Guitar music has it's own form of notation, called a tab, or tablature. Tabs are different from standard musical notation because they do not use staffs, ledger lines, key signatures, or notes. For this reason, acoustic guitar tabs are beneficial because they allow you to learn how to play the instrument without also having to learn to read music. Tabs may also be used as notation for other stringed instruments.



"Tabs" is short for tablature. Acoustic guitar tabs arelike a little picture of your guitar strings. The first row is the top string and the sixth row is the bottom one. On each of the rows, or lines, the numbers indicate the fret you're supposed to be playing. A "0" (zero) is used to indicate an open string, while an "X" indicates a muffled string.

In case you don't know what a fret is, it's the space between two of the metal bars on the long "neck" of your guitar. Most acoustic guitars have from 21 to 24 of these frets. Their dots are just there to help you in positioning your fingers.

Take a look at the acoustic guitar tab and if all of the numbers are listed one after the other and all on one line, the numbers indicate the fret to use on that string; only pluck that particular string. Numbers that are noted one after the other indicate that you play one note at a time. If there is a number on each line and the numbers are stacked, one on top of the other; then the acoustic guitar tab is saying play all the notes simultaneously, in other words, strumming all six strings.

When reading acoustic guitar tabs, you may come across things like, hammer-on, pull-offs, bends and slides. A hammer-on may be represented by something such as "7h9," with the "h" being the notation for the hammer-on. A pull-off would be noted in the same way, with a "p" instead of an "h." A bend is noted by a simple "b" and a slide would be represented by a "/."

After you've gotten accustomed to the notion of reading music by string position, search online for basic acoustic guitar tabs and find a tune you're really familiar with to practice on. While the approach may be new to you, you'll see that you can pick up its melody quickly this way now that you can read tabs.

It is best that you hear the song you are trying to learn as it makes the learning easier. While you can remember how a song goes, listening to it while you practice can help you with the rhythm and detail. It can be tremendously fun to learn how to play a guitar when you utilize acoustic guitar tabs. Before you realize it, you have many songs in your repertoire that you can play at parties to impress friends, or for your sole pleasure.