These are the most common moves that a guitar player will use and will most likely be the majority of the symbols you will see in a guitar tab. In Rock Level 2, Anders plays a lick that uses slides, bends, pre-bends, and vibrato. So what does this all mean? Let’s take a look at an actual piece of music on a tab that incorporates a few of these techniques.
Let’s take a look at a chart full of guitar tab symbols below. Tabs are fairly straight forward but there are some symbols that are not often used.
And from there, you may assume that the top-most line on a guitar tab is the high E string, or the 1st string, which is the thinnest string on your guitar.įor more on how to read tabs, we have a great tutorial right here. The line at the bottom represents the 6th string, or the low E string, which is the thickest string on your guitar. Guitar tabs are six lines that run from left to right. Tabs are an easier way to play guitar music if you do not know how to read traditional sheet music. If you’re new to reading guitar tabs, let’s break it down first! Let’s take a look at some common guitar tab-reading questions. The symbols may represent a bend, a palm mute, a hammer on, pull off, vibrato, and more.Įven if you do have a key for all of the guitar tab symbols, it may be confusing when it comes time to actually play a tab.
While computer software can instantly generate tab and fretboard diagrams, the default notation choices often don’t make sense to real guitarists.Guitar tab symbols tell a guitar player what to do when reading guitar tablature. If you’re not a guitarist, just use traditional notation. More specifically, a position is a general hand location located near a fret, but the fingers might stretch beyond it to grab a note outside of it. Guitarists particularly might use the words fretboard or fingerboard interchangeably. Orchestral strings (e.g., violin) and fretless basses have fingerboards, not fretboards, as they don’t have marked frets. a “fingerboard” or “fretboard” hand, rather than “right” or “left.”īy the way, a “fretboard” is a “fingerboard” with marked frets.
For that reason, some will speak of a “strumming” or “plucking” hand vs. Guitar-specific notation and pedagogy is generally oriented towards right-handed guitarists, but some left-handed guitarists will hold their guitar so that their right hand works the fingerboard as their left hand plucks. The numerals at the bottom aren’t included here, which is really more common. The slur means that one finger is holding down multiple strings (called a “bar” or “barre” chord fingering). Below, we’re using a different C chord voicing (different than the other notation!), starting on the 3rd fret. The above diagram was at the first fret, so no fret numeral was indicated, and the top line was thick. Like tablature, it doesn’t imply rhythm.īelow is a version with a different voicing. Like a chord symbol or key signature, a fretboard diagram stays in affect until the next one appears. Numbers under the strings indicate what fingers should hold each fret, and are relatively rare. An x above a string means that the string is muted so that it doesn’t sound. The leftmost line indicates the low E string, the rightmost line indicates the high E string.Ī numeral followed by “fr.” (e.g., 3fr.) to the right indicates what fret the shape begins on.
Horizontal lines indicate frets, solid dots indicate which fret is pressed to make the note, and open dots above the string indicate open strings. These diagrams are like tablature rotated 90 degrees, or looking at your guitar’s face with the head pointed upward.
Tab is considered redundant with fingering numbers on traditional notation.įretboard diagrams indicate chord shapes and voicings on guitar, unlike piano, the same chord can be played in various incarnations, using various strings. But if you know the music by ear, it is a handy way to figure out how to play music. Tab doesn’t usually have rhythms, which is a shock to musicians new to tab, and it sent my old high-school band director into conniptions. So, a 3 on the fifth string (A string) would be the note C, which is three half steps up from A.
It’s a help to non-guitarists to know that each fret of a guitar is a half step, getting higher as the vibrating part of the string gets smaller. Numerals indicate frets, with 0 indicating an open string. On guitar tab, there are six lines, each corresponding to a guitar string, with the high line being the high E string, and the low line being the low E string-the same orientation as if the guitarist was looking at his or her guitar while playing it, tilting it to see the front. Tablature is an ancient notation system that dates to the Renaissance, and variations exist for lute, bass guitar, banjo, and other similar instruments.