Guitar notation is something that reads like Greek to some people. It's not all that complicated, and if you're going to play the guitar, you're going to end up relying on some of this notation to be able to learn the songs that you want to play. I'll give you a brief overview of the entire subject so that you can hopefully learn how to read this stuff and learn some new songs.
The form of guitar notation that guitarists most often use is tablature. While this is a quick and dirty way of notating music for the guitar, it's the most common & widely used. There isn't much to guitar tab, but there are a few things I want to point out so that you're not confused.
There are two common types of notation:
- Horizontal notation - this is what you're most likely used to. The lines of the tab run horizontally along the page or the screen (if you're getting tab online). To read this, you need to know what the symbols and numbers mean, and what they're telling you about where your hands go. For most, it's often difficult to understand tab at first because it can seem backwards. If you have a book or magazine with horizontal tablature, this is the easiest way to illustrate this concept. Lie your book down on a table, facing you as though you were reading it. Now, with the guitar in your lap, look down over the strings of your guitar. The string closest to you (your E string), is represented on the tablature as the line closest to you. So, reading tablature, the lines go, from bottom to top, from the lowest string to the highest. That's where the backwards bit comes in. Most people feel as though the top line on the guitar tab should be the low E string, but it's the reverse.
- Vertical notation - this form of tablature is often used to show chords & is a little easier to understand. You would look at this as though you were looking directly at the neck of a guitar sitting on a stand in front of you. So from left to right, the strings are the same on both the guitar and the tablature.
Reading tablature involves knowing which string the notation is referencing and what the numbers and symbols mean. Here is a quick explanation of both.
- Numbers - these are the frets you would press on the string to produce the note the tablature is telling you to play. If it says 5, you play the 5th fret on whatever string the 5 appears over. Numbers stacked one on top of each other are a chord, and numbers strung out singly along the tab are played by themselves. All tablature is read left to right.
- Symbols - there are tons of symbols that are used in tablature, but some are very exotic and seldom used. I'll give you the most common here:
- /, \ - slide up or down, so if you saw 5 / 6 \ 5 you would fret the 5th fret, play the string, slide up to the 6th fret while holding the string, the back down again to the 5th, all while holding the string. You would not have to strike the string again in this example.
- h - hammer - if you see 5h6, you would play the string while fretting the 5th fret & then place another finger over the 6th fret to play that. Again, you would only strike the string once
- p - pull - this is the opposite of hammering. If you see 6p5 then you would play the 6th fret and pull off, having a finger already fretting the 5th.
- (#) - bend - you'll see one number, followed by another in parenthesis, like such: 5(7), this indicates that you would play the 5th fret, then bend the note up to the 7th. This is accomplished by moving the string vertically across the fretboard.
Honestly, there are dozens more that you may encounter, but these are the most common and will get you through at least 90% of the tab you'll encounter. Most tab writers are nice enough to include a standard header with explanations of their notation, so you'll have that with most that you encounter. If not, you have this basic set to get by with & will learn more from the good tabs that you encounter. Good luck & happy guitaring!
John T Halbert is a writer who publishes on subjects of self help and human ability. His studies include the human body and mind and the innate abilities that lie within. He recently helped publish a series of websites about the Schwinn 460 Elliptical and the Best Ellipticals.
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