How to read tabs.

Aww cheers mayte, that's helped me alot...well kind of (: xx

mikkey.:

nice work

but what does it mean in a tab when they use this ( ~ ) symbol ?

I belive it means vibrato
i cant explain it very well but i think its when you play the note, and you wobble your finger on the same fret to create a different sound

hm call me stupid but what does the x mean? I'm sure there's somewhere an explanation but i keep missing it

Gustavatron.:

Hello. My name is Gustav, and this is my tab reading tutorial.
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?

*puts hand up* Uhm, excuse me Mr. Professor Doctor Gustavatron, one question, if the guitar has a nut than does that make it a male?, ooh ooh and one other question, if the guitar is half male, does that make the fretboard its penis?

hide from the sun:

hm call me stupid but what does the x mean? I'm sure there's somewhere an explanation but i keep missing it

Lovesick Melody.:

^^

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think it may be to mute the string....

Yes "X" does mean mute the string

[/font][/size][/quote]*puts hand up* Uhm, excuse me Mr. Professor Doctor Gustavatron, one question, if the guitar has a nut than does that make it a male?, ooh ooh and one other question, if the guitar is half male, does that make the fretboard its penis?[/quote]

lol that reminds me of the Wangcaster i saw.

threads:

(19) like that?

That is a ghost note. It's played light and is barely heard or just an echo of the tone before it.

I'll add it.

means vibrato.
different tabbers use different signs for their tabs, on the internet and stuff, but that sign most commonly means vibrato.

ain't got no soul.:

Oh. Sorry. Double Post. Okay, don't laugh cause I've only been at this for a couple days but... What is the difference between tabs and chords? Tabs are easier to read, I don't understand chords at all. I wanna play rythym........ Sorry.. I'm a n00b.

Hey dude,
Chords are basically when you play more than one string at a time.
In a tab for example, this is a "lead" line, only one note being played at a time:
e---------------------------------
B--------------------7------4---
G---9------9--------------------
D--------------------------------
A--------------------------------
E--------------------------------

Whereas these are chords:
e-------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------
G-------------------------7----------
D-----5--------2---------7----------
A-----5--------2---------5----------
E-----3--------0---------------------

Because they're all at the exact same place (in line with each other) on the tab, for the first chord it would mean that you hold down the string at the 3rd fret on the E string, the 5th fret at the A string, and the 5th fret at the D string, then sturm them all at the same time. That's a basic powerchord. The shape you use can be moved anywhere on the fretboard.

So, chords are just more than one note being played at the same time, if you wanna simplify it.

Chords are written on tabs, the same as single notes are. They're not a completely different thing.



Hope that lengthy description helped haha.

Kid Rock:

What's a sweep?

A sweeps when you play a series of notes in quick succession, but your playing them in a sweeping motion, from low to high string. A sweep might look something like this :

e--------------------7----------
B--------------10-------------
G----------9-------------------
D-------7----------------------
A---7--------------------------
E-------------------------------


You dont play them all the same time, like a strum, but you dont pick them so they sound definitly seperate, either. You sweep across them, in a fluid motion.


Hope that helps.

what does the "b" mean here?

e|--------------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------------|
G|------0-------------5b-------2--0----0-0-0--|
D|---------0-0h2----2---------------0--2-2-0--|
A|--0-3-----------3----------3---------3-3-2--|
E|-------------------------1------------------| :
thanks to anyone who can help... (:

Thanks so much for this. It would pretty much work the asme for acoustic, right?

bruised silence.:

this is probably kind of late,
but i do believe that 'b' there means "bend". (:

the example used for chords are actually Power Chords, not Proper Open Chords