How to read tabs.
| Author | Message |
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| threads Shotgun Sinner  Age: 27 Gender: Female Posts: 8038 | I'm a stealer so I'll just borrow things from all-over the web because I can't say it better than those who said it perfectly.  That is an electric guitar (works exactly like a bass guitar but looks different). This would explain where all those weird things like "nuts" and "bridges" would appear. Reading Tabs For most tabs this 'template' is used e|------------------------- B|------------------------- G|------------------------- D|------------------------- A|------------------------- E|------------------------- (When you post a tab in this section of the forum, please use font 8 or 9 like I have here.) The letter on the left of each '---' line indicates which string it is. e = thinest B = 2nd thinest G = 3rd thinest D = 3rd thickest A = 2nd thickest E = thickest For bass guiatrists, just remove the two thinest strings and you'll have a bass template. Now, let's move on to the frets. A fret is the space between the vertical iron 'things' on your fretboard. That's whythe fretboard is called fretboard and so on. Some guitars have dots on frets 3, 5, 7, 12, 15, 17, 19, 21 and sometimes 24. These are there to help your co-ordination. The 1st fret is the fret next to the nut, and the 21st fret is the one nest to the pick-ups. In between are the frets 2-20. Fret 0 is an open string. I hope that makes sense. Now we'll move onto playing the thing. Here's an easy example of a song, or a tiny piece of an intro to a song. xD e|------------------------- B|------------------------- G|------------------------- D|------------------------- A|---------3--------------- E|--1---3-----3---5-------- You play this by holding down the 1st fret with any finger on your fretting hand and sounding the string. Then you strum the 3rd fret and so on. If you can play it, it's obvious that you can read it. =] It really is that simple. When you read a tab you will also find letter's and stuff that are pretty important. Here's a list of these techniques and things and hopefully one link to a lesson for each technique: / - Slide up Drag your finger towards the nut while holding down the string. \ - Slide down Drag your finger down towards the pick-ups while holding down the string. p - Pull-off Play two notes with only one strum! Further Explanation h - Hammer-on The oppsite of a pull-off, almost. Further Explanation b - Bend Bend it, I can't explain it any better. Bends can look very different, here are two examples showing how much you should bend the string: e|---------------------|---------------------| B|-----17--(1  --------|---17b18r17----------|G|---------------------|---------------------| D|---------------------|---------------------| A|------Ex 1-----------|-----Ex 2------------| E|---------------------|---------------------| ~ - Vibrato (sometimes Ring out) Bend the string very lightly up and down. As for the 'Ring out', just let it ring. T - Tapping Use your picking hand to strum the notes. For really good tapping you will need to use alot of distortion (electric only). Further Explanation (19) - Ghost notes, notes in brackets Played lightly or just the echo of the note before it. TP - Tremolo Picking Strum the note really fast and many times. PM - Palm Muting Place your palm on the bridge to get a muffled sound. These indicatiors may change from tabber to tabber, but these are the common ones. Because I just can't stress this enough, go to Ultimate Guitar. It helps alot. If you didn't understand anything, give me a comment and I'll see if I can change it so it works, k? This is old and wrapped up in a few seconds, which makes it a work in progress. K? |
| sass attack. Demolition Lover  Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 15290 | nice work  but what does it mean in a tab when they use this ( ~ ) symbol ? |
| threads Shotgun Sinner Age: 27 Gender: Female Posts: 8038 | |
| sass attack. Demolition Lover Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 15290 | |
| threads Shotgun Sinner Age: 27 Gender: Female Posts: 8038 | |
| threads Shotgun Sinner Age: 27 Gender: Female Posts: 8038 | |
| sass attack. Demolition Lover Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 15290 | |
| Mr.Armstrong Awake and Unafraid  Age: 36 Gender: Female Posts: 12135 | |
| Easy Mac In The Murder Scene  Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 20401 | |
| Kid Rock Banned  Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 7686 | |
| Cerys Killjoy  Age: 32 Gender: Female Posts: 2 | |
| Kid Rock Banned Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 7686 | |
| jedicam10 Fabulous Killjoy Age: 32 Gender: Male Posts: 127 | |
| Kid Rock Banned Age: 31 Gender: Female Posts: 7686 | |
| threads Shotgun Sinner Age: 27 Gender: Female Posts: 8038 | |
| jedicam10 Fabulous Killjoy Age: 32 Gender: Male Posts: 127 | Gustavatron.: Ya but i cant read tabs.  I'm reading your lesson now. |
| threads Shotgun Sinner Age: 27 Gender: Female Posts: 8038 | jedicam10:I wonder if that's why I made this thread. Hmm. |
| OMFG DAN! Salute You in Your Grave  Age: 28 Gender: Female Posts: 3302 | |
| threads Shotgun Sinner Age: 27 Gender: Female Posts: 8038 | |
| Shelbinwa Killjoy Age: 32 Gender: Female Posts: 8 |
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