Understanding a Tab & How to write a tab
By: Malik Strong


This is was a tab looks like…

E-----------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------------- 
G-----------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------

The letters next to the lines are the names of the string based on the tuning of the song.
Sometimes, you will come across a song with a tuning like this…

E-----------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------------------------------------------------------- 
G-----------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------
D------------------------------------------------------------------

That is considered a D tuning. I don't play in any other tunings so you don't have to worry about that yet. 

To read a tab, picture your guitar lying on its back. You'll see a tab right in front of you. 


The numbers that you see on the tab are the fret numbers that you have to play.
E--1---------2------------------------------------------------------
B-----2---------3--------------------------------------------------- 
G-------3---------4-------------------------------------------------
D----------4---------5----------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------
E------------------------------------------------------------------

When you see the numbers like that, you would play the number that comes first. So in this case you would play E 1, then B 2 and so on and so forth. Tabs are just like sheet music. They're simple to read and to write. 


In a lot of tabs you will see letters in between the fret numbers like so…
E-----------------------------------------------------------------
B--3-4-5s6-7-8-9s10----------------------------------------------- 
G-----------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------
Or something similar to this…
E-----------8p9-8-7-----------------------------------------------
B--3-5-6---------------------------------------------------------- 
G-----------------------------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------
Those letters explain a skill that's being used. I'll make a key to explain what they mean.

Skills:
P- Pull off -To do a pull off, you have to play a note and while its still ringing tap another note on the same string. 

H-Hammer on- To hammer on, you have to play a string and while its ringing play other notes at a quick pace. It's hard to explain. Here's an example…

E-3h4-5-6---------------------------------------------------------------

S-Slide- To perform a slide, all you have to do is play a fret and slide to another. Yes, it's that simple!

B-bend- To perform a bend, play a fret and bend the string either down or up.

R- Ring- To ring just hit a fret and let it be. It will ring.

That's all that I can think of for the time being. I'll explain the chords on a tab now.

A chord is a two or more string's being played at once while in harmony. I'll show you a C chord…

E--0-----------------------------------------------------------------------
B--1-----------------------------------------------------------------------
G--0-----------------------------------------------------------------------
D--2-----------------------------------------------------------------------
A--3-----------------------------------------------------------------------
E--x-----------------------------------------------------------------------
That's a C chord. When chords are being tabbed out, the fret numbers are under each other or above. There are many chords out there. That's pretty much all that I can tell you about chords. 

Now something really interesting about tabs are 'how do you tell what the tempo is on a tab that you're reading'? Well, don't you fret my little guitarist… LOL… Get it? 'Fret'? On a guitar? (Laughs non stop) Oh man, I kill myself…. Uh, sorry about that. I'll explain how to slightly understand the tempo on a tab. 


Now, whenever you're looking for a tab you have to know how the song goes. It would be kind of odd to play something that you have no idea what your playing. Sometimes you will come across a tab that someone wrote himself or herself. I'll give you an example. I tabbed this song from Final Fantasy.

Final Fantasy 4 Flying Theme
Written by: Squaresoft
Tabbed by: Malik Strong
Tuning: Standard

Riff 1
E------3-3--1-----------------------------------------------------------------
B----------------4--3--1--------1--3--1-(R)------1----------------------------
G--0----------------------3--3-----------------3------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
A-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Riff 2
E---------0------------------------0---------------------0--3--3--2--0--------2--
B------3---------1--3-(R)-1--3---------1--3--3--1--3--------------------3--0-----
G--0---------2-----------------------1-------------------------------------------
D--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the fret numbers are close together you would play them fast. Not blinding fast, but fast enough that there in rhythm. This is a pretty simple tab to play. You'll know when you're playing a tab right when it makes sense. 

That's pretty much all that I can teach you about tabs. I'll make some new tabs to work your fingers out.

Rock on and never give up. Dark Angel out...
Any Comments are welcomed..This is old, so I've learned a lot since I've written this...