HOW TO READ GUITAR TAB

HOW TO READ GUITAR TAB

Guitar tablature, or just tab for short, is a notation system that graphically represents the frets and strings of the guitar. Tab is guitar-specific, and it tells you what string and fret to play. Use the tab if you’re ever unsure as to which fret or string a note falls on.

Music for guitar usually comes either in tab or with two staffs, one using standard music notation (the one with the treble clef), with a tab staff just beneath it, like most of the examples of guitar music you’ll find on this site. The tab staff aligns with and reflects exactly what’s going on in the regular musical staff above it, but it’s in guitar language.

The following figure shows a tab staff and some sample notes and a chord. Here are a few points to keep in mind when reading tab:

The lines of the tab staff represent guitar strings, from the 1st string on top (high E) to the 6th string on bottom (low E).

A numeral appearing on any given line tells you to press, or fret, that string at that numbered fret. For example, if you see the numeral 2 on the fourth line from the top, you need to press down the 4nd string (D) at the 2nd fret (actually, the space between the 1st and 2nd fret, closer to the 2nd metal fret wire).

A 0 on a line means that you play the open string — that is, unfretted, with no left-hand finger touching the string.

When you see stacked notes, as in bar 3 of the figure, that notation tells you to play the fretted strings all at the same time, which produces a chord. The fretted strings in the figure form a D major chord.

CIRCLE OF FIFTH

CIRCLE OF FIFTHS

Understanding how to read the circle of fifths will help you understand the relation between music’s major keys and their relative minor keys. A major key and its relative minor use the same key signature, which means they use the same sharps (indicated as #) and flats (shown as b) in their scales. When you read the circle of fifths, you’ll notice that the major keys are on outside of the circle. Opposite them, inside the circle, are their relative minor keys.



At the top, you have the key of C major, which has no sharps or flats in its key signature. Each stop on the circle as you go clockwise from C is a key with one more sharp than the previous key. Each stop as you go down counter-clockwise from C is a key with one more flat than the previous key.So, if you have the circle of fifths memorized (or have a picture of it handy), you can easily figure out what key a song is in. Simply count the number of sharps or flats in the key signature, and then move that many spaces around the circle of fifths, starting at C. Move clockwise for sharps, and counter-clockwise for flats.For example, if you see three sharps (F#, C#, and G#) in the key signature, start from C and go clockwise three places, and you’ll find that the song is in either A major or F# minor. Similarly, if you see five flats (Bb, Eb, Ab, Db, Gb) in the key signature (not a nice thing to do to a guitarist), you start at C and go five places counter-clockwise; that puts the song in either Db major or Bb minor.