who here reads tab.

[Tazz3]

Hi all sorry for the silly question i hope its in the right place, i know there are a lot of guitar players here.
how many of you read tab ?? iam geting a gutiar this week or next week. and i been studying chords and all that stuff is tab easier ? thanks

[Sagittarius Rising]

If you don't read music tabs are the only way to go. The tabs are broken down by string and fret position, the top being the high E string and the bottom being the low E string.

They are pretty easy to read however they do lack the nuance and specifics such as time signature, quarter, half, whole notes, tone, and attack. The best way (only way IMO) to use a tab is in tandem with the song itself. That is to say, you have the tab for the song in front of you, you listen to that particular part of the song the tab represents, than stop the song and read the tab to show you what the guitarists has just played. You can gather all the above lacking info from listening to the song itself, tabs are only a basic guide and be careful, if the tab is not authorized from the publishing company it may not be accurate.

Got a bad tab for Babe I'm Gonna Leave You back in 84' and was playing the song wrong for six years before my buddy pulled me aside and said, "Dude, I have no fucking clue what you think you are doing but it sure ain't BIGLY." It was only off by one chord (the first) but he was a stickler for detail!

[Glyn]

Sagittarius Rising beat me to it

I find tabs easier to use. I use the tab to get the basics of the song down, then I improvise/experiment to get the rest of it (or to play a live version). Most tabs don't list chords though, so knowing those is very helpful.

Reading a tab is easy, each line represents a string on the guitar. The bottom most line on the tab (the one I labeled as "low e") is the string that is on top when you are playing, or the lowest octave string. Each number basically represents the fret you are playing. In this example (whole lotta love), you'd be playing the 7th fret on the low "e" string, then the 5th fret on the "a" string. Notes that are stacked are played at the same time (a chord).

    E|--------|------------|----------------
    B|--------|------------|----------------
    G|--------|------------|----------------
    D|--------|9--9--9--9--|9--9--99--------
    A|---5--5-|7--7--7--7--|7--7--77--5--5--
low E|--7--7--|000000000000|0000007--7------

That's the basics anyways. There's plenty of other symbols that you'll encounter, most of the tabs have a legend at the top that tell you what the marks mean.

[Tazz3]

Thanks so much for the help.i will look in to them

[Stormbringer]

If you don't read music tabs are the only way to go. The tabs are broken down by string and fret position, the top being the high E string and the bottom being the low E string.

They are pretty easy to read however they do lack the nuance and specifics such as time signature, quarter, half, whole notes, tone, and attack. The best way (only way IMO) to use a tab is in tandem with the song itself. That is to say, you have the tab for the song in front of you, you listen to that particular part of the song the tab represents, than stop the song and read the tab to show you what the guitarists has just played. You can gather all the above lacking info from listening to the song itself, tabs are only a basic guide and be careful, if the tab is not authorized from the publishing company it may not be accurate.

Got a bad tab for Babe I'm Gonna Leave You back in 84' and was playing the song wrong for six years before my buddy pulled me aside and said, "Dude, I have no fucking clue what you think you are doing but it sure ain't BIGLY." It was only off by one chord (the first) but he was a stickler for detail!

Good tabs have notation about time above the tab and there are vibes, hammer-ons, taps, pulls, plugs and whatever techniques described in it as well... (h, p, s, ~ signs etc.).

There are better and worse tabs out there, but after all I learned how to play my bass SOLELY from tabs and playing along my heroes (well started with easy bands like Deep Purple and Kiss and only after years I managed to play some Zeps lol). I agree tho, that tabs are here for you to help u learn the song by playing it along the MP3. You are rarely able to play the whole song JUST from the tab (without listening to it at the same time). And with doing this (start with easy songs), you WILL eventually learn how to play a guitar (if u will stick to it and practice for long enough time).

But again, I am talking about BASS tabs at least...

[#1fan]

Sagittarius Rising beat me to it

I find tabs easier to use. I use the tab to get the basics of the song down, then I improvise/experiment to get the rest of it (or to play a live version). Most tabs don't list chords though, so knowing those is very helpful.

Reading a tab is easy, each line represents a string on the guitar. The bottom most line on the tab (the one I labeled as "low e") is the string that is on top when you are playing, or the lowest octave string. Each number basically represents the fret you are playing. In this example (whole lotta love), you'd be playing the 7th fret on the low "e" string, then the 5th fret on the "a" string. Notes that are stacked are played at the same time (a chord).

    E|--------|------------|----------------
    B|--------|------------|----------------
    G|--------|------------|----------------
    D|--------|9--9--9--9--|9--9--99--------
    A|---5--5-|7--7--7--7--|7--7--77--5--5--
low E|--7--7--|000000000000|0000007--7------

That's the basics anyways. There's plenty of other symbols that you'll encounter, most of the tabs have a legend at the top that tell you what the marks mean.

That is the worst whole lota love tab i ever seen.

[dazedjeffy]

That is the worst whole lota love tab i ever seen.

Crap! That's my tab. That's wrong with it?

[Glyn]

I just picked that one randomly off of ultimate guitar, looked close enough to me

Crap! That's my tab. That's wrong with it?

Yours is different, no?

[Charles J. White]

I read tab if pushed to do so, but play by ear the majority of time

[Tazz3]

Thanks ll and thanks for posting the tab

[DewieCox]

That tab looks pretty good to me, except it needs a slide to up to the 7th fret and the 5th fret a string has a quick bend-y to it.

Edited July 26, 2013 by DewieCox

[#1fan]

Crap! That's my tab. That's wrong with it?

Just all bunched together, should b three open notes between the e chord this has 2 notes, no bend on 5th frett shown.

Edited July 27, 2013 by #1fan

[redrum]

I try to combine TAB with standard notation.

[Tazz3]

I geting the guitar this week ,I had to return the one I got the neck was to small