How to Read Songs for Acoustic Guitars
Most songs written for acoustic guitar are written in chords, tablature ("tab") or both. Chords and tablature are methods of notating music specifically for guitar. Although you can read standard musical notation and play it on a guitar, most musicians refer to chords and tablature instead because they can be learned and applied to the guitar more easily than standard musical notation.
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Instructions
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Chords
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1
Look for the letter name of the chord. This is the fastest way to read music with chords if you already know how to play a variety of chords on the guitar. If you aren't familiar with the fingering for the chord, many songs have chord diagrams included.
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2
Observe the diagram from the viewpoint of looking at a guitar that is lying flat and face-up. That is, the high E string would be the top line on the chart, and the low E string would be the bottom line on the chart.
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3
Notice fret markings. A dot between the first and second vertical lines in the chart indicates a note that should be played in the first fret. Likewise, a dot between the second and third vertical lines indicates a note that belongs in the second fret, and so on.
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4
Use your fingers to hold down the appropriate strings in the appropriate frets by combining your observations from steps 2 and 3.
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5
Do not play a string that is marked by a tiny "x" on the side of the chart. Play strings open (without being fretted) if they do not have a dot on them or an x beside them.
Tablature
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6
Recognize the symbols for the strings. The top line is the high E string, the second line the B string, the third line G, the fourth line D, the fifth line A and the sixth line low E.
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7
Recognize the meaning behind the numbers. Each number represents the fret in which you should hold the string.
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8
Combine steps 1 and 2 to play the correct notes. For instance, if you see a "3" on the first line, that means that you would play the high E string in the third fret.
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9
Play stacked numbers together. For instance, if you see a "2" on top of another "2" on the fourth and fifth lines, you would hold the fourth and fifth strings in the second frets and play them both together. This also is a way of indicating chords with tablature. This chord would be an E minor. (The chords may or may not be labeled above the tab diagram.)
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10
Pay attention to articulation symbols. "V" means vibrato. An "h" means a hammer-on. A "p" indicates a pull-off. A "/" means to slide up to a note, and a "\" means to slide down to a note. A "b" or a "^" means to bend a note.
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