Thursday 16 October 2008

How to Read Guitar Tabs - A Comprehensive Guide

It is important when learning to play the guitar that you learn how to read guitar tabs. It is not essential that you are able to read music, although this is the best way to learn to play your favorite tunes. Guitar tabs are very similar to sheet music but you do not have to know the notes familiar to sheet music to learn. The guitar tab sheet is different to sheet music in terms that it has six lines as opposed to five lines in normal sheet music. The six lines represent the six strings that you will find on a guitar.

The first step is to learn how to use the strings of the guitar. The high E is the thinnest string and it is the very top line of a guitar tablature. This is then followed by the B string, the G string, the D string, the A string and finally the low E string. You have to learn the order of the strings on the guitar tab first and foremost.

The guitar tabs have numbers on them which relate to the various strings on the guitar. There a little metal parts on the fingerboard of guitars that are called frets. The numbers that you can see on the lines are related to the frets on the guitar. If you see the number five, this pertains to the lower E string. This means that you would press the lower E string on the fifth fret down on the guitar. If there is also a zero on the line, this means that the string must be played open.

As well as numbers on the lines, there may also be symbols. For example, the symbol "x" on a line means that that particular string is not played at all. Other symbols that you may see on the guitar tab are "b" (bend the note), "h" (hammer on), "p" (pull off) and "t" (tap).

Learning to read the guitar tabs is essential to learn to play the guitar properly. Follow these guidelines and you will soon be able to play your favorite tunes easily and perfectly.

If you'd like more on how to read guitar tabs, or tips and advice on learning how to play the guitar, check out http://www.easilyplayguitar.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kenn_Bell

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