entire song.

Tips & Warnings

• Chords are generally strummed with a pick or with the index fingernail in a downward direction. Individual strings are usually played with a pick in the downward direction or with an upward pluck using an appropriately positioned finger.

Resources

• Reading Guitar Tabs
• Directory of Guitar Tabs