How To Read Guitar Tabs (Tablature)

It took me a while to get my first guitar which was a black acoustic Gibson. A thing of beauty.

I thought learning to play great songs was going to be hard since I had no interest in learning to read music notations, but when I discovered how to read guitar tabs there were so many great songs I could now play I was totally hooked.

Now guitar tablature won't give you a song's rhythms and beats but if you have access to and can listen to a the song you want to learn and you know its tablature chances are you'll learn to play lots of great songs in no time!

Here's a great classic. No tabs just the chords.


SWEET CHILD O' MINE
GUNS N' ROSES
APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION

D
SHE'S GOT A SMILE AND IT SEEMS TO ME
Cadd9
REMINDS ME OF CHILDHOOD MEMORIES
G D
WHEN EVERYTHING WAS AS FRESH AS A BRIGHT BLUE SKY
D
NOW AND THEN WHEN I SEE HER FACE
Cadd9
SHE TAKES ME AWAY TO THAT SPECIAL PLACE
G D
AND IF I STEARED TOO LONG I'D PROBABLY BREAK DOWN AND CRY

A C D
WHOA, WHOA - SWEET CHILD OF MINE
A C D
OH, OH , OH - SWEET LOVE OF MINE

D Cadd9 G D

D
SHE'S GOT EYES OF THE BLUEST SKIES
Cadd9
AS IF THEY THOUGHT OF RAIN
G
I HATE TO LOOK INTO HOSE EYES
D
AND SEE AN OUNCE OF PAIN
D
HER HAIR REMINDS ME OF A WARM SAFE PLACE
Cadd9
WHERE AS A CHILD I'D HIDE
G
AND PRAY FOR THER THUNDER AND THE RAIN
D
TO QUIETLY PASS ME BY

A C D
WHOA, WHOA - SWEET CHILD OF MINE
A C D
OH, OH, OH - SWEET LOVE OF MINE

D Cadd9 G D C G D

A C D
WHOA, OH, OH, OH - SWEET CHILD OF MINE
A C D
OOH, WHOA OH, OH, OH - SWEET LOVE OF MINE
A C D
WHOA, OH, OH, OH - SWEET CHILD OF MINE
A D
OOH, YEAH-HEH, OOH - SWEET LOVE OF MINE


GUITAR SOLOS:
( Em C B7 Am Em C B7 Am ) x2
( Em G A C D Em G A C D ) x2

Em G
WHERE DO WE GO? WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
C C D Em
WHERE DO WE GO? OOH, WHERE DO WE GO?
G A
OOH, WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Em
WHERE DO WE GO?
G A C D
OOH, WHERE DO WE GO NOW?
Em G A
AY, AY, AY, AY - WHERE DO WE GO NOW?......etc

How To Read Guitar Tabs

Learning how to read guitar tabs is really quite easy. And I can still remember learning to read tabs almost 15 years ago! WOW time flies.

When I started playing guitar all I wanted was to learn a few good songs so I could play with friends at bonfires, but as time went on I really got good at it and that the reason I'm here now wanting to show you how easily you can learn to play the guitar, because of the simplicity of guitar tabs.

Now there's something about guitar tabs that you should know before we get you started. Unlike actual musical notation tabs won't show you how to play a song's rhythm or pace. That is something you can learn by simply listening to the song you're trying to learn. But you'll see that most times just learning a song's chords by reading some tab chart will often be enough!

Alright, let's get you going.

The key to understanding of guitar tabs is first knowing what the numbers on the guitar tabs represent.

On a basic guitar tab you might see something like this:

======

1|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

2|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

3|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|

4|------------5---------------------------------------------------------------------|

5|--------7---------------------7---------------------------------------------------|

6|----0-------------6-----5--------------------------------------------------------|

Where..

#1 represents the high E string. That's the thinnest string on your guitar and the highest pitched sounding string.

#2 represents your B string, which is one lower than the High E.

#3 represents your G string, which is one lower than the B string.

#4 represents your D string (one lower than the B)

#5 represents your A string (one lower than the D)

#6 represents your low E string, or the string with the lowest pitch. This is the string furthest from your input jack.

Now the numbers 1-6 on the left represent your strings. I'm sure you're wondering how to read the other numbers now.

When you see a "0" on a tab, you should read this as playing the open string. This means that you don't touch any fret.

In the case above, you would read the "0" as telling you to play the low E string open, or without touching any fret.

Why the low E string? Because as you can see, the "0" is in the same row as the low E string.

The next number you read is a 7. This reads as the 7th fret on the guitar. Which means to press the A string down 7 frets from the head stock of the guitar. The headstock of the guitar is the part that has the tuning keys, the bean shaped metal pieces that you use to tune your guitar.

The next number is 5. This is the D string, which means you need to press the 5ft fret from the headstock.

Voila! That's French for "that's it!" You just learned to read guitar tabs.

Now this is just the basics on how to read guitar tabs and of course there's lots more to cover which I will in an up and coming article. So be sure to check back.

Now get out there and amaze yourself and friends with your knew found talent!