Guitar Music through Tablatures

There are a lot of guitarists who can’t read musical notation. If you’re one of these, then “fret” not because there is another, easier way for you to learn that favorite song of yours without having to scratch your head through complex sheet music. How? By reading music through tablatures! So, read on and find out how.

So how do you translate tablatures (or more colloquially termed “tabs”) to beautiful guitar music? It’s easy. If you happen to have a tablature at hand, you’ll notice that it contains six lines with numbers written on it. The lines represent the strings on your guitar while the numbers are associated with the frets. The tricky part here, however, is that guitar tablatures are written “upside down.” Meaning, the line at the bottom represents your guitar’s 6^th string; the line above that, on the other hand, is your 5^th and so on and so forth.  Striking the specified string and fret lets you create melodies (or chords) appropriate to the tab. The end result: you’re already reading (and playing) the song that you want!

As you progress, however, some guitar tabs soon become a bit complex. Aside from numbers, there are other symbols that you should be aware of. The “h,” for example, means you should hammer this strings while the “/” symbol means a slide from one string to another. Don’t worry, though, as these techniques will soon become easier the more you practice. All these said, enjoy playing through guitar tabs!