Reading Guitar Tablature

The most useful guitar skill is to tab. Tab appears like this:

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

The letters up there mean the strings(highest to lowest-e is the highest and E is the lowest). This is an example of a song:

e-----------------------------------------------
B-----------------------------------------------
G-----------------------------------------------
D-----------------------------------------------
A---7-7-10-7-5-3-2------------------------------
E-----------------------------------------------

Knowing that E is the lowest and A is on top of it, it would mean that A is the second lowest.

e highest
B second highest
G third highest
D third lowest
A second lowest
E lowest

The numbers on A are " 7-7-10-7-5-3-2". Count on the fretboard till fret seven.

Hit #7. There is another 7 so hit it. What ever the number is, hit it on the fretboard(on the correct string). By the way that is Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes. Those are the verses. There you go folks!

Comments

[Angel_trixie]

i just want to say thanks... you been so helpful to me... at last, i found a web site that gives free lyrics and chords at the same time. u really made me happy.. thanks!

[jesden87]

thanks...this is really helpful!

[aaagetalifeaaa]

thAT was so easy

[Oswald]

I learned how to read tabs in 1 minute...
And i am a idiot.......

[lauralou]

wow, i never knew them things were called fretboards!!

[neomaximus2k]

- are just an indication of time, i tend to write my tabulature as - = 1 beat but not everyone does that.
If you want a true indication of the time between notes then you will have to listen to the song sadly or get hold of the sheet music

[rebel_jammer19]

i think its better if you will post a larger and more easier-to-understand lesson about this topic for the benefit of the beginner, but really, YOU GUYS RULZ!!! im just a new member and i hope im welcome here, thanks!

[Mudvayne692]

For an X (Dead note am i supposed to just touch the string then hit the string? cause unless its on the 1st fret it makes a buzz noise

[portis]

I'm having trouble figuring out how this tab is read?

At First glance I want to play
A8, B10, A8, B10, A8... - sort of vertically.

But when listenging to the song - it sounds like it should go something like

A8, B10, B10, B10, B10, A8, G9...

Scar Tissue - Red Hot Chili Pepers
INTRO
E:---------------------
-------------------------
-------
B:---10---10---1
0-10---------------------
--------------
G:-------
------------9-9/10--10---
-10----10-10\9-------
D
:------------------------
-------------------------
----
A:-8----8----8-----
-------------------------
-----------
E:----------
---------8-8/10-----10---
-10---------------

Can
someone comment on how to interpret a sequence like this?

thanks you

[PaulP89]

i dont get this what is a fret board someone please help and do i just count to seven thrn hit the cord again

[PaulP89]

when u play it on the bottom ones it doesnt sound any thing like the real version

[raghavsarathy]

it's superb.thank u.

[Misunderstood56]

this helped me alot, thanks

[boneman]

very cool guys

[yar111890]

That song is from White Stripes. Im going to Whichitas 7 7 10 7 5 3 2.

[jamesval]

good lesson but shit song

[GOLFSCRUFF]

thats great thanx!!

[imbrued]

i thawt that the white stripes song was played on low E =S

[enclave]

cool!

[Pog]

mmmm cheese. wot duz br mean. i fink most ppl realise wot numbers on a string mean. please add to ur lesson.

[KEWLPUNKGIRL44]

Hey you guys are awesome. i wonna start learning how to play a guitar now!

[jeni]

yeah its sounds easy for beginners who has guider around..but its difficult 4me when i just learn them
all by myself alone...

[jeni]

[patran61364]

to you b holes put the mouse down and pick up the g tar ..i am trying to learn something here to the true ...carry on

[jgml]

This is awesome

[musix666]

i have no idea on how to follow the number thingy...thanks for the effort anyway..

[4evaroxn]

thanks that was lyke everything put into so lil

[_motochiq911_]

thx so much for the lesson, it helped a lot!

[milkshake]

i like this ass-kickin' site

[Stratowagen90]

I'm a beginner and im sort of confused...If the tab appears like this.....................
..
e-------4------------
-------------------------
---
B-----3-------------
-------------------------
----
G--2*--------------
-------------------------
-----
D--2*-------------
-------------------------
------
A----------------
-------------------------
-------
E---------------
-------------------------
--------

(referring to the *'d numbers) Does that mean they are strummed at the same time? Or just....like normal 1 at a time?? Please help..

[XtremeSnowRyder]

PLease inform me on where the frets end and begin, and what the numbers means and everthing, i find this reallly confusing! sry!

[warrior32]

this was a great web page it really helped me out

[yelhsashley2004]

*yawn*

[MaliceMizer]

E||------------------|--5--------4--------5-----|-
----4--------5--------4--|
B||------------------|
-----5--5-----5--5-----5--|--5-----5--5-----5--5--
---|
G||------------------|----------------------
----|--------------------------|
D||-------------
-----|--------------------------|-----------------
---------|
A||------------------|----------------
----------|--------------------------|
E||-------
-----------|--------------------------|-----------
---------------| now I can play thiz thing !!

[boardman56]

that really helped me, Ur lessons are friggin awsome
thanx

[BHD]

I thought that was an ok lesson, I'm not just saying that because I wrote one on the same subject but you didn't descrive pull offs, hammer ons, bends, slieds and so on.

[romeonair]

thank you so much for the lesson.

[oOSarahOo]

wow thats actually really easy!!
thanx heaps

[punk'madison]

.. i dont understand that., whats a fretboard??

[punk'madison]

.. waaah., i dont really get it., tsk.. pm me pls.. those who wanna help.. or just email me.. yer_pathetic@yahoo.. tnx

[mattjs89]

the #7 is the fret--fret #7A..get it? ok thnx alot they rlly helped.

[ruthieee]

i can't understand the lesson =(

[high voltage]

Short and to the point, good stuff my man, good stuff.

[rancidchick_01]

i'm still lost hold on i think i got it give me a second ah ha i got hey thanx a lot its cool that this web page tells you how to do everything for free instead of have lessons for i hour and having my mom pay 30 dollers for it thanx a lot!!

[Ben Downes]

I've benn playing for bout 3 and a half years and still there are some things on or about a guitar that i don't know about and i would like to learn more where should i go to find out this infomation

[rancidchick_01]

a tutor just kidding man please dont get mad at me!!!

[aslim04]

what does it mean when theres two notes that are above eachother but not directly on top of eachother? do you still play them both together?

ex: -7----5--
---..5---
---5---..
-5---..

[pitiful_you]

if anybody just happens to read my post out of the many in here.. i wanted to know if any one could tell me a website for a free guitar tuner for windows?....

spam deleted

[sibietta]

help

[Rob_On_Tues.]

I can't play my guitar for crap and I've had for a year and a half! This lesson is really helping! Thank you for starting this site!!!

[EchoCanyon]

Simple and yet effective!!! nice lesson =]

[happybunnyjr]

thanks so much i got two people to explain it to me and i still didn't get it until i looked up here so thanxs!!

[Beginner(Chris)]

Oh my God!!! Thank you so much!!! I finally understand how to read this thing now.....thx thx thx thx thx

[GreenApril]

wow
that is easy thanks bunches

[laynesfriend]

cool beans! I can read tab, having a hard time with chords though. Can you please add a lesson that's as simple as this one for chords?

[tribal shadow]

KOOL! play this:
e|-5-5-7-7-4-4-2-2

b|-7-7-9-9-5-5-3-3

[noobistic]

too easy.....

[ecstericia37]

yay i so love ultimate-guitar ! this tab thing rocks love love

[noxios]

this lesson suck, try to explain something about the notasion of slides, bends, pulloffs,...

[mr.guitar1191]

hey noxios i think ur mean!and this website helps ppl.

[mr.guitar1191]

and suck is a bad word

[babyjesus_2]

ive bin readin it the rong way cause i thought e was low e and E was high e

[[Meh]]

this does really help thnx alot -.-

[controll'dchaos]

hoe would you read someting like this
---8---8---8---8---10---1
0---10
---7---7---8---8---10---1
0---10
---6---6---6---6---6----6
----6
like they are all on top of each other

[Effius]

Just strum them all at once...

[robelie]

owen met

[Fret_]

awsome well ya pretty simple only that the bottom isnt as specific as the rest but the beginging is so understandable.

[Valedicta]

That was very easy

[rrb6699]

its a good article. but i see people asking questions and want to know the answers. it would be cool if there was a "repository" of questions where you could just link to the answers somehow. Like the Chili Peppers thing. I'd like to know that too. -R/R

[Bates_]

....I love you...

[emarjan]

was that seven nation army?

[mfkr511]

thnx thats was really helpful

[metica]

thanks man i kinda new some of this but thanks

[Drunkendave]

I'm totaly new to all of this and for a first lesson on tabs, It totaly worked for me. It was a plus having the song to listen to as well
Thanks

[CatEyez]

Thnx for the lesson, but what do u do when u get a tab filled with numberz on each string??? PLZ HELP!

[axe_man]

u ply a chord cat eyez

[straybullet]

man....
i thought it was how to do bend, hammer on, palm mute, etc...
could someone help me please

[iamasoldier]

I'm a beginner guitar player and these lessons are really working good.
I'd recommend this for anyone who can't play guitar and would like to learn.

[Shannon92-]

what do you do if your tab look like this

E|---3---3---3
B|---3---3---3
G|---5---5---5
D|---5---5---5
A|---3---3---3
E|---3---3---3

do you play them all vertically together? please email me anyone who can [e-mail]..its seems like i have the same quetion as someone else...

[Nocomment]

maybe you should add things like how to read symbols like / is slide etc.

[piza pokr]

dude, you need to show a lot more stuff. like hammer ons, pull offs, or even slide dude. point is put more stuff there.

[dilleo217]

PaulP89 wrote:

i dont get this what is a fret board someone please help and do i just count to seven thrn hit the cord again

a fretboard is the like neck that has all the frets on it its the long thing and to play tablature you have to go to fret seven and how many times you see 7 in a row is how many times you strum that string if you need anymore help email me at [e-mail]

[dilleo217]

CatEyez wrote:

Thnx for the lesson, but what do u do when u get a tab filled with numberz on each string??? PLZ HELP!

you play them all

[pmhabo]

how do i play this?

e|-----
b|-----
g|-----
d|-5~~~--5-
a|-3~~~--2-
d|-3~~~--2-

[Yero]

Yes! Thanks bro!

[GeekInThePink]

Nothing I didn't know already, but good for people who don't know this I guess.

[Drew/Dawg]

well that would be me who doesn't know. I'm confused about 1 thing though because it seems that this tip compared to Reading Tablatures II is differnt. Is E the bottom string and e the top or is it visa versa?

[miabugg]

I think this a good example for people who are starting out. Thanks.

[FRANKtheTANK91]

wow, that was so easy i cant believe i never got it, well i only started three weeks ago but now i feel like a complete moron.

[avenged_7_fold]

you should really show other stuff like hammer-ons and pull-offs so you know how to play something like this:
|-----18*b~-13-20-----22b

|-----14\18--17-16h18p14h
15-----17-----19b
|-----19-----|
|--2-----18--|
|--2-----|
|--0-00000-----|
pm---|

[slash N @xl]

Yeah i aree with avenged_7_fold. I still haven't found any website which explains how to perform hammer on and pull off. Would be cool if this was added.

[Angel_of_D34th]

i agree too. i understant those normal, small numbers. but then im in broplems when i most play those big numbers...like 22 or 57. thats what i dont find anywere... so PLEASE some1 help me whit this!!

[ash lw]

if u get confused by this u need ur head checked

[ash lw]

does any 1 ere like cradle of filth thei song cradle to enslave the vid for dat song strange

[ash lw]

e-----
B-----
G-----
D---7-7-10-7-5-3-2-----
A---7-7-10-7-5-3-2-----
E-----

[ash lw]

that is seven nation army da oder 1 at top no wer near as good as dat try it ure self

[Dchilders]

Hey thanks that really helped a lot!

[podaisprodip]

lala

[ace man 123]

thanks alot i needed it

[ugmung]

lauralou wrote:

wow, i never knew them things were called fretboards!!

their not. their called "frets" the thing with the frets is the fret board

[thevampire]

Yo...it all makes sence now! thanks dude!

[thevampire]

Yo...it all makes sence now! thanks dude!

[guitar_lover23]

Thanks, this actually really helped. I'm teaching myself guitar ad there were a few misleading sites about reading guitar tabs but this really helped me out.

[lolitaa]

e|0-0-0-0--0000-|-0-0-0-0
--0000-|-0-0-0-0--0000-|-
0-0-0-0--0000-|
B|1-1-1-1--1111-|-1-1-1-1
--1111-|-1-1-1-1--1111-|-
0-0-0-0--0000-|
G|2-2-2-2--2222-|-2-2-2-2
--2222-|-0-0-0-0--0000-|-
0-0-0-0--0000-|
D|3-3-3-3--3333-|-3-3-3-3
--3333-|-2-2-2-2--2222-|-
0-0-0-0--0000-|
A|0-0-0-0--0000-|-0-0-0-0
--0000-|-3-3-3-3--3333-|-
2-2-2-2--2222-|
E|x-x-x-x--xxxx-|-x-x-x-x
--xxxx-|-x-x-x-x--xxxx-|-
x-x-x-x--xxxx-|x6

thanks didnt get it at 1st but took a 2nd look at the tabs and now i caught on, however i still have a question does ne one know what the x6 means at the end of this sequence? does it mean i play it 6 times??
email me or something [e-mail] thnx for the help

[wb606033]

I'm a begineer and I wanted to know what is it when #'s are on top of each other or x's then numbers

[raunoa1992]

Wow, I understood this in 2 minutes after I had struggled for hours on different websites.

[rockstarrjess]

I only picked up a guitar 2 weeks ago.. and this helped heaps! It sounds just like the White Stripes.. only im a lil slower haha.. but awesome. This site rocks! As it should

[DelilahBlueEyes]

What does the x mean? In the intro to Pressure by Paramore, there are a bunch of x's...and I don't know what they mean...

[Gary (Cannibal)]

whats it mean when the numbers are together without one of those dashes. like its supposed to be 2-2-4-5 but i see some that are like 224522222...wat r u supposed to do on that?

Cannibal

[alrange]

Do I like use my finger to press on the string and then strum or?

[RealRockRoyalty]

alright now i understand most of it, but i still dont get how you know which string to hit and i dont get the numders on the string thing.

[Serjem]

cannibal, there are only 24 frets on the fretboard.. so i guess it means 2-2-4-5... blame the tab-writter for that :P

[drSTRANGELOVE]

thanks man
seven nation army ****ing rocks

[xxxbeaniexxx]

Wow.
Thank you so much for posting this.
DX<
I had no clue how to read all of these tabs I was printing off.
Haha.
Awesome song, by the wayy!
=]

[dancergirl1339]

just thanks. lol u dumbed it down easy i was havein trouble understanin tabs but i get it now. do u think u could do more advanced one and dumb it down to?

[dancergirl1339]

big q, wat does it mean when u have a zero? what do u do? and wat is the point of the dashes just please explain a more advanced and indepth a lol more. email me someone---- [e-mail]

[Aizu]

Very good explained, easy and covers everything, leaving me with no questions to ask.
[b]Thanks

[hoiung]

I think someone should add to this post a reference point to explain more about x, 0, hammer-ons and pull-offs. Kind of like a dictionary. It should clear up most of the questions being asked in the comments!

[Paradox(fsx)]

I've been playing guitar for about a year and my instructer never showed me how to read tab so thanks for the help.

[Punkman_26]

for the beginers.....
e:1-2-3-4
b:1-2-3-4
g:1-2-3-4
d:1-2-3-4
a :1-2-3-4
e:1-2-3-4
Don't do it at the same time

[paul1991]

I have been playing guitar for a short while and inderstand the tab
but I don't understand what the brackets mean like
12-13-(14)-
or 22b(24)
how do u play this ?

[bombsmb]

what are these lines for ----. do they mean anything? are they for counting?
v
-----

[scarsremain14]

what are the - ?

i cant play anything til i know what they are are the like beat -'s so like u have to wait that long to play that note or what?

[Axel_Wolf]

okay, the numbers are throwing me off? what are they?

[Axel_Wolf]

okay, the numbers are throwing me off? what are they?

[meemay]

its pretty nice actually.. thanks.. i didn't know learning tab is this easy and this fun.. xie xie...^^