Lesson 5
Understanding
Understanding
How To Read Guitar Tabs
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Measure Bar
Press play to hear single string exercise track.
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As we learned briefly in the last lesson, Tab is like a cheat sheet or a short hand system used for reading music without having to know how to read music.
Reading music is a valuable skill but can take years to develop. The purpose of tabs is to get you playing right away.
With tablature you can read music without having to know how to read musical notation. However it does have its limitations.
For now lets dig a little deeper and see how the chords are written using Tab.
The example to the right shows the three chords that we have learned, written in standard notation (top staff) and Tab form (bottom staff).
Notice that on the Tab section, the notes are stacked upon each other the same way as in the standard notation, except that we see the fret numbers instead of the note symbol.
Single note Tab reading.
Ok , by now we know how to play chords using the chord frames and using the Tab staff.
Now we will dig even deeper into Tab reading.
Single note and - or - string playing
Single note playing, as the name suggests, is just playing single notes or strings instead of chords.
Below you will see an easy to play tab exercise.
You can hear how the tab example should sound in the video.
Tips:
Remember to curl your finger and use the tip of your finger. Those with long nails may have to trim them or learn how to play with them long.
Keep your thumb placed firm on the back of the neck like your trying to put your thumb print on it.. Don't let it lay flat.
Ok , by now we know how to play chords using the chord frames and using the Tab staff.
Now we will dig even deeper into Tab reading.
Single note and - or - string playing
Single note playing, as the name suggests, is just playing single notes or strings instead of chords.
Below you will see an easy to play tab exercise.
You can hear how the tab example should sound in the video.
Tips:
Remember to curl your finger and use the tip of your finger. Those with long nails may have to trim them or learn how to play with them long.
Keep your thumb placed firm on the back of the neck like your trying to put your thumb print on it.. Don't let it lay flat.
Simple "single string boogie" tab
When using tab to learn a song, you have to rely on the fact that you already know how the song sounds. In other words, It only shows you where to place your fingers but it will not show the musical value of each note.
Let me try to give you a quick explanation about reading music notation without getting into a "how to read music course".
Basically, rhythms are created by the breaking up of sound with intervals of silence. The silence in between the notes and chords is what gives rhythm to a song.
Each note you play has a mathematical value. For example, a quarter note has it's own symbol and means play a note and hold it for one beat. A half note also has a symbol and means hold the note for two beats.
So the music notation tells you how to play the note and not just what note to play. In other words, play the note for one beat or play the note and let it ring for two beats or counts.
It's really not as complicated as it sounds but you can see how it would take time to learn and develop.
Some tabs are written in such a way that shows the musical symbols and values but most do not. As you progress as a guitarist you will be able to figure it all out.
Let me try to give you a quick explanation about reading music notation without getting into a "how to read music course".
Basically, rhythms are created by the breaking up of sound with intervals of silence. The silence in between the notes and chords is what gives rhythm to a song.
Each note you play has a mathematical value. For example, a quarter note has it's own symbol and means play a note and hold it for one beat. A half note also has a symbol and means hold the note for two beats.
So the music notation tells you how to play the note and not just what note to play. In other words, play the note for one beat or play the note and let it ring for two beats or counts.
It's really not as complicated as it sounds but you can see how it would take time to learn and develop.
Some tabs are written in such a way that shows the musical symbols and values but most do not. As you progress as a guitarist you will be able to figure it all out.
Tab staff explaination
Finger to use: 1st 3rd 3 1
1
2
3
4
5
6
2
3
4
5
6