How to Read Guitar Tabs

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Introduction: How to Read Guitar Tabs

• Guitar tablature, or "tabs," are a simple method of transcribing guitar music. Even if you can't read music, you can still read guitar tabs. Although there are some drawbacks and limitations to tabs (as discussed on this page), it has become an extremely popular method to learn new playing techniques or to learn your favorite songs. With guitar tabs available in transcription books, not to mention all over the Internet, there is a wealth of information and learning material for guitarists. Read on so you can learn how to read tablature and take advantage of all it has to offer.

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Limitations and Drawbacks

• Although tabs are an extremely easy way to learn guitar parts without the need to read traditional music, it comes with its share of disadvantages. You should be familiar with these before you attempt to start reading tabs.

Rhythm

• The main drawback of tab is that there is no official way to denote rhythmic figures. Consequently, tab alone can be difficult to read because you cannot accurately determine the duration of any given note or chord and will often have to resort to using your best guess as to what the transcription should sound like. Because of this, it is best to read tabs for music you are already somewhat familiar with or that you have access to an audio sample of.

• Most tab books will publish the tab underneath traditional music notation in order to get around the rhythmic limitations. Guitar World Magazine publishes transcriptions using a modified version of guitar tab that adds "stems" to the numbers to represent rhythms, much like the stems of music notes. It resembles a tablature/music notation hybrid and requires a general knowledge of rhythmic notation to read.

Finger Positions

• Another drawback is the fact that tabs do not show the fingering of the music, so while you know what frets to put your fingers on, you don't know what fingers you should be using on said frets. Traditional music does not have this feature, either, but many guitar transcriptions will add finger numbers (1=index finger, 2=middle finger, 3=ring finger, 4=pinky) above the notes to specify which digits you should be using.

Step 1: Familiarize Yourself with the Guitar

• Try Mahalo's Guide to How to Play Guitar for Newbies

• Hopefully if you're learning to read guitar tabs, you already have some idea of how to play guitar. As a quick refresher, take a look at the diagram to the right which illustrates the layout of the strings of the guitar. From lowest to highest in pitch, standard tuning is E, A, D, G, B, and high E (sometimes denoted with a lowercase "e"). The high E is known as the "first" string, and the rest of the strings are numbered up to 6 which is the low E, or the thickest string.

• The horizontal lines are the frets. You can play an "open" string, or you can place your finger behind one of the frets to play a different note. The higher up on the neck you play (the closer to the guitar's body), the higher the note will be. An open string could be considered playing fret 0. The first fret is the one closest to the headstock, and they go up in ascending order from there (usually up to 22 or 24).

• Strings and frets are the two basic things you need to be familiar with in order to start reading tabs. Now it's as simple as applying the knowledge!

Step 2: Learn the Basics of Tab Notation

The Strings

• Tabs are essentially a visual representation of the fretboard of a guitar. They consist of 6 horizontal lines that represent each string. If you rotate the above diagram of the strings 90º to the left, the low E string is on the bottom like so:

• 

  Tab is a visualization of the fretboard (Photo by Mahalo)

• Tabs follow this layout and look like this:

• 

• In published tabs, the lines look more like a music staff with an extra line, since music notation is written on 5 horizontal lines. We will take a look at an example of what this looks like farther down on the page.

The Frets

• Now that we have the strings taken care of in tab, we need to visualize the frets. These are written by inserting numbers onto the horizontal lines. A zero represents an open string, a 5 represents fret five, etc. The next section will show you some examples of this.

Step 3: Translate Tab to Guitar

Chords

• You're now already armed with enough info to start reading some guitar tabs! For our first example, we look at the E major chord:

• 

  E Major chord
• E Major as Tab:
  • e-------0-------
  • B-------0-------
  • G-------1-------
  • D-------2-------
  • A-------2-------
  • E-------0-------

• As you can see, the zeros denote playing open strings, and the numbers show what frets to put your fingers on for the other strings. The tab shows that you play an open low E string, the second fret of the A string, the second fret of the D string, the first fret of the G string, and open B and high E strings.

• An "x" means you mute or do not play a string. For an example, take a look at a C major chord on the fretboard and as tablature:

• 

  C Major chord
• C Major as Tab:
  • e-------0-------
  • B-------1-------
  • G-------0-------
  • D-------2-------
  • A-------3-------
  • E-------x-------

• The "x" on the bottom line of the tab means you do not play the low E string while playing this voicing of the C chord. Since an "x" is used in the chord symbols that most people reference while learning guitar, this is just another intuitive aspect of reading tabs.

Riffs and Lines

• Tabs are not only used for chords, of course, but also for guitar lines like solos and riffs. A riff is a sequence of notes or chords that are usually repeated within a song (think of the beginning of "Smoke on the Water" as an example; it is one of the most recognizable riffs in rock music).

• Take a look at the E major scale in the photo below:

• 

  The E Major Scale (Photo by Mahalo)

• If you were to play each of the notes of this scale one at a time ascending from lowest pitch to highest pitch, the tab would look something like this:

• 

• If you read it from left to right you see what frets to play on which strings in what order. Any time you see numbers stacked on top of each other (like the chords we discussed above), you play those notes at the same time. Here's an example of what a tab might look like with a mixture of single notes and simultaneous notes:

• 

• The first three notes are all single notes, then the third frets of the G and B strings are played together twice, and so on.

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Step 5: Learn Symbols and Notation

• Since playing guitar is often more complicated than just putting your fingers on some frets, there are symbols and notations for special techniques that guitarists use. Notation for online tabs can vary depending on the person who transcribed it, but here are some general rules for common techniques that will help you on your way.

Slides

• One common technique in guitar playing is sliding your finger from one fret to another without lifting it off of the fretboard. Fret slides are notated with a slash.

• The following example includes a slide from fret 7 to 9, and later back down from 9 to 7 on the G string:
• 

Hammer Ons and Pull Offs

• A hammer on occurs when you pluck a note, then forcefully place your finger on a higher fret to sound another note without picking. In tab this is represented by the letter "h." If you use a fretting finger to pluck a string as you lift it off the fretboard, this is a pull off. This is represented by the letter "p."

• Below is the same figure as above, but with a hammer on and pull off instead of a slide:
• 

String Bends

• You can bend notes by placing your finger on a fret and pushing the string up away from the floor (or sometimes pull it down towards the floor), causing the pitch to raise. The farther you bend a string, the higher the pitch will go.

• Bends are denoted with the letter "b." The number before the "b" is the fret you place your finger on. The number after the "b" is the fret of the pitch you are bending to. For example, if you were to bend a note on the 5th fret of the B string so that the pitch would increase one full step (an equivalent pitch to fretting the 7th fret of the B string), the tab would look like 5b7 or 5b(7).

• Conversely, a "release" is the opposite motion, releasing the bend back to its original position. That usually looks like 7r5 or (7)r5.

• The same figure with a bend and release:
• 

Alternate Tunings

• Not all songs are played in standard tuning. Many are played in Drop D (where the low E string is tuned down one full step) or in alternate tunings such as open G or DADGAD. The easiest way to show this is by simply changing the letters on each string in the tab. A guitar tuned to DADGAD would look like this:

• 

• Other times there will simply be a note above the tab that explains how to tune your guitar before playing the song. Similarly, if you are to use a capo, which is a tool you clamp onto the guitar's fretboard to change the key, there will be a note as to which fret to place it on. Often this will be written with Roman numerals, so a song requiring a capo on the 4th fret will usually have a note that says "Capo on IV."

Other Symbols

• There is no shortage of unique techniques that guitar players use. Here are some other common symbols you may come across while reading tabs.

• Palm muting involves placing the heel of the palm of your picking hand lightly on the strings and muffling the sound. It is commonly used in heavy metal. It is shown by placing a P.M. under the notes to palm mute:
• 

• Vibrato occurs when you lightly bend a string back and forth, subtly changing the pitch and creating a nice dynamic and texture to the note. You'll know to do this when you see this above the note to apply vibrato to:
• 

• String clicks are a common sound guitarists often make in between chords when they are strumming (think of the intro to "Smells Like Teen Spirit"). To play them, lightly lay your fretting hand across the strings without pressing them down and strum. Just like muted strings like we saw above, the tab notation is an "x" on each string:
• 

Published Tabs

• Tabs that you will find in transcription books from companies like Hal Leonard and Cherry Lane are much cleaner and easier to read than those you'll find online. Although much of the notation is similar, things like bends and releases are notated with curved lines or arrows that are much more intuitive to read. These symbols can vary slightly from book to book, but they will always include a key that explains what every symbol means (like this PDF of Hal Leonard's notation legend). All you really need to know are the basics that have been outlined on this page, and you will be off to the races!

• An example of what printed tab might look like:
• 

Resources for How to Read Guitar Tabs

• Guitar Camera: Lessons - How To Read Tabs
• JazzGuitar.be: How To Read Guitar Tablature? 
• How to Tune a Guitar.org: How to Read Guitar Tab
• About.com: How to Read Guitar Tablature 
• Ultimate-Guitar.com: Reading Guitar Tablature
• Notation Machine: Reading Notation Rhythms
• YouTube: Hammer Ons and Pull Offs (Time: 2:30)
• YouTube: Guitar Lesson - String Bending Basics (Time: 6:11)
• YouTube: Guitars 101 - Palm Muting Technique (Time: 0:54)
• YouTube: Guitar Vibrato Lesson (Time: 7:15)

Tab Publishers

• Hal Leonard
• Alfred Publishing
• Berklee Press
• Cherry Lane Music Group 
• Music Publishers' Association
• National Music Publishers' Association

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