I need help on how to play guitar tabs?

Question

oKay so i need help on learning how to play guitar tabs.

I know all the basics and all but i just want to know how to play the tabs. i don't think i seem to understand so clearly on those they get me confused..

So can anyone help me on how to play them?

Answer 1

No you don't. You need to forget that this method of notation was ever invented. Real musicians read standard notation, not tabs.

For a full explanation, see here:

TAB vs. STANDARD:

http://www.betterguitar.com/blog/classic...

Sure tabs are easy... but" easier is not better." Tabs do not give you a clue as to how long notes should be held and work ONLY if you know the song. With standard notation, you can play songs you've NEVER heard before.

I urge you all to check out the site I listed above!

Kabum

Answer 2

Here are pages of information on how to read guitar tabs.

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=how+to+...

Answer 3

Hey there. Tabs are a lot simpler to play than they look!

Alright, a tab looks like this:

e:-----------------------------------

B:-----------------------------------

G:-----------------------------------

D:-----------------------------------

A:-----------------------------------

E:-----------------------------------

Or something very similar to that. Not all tabs will have the e, b,g, and so on at the far left, but some do. Anyway, Each line represents a string on your guitar. The top line presents the "high e" or the thinnest string on your guitar, while the bottom line represents the "low e" or the thickest string on your guitar.

Got it? Now, you'll often see numbers on each line. When you see a number, you'll play that fret on the corresponding line. For instance, lets take a look at the introduction to "smoke on the water" by deep purple:

e:------------------------------------...

B:------------------------------------...

G:---0----3-----5----0----3-----6----5

D:---0----3-----5----0----3-----6----5

A:------------------------------------...

E:------------------------------------...

Look complicated? Don't worry, it isn't!

You see how the G and D lines have the "0"? A 0 represents an "open string" so you would play both the strings at the same time  without fretting anything. Then, you'd play the Third fret on both strings at the same time, then the 5th fret, and so on.

So basically, each line represents a string on the guitar, and each number represents a fret. Pretty simple, right?

You'll also see letters in tabs, which represent different techniques you should use while playing that note. For instance:

e:-----------6b---------------------

B:-----5------------5h6-------9p8

G:-----------------------------------

D:-----------------------------------

A:-----------------------------------

E:-----------------------------------

So for this tab, you would fret the 5th fret on the B string, pluck it, then fret the 6th fret on the High e string and bend the string once you pluck (b = bend). Then you would fret the 5th fret on the B string, and "hammer on" to the 6th fret (h = hammer on),  and then lastly for the "9p8" part you would fret the 9th fret, then do a pull-off onto the eigth fret (p = pull off)

those are the most basic ones. If there's something like

e:---6~~~~----------------------------...

you would use the whammy bar and so on.

Hope that helps!!

If you have any questions, feel free to msn message me at [e-mail] or email me.