How To Play Tab On A Guitar?

If you want to learn how to play tablature on a guitar, then you’ll want to read this article. Specifically we’ll discuss the 6 horizontal lines that make up a tab staff, how to read chords in guitar tab and some of the symbols and terms used in guitar tab. After reading this article, you should have a basic understanding of how to read guitar tab.

A tab staff comprises of 6 horizontal lines representing the strings of the guitar. Starting from the bottom up we have the “E” string followed by the “A” String and so forth. The numbers on each line is the fret you need to play. A zero indicates a open string needs to be played.

Reading chords in guitar tab is a fairly straight forward process. If the tab displays a vertical list of numbers this would indicate that all the notes need to be played at the same time.

Some of the Symbols used in guitar tab are “h” which represent a hammer on, “p” representing a pull off and the symbol “^” used for either. Some terms are “string bends” whereby you bend a fret until it sounds like another fret eg. ”fret b fret”. The letter “r” represents the return of the bent note to a unbent state. eg. “fret b fret r fret”. Slide in guitar is a term given to either slide the note up or down and is represented by the symbol “/” or “\” respectively. eg. fret / fret \ fret. sometimes the letter “s” is used to indicate a slide. the symbol “~”  is used for vibrato and “x” indicates a string mute and more then one indicates a rake.

This article should have given you a basic understanding of how to play tab on a guitar. Claim your free ebook ” Master The Guitar In 7 Days” by entering your email address to the above right of this article.