Getting Started with Guitar Tab and Chord Diagrams

This page will discuss how to read guitar tablature and chord diagrams. Most of the lessons on this site will require the ability to read chord diagrams and guitar tablature. Standard notation will be used, but not required for most of the lessons.

Guitar Tablature

Here is a picture of a fingerboard laying horizontally.

Guitar Tablature or tab, is used as a form of musical notation that instructs the player where to place their fingers on a particular string.

The Tablature is a 6 line staff that represents the guitar fingerboard, with the top line indicating the highest sounding string.

Here is a picture of a blank Tablature staff.

blank tab staff

The bottom line on the tab staff corresponds to the low E on the guitar. The top line of the tab staff corresponds to the high E on the guitar. I am assuming standard tuning. When looking at a tab staff just remember that the high 'E' is at the top(or skyie).

Most of my lessons will be created using software, at times I may use ASCII tab, which looks like this.

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

Examples

Example 1
guitar tab notes

Play the notes from left to right. The first instruction is a 0 on the low E, the 0 means open string. So you would simply play the low open E. The next instruction is a 2 on the A string. The 2 means play the tone right behind the 2nd fret, this would be a B. The last instruction is a 5 on the D string. This means play the tone right behind the 5th fret, this would be a G.

The complete lesson would look like this.

The top set of 6 lines is in standard notation. If you do not know how to read standard notation just ignore the top section.

Example 2

The first instruction occurs on the low E at the 5th fret, therefore you would play an A. The next instruction occurs on the D string (remember we go left to right) at the 7th fret, therefore you would play an A (octave higher). The next instruction takes you to the 7th fret on the A string, so you would play an E. The remaining notes are G, A, C, A.

Example 3

Notice all the instructions are underneath each other. You would play them simultaneously. This would produce the sound of an E7 chord.

Tab has developed into a large set of symbols used to represent various techniques, such as hammer ons, tapping, pull offs etc... These will be introduced at a later time.

Chord Diagrams

Chord Diagrams are used to show the player where and with which fingers you use to press the notes of the chord.

Here is a picture of a fingerboard laying vertically.

Example 1

Here is a chord diagram for a C major chord

C Major chord diagram
  • The strings are pictured from left to right with the tones, Low E, A, D, G, B, high E.
  • The name of the chord is at the top, C
  • The meaning of the X's and O's along the top are as follows.
    • X, means do not sound the string
    • O, means that string is played open.
  • The dots indicate the tones that are played
  • The numbers along the bottom suggest which finger you should use to play that tone.
    • The 3, means place your third finger or ring finger at the 3rd fret on the A - string. This would sound a C.
    • The 2, means place your second finger or middle finger at the 2nd fret on the D-string. This would sound an E.
    • The 1, means place your first finger or index finger at the 1rst fret on the B-string. This would sound a C.
  • Also the O along the top, place at the G-string means, you play the open G-string along with the fingered tones.

Example 2

Here is a chord diagram for an A major chord using a bar.

A Major chord diagram
  • The 5 to the left of the diagram, indicates we are at the 5th fret.
  • The thick black bar running along the strings indicates a bar. The finger you use to bar is determined by looking at the bottom of the diagram for the number that is repeated. In this example it is 1. So you would bar the fifth fret with your index finger.
  • Going from left to right:
    • The first black dot appears on the A-string at the 7th fret, E. Use you third finger to press on that note.
    • The next black dot appears on the D-string at the 7th fret, A. Use your fourth finger to press that note.
    • The last black dot appears on the G-string at the 6th fret, C#. Use your middle finger to press that note.
  • Since there are no X's along the top, you would sound all 6 strings.

There are a few variations of the above chord diagrams used in books and on the net. If you understand one of them the rest should follow.

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