What is TAB?

“TAB” is an abbreviation of “Tablature” which is a method of reading music for guitar and guitar type instruments such as ukulele, Banjo etc. With the exception of classical style guitar music, which uses standard notation, also known as Staff, the majority of guitarist use TAB for learning, transcribing and writing music. Guitarists use TAB because standard notation, as a system of reading music, can make it appear more complicated than it really is. Standard notation is also a method of reading music which is inflexible and cannot convey many of the modern techniques that are used by guitarists, this is because it was tailor made for Piano, many guitarists who are writing music never learn standard notation. That is not to say you shouldn’t learn if you’re interested in it, but it is simply not essential to you learning guitar.

Learning how to play guitar tabs for beginners can, at first glance, seem quite difficult. But it is very easy to learn as it is designed specifically for guitar music. The TAB system is basically a diagram of the fret board. The horizontal lines represent the strings, starting with the bottom line that corresponds   to the Bass E, the 6^th string. The numbers tell you which fret you need to play.

Most beginner guitar books will give you simple melodies or riffs to play. As your confidence and ability develops you will be able to recognise chords and lots of different symbols that explain how to play a note. This website will help you learn what all the symbols mean; https://www.songsterr.com.

If you’re interested in taking lessons with me or you have any questions regarding what you have read, then don’t hesitate to contact me today.