Guitar Tabs and Chords

Guide Note

This page contains resources for finding guitar tablature (commonly referred to as "tabs") and also for learning how to read guitar tablature.

Guitar tablature is a type of Musical Notation that tells the player where to place their fingers on the fretboard of the guitar in order to play a certain chord, riff or song.

Fast Facts

• Lines correspond to strings
• Numbers correspond to frets
• Slide: /
• Hammer-on: h
• Pull-off: p
• Bend: b
• Vibrato: ^^^^
• Palm Muting: P.M.-----

In short, Guitar Tablature is composed of six lines (usually horizontal), which represent the six strings on a Guitar. The bottom line represents the sixth string, the low E, and top line represents the first string, the high E.

Numbers will appear on top of these lines, which indicate which fret to play on a particular string. For instance, if you were to see a 5 over the second line from the bottom, it means you should play the fifth fret (D note) on the A string. If you see a zero over a particular line, it means you should play an open string. If you see an "x", it means you should mute that note.

For a more detailed explanation of tablature, see Mahalo's guide to Reading Guitar Tabs.