How are guitar tabs read?

Question

I have a difficulty in understanding the guitar tabs.. can anyone help me? Here's an example from Jesse McCartney's "She's no you" : : http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/j/jesse_mccartney/shes_no_you_tab.htm

Answer 1

Don't answer if you don't know. Anyway, the top line is the high E string (the smallest, highest-pitched one) and the bottom line is the low E string (the largest, lowest-pitched one). The numbers are the frets you put your fingers on and a 0 means you leave the string open, that is, you don't touch it with your fretting hand. Here's an example:

(1st string)E|-----------------------------
(2nd string)B|-----------------------------
(3rd string)G|-----------------------------
(4th string)D|--9--------------------------
(5th string)A|--9--------------8--7-------
(6th string)E|--7---7--8--9--------------

Numbers directly above and below each other means that you play them at the same time: they're a chord. Separate notes mean you play them individually. In the above example, you'd play a power chord with your fingers on the 7th fret of the 6th string and the 9th frets of the 5th and 4th strings.

Answer 2

Guitar Tabs are quite simple. All you really have to worry about is time annotation of the song.

On Tabs, each line represents a string in your guitar (as marked on the example you provided). So, you have to be familiar with the notes representing each of your guitar strings in standard tuning - E B G D A E - counting from th ebottom.
Then, each number on the line in Tabs represents the fret at which to press a given string at a given time.
As simple as that. :)

More questions? Email me...
Cheers and good luck.
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Answer 3

The line going across are the strings. See how it's six lines stacked on to eachother? Each on of those lines is a string. The numbers on the lines tell you when fret the note is. You play the notes in the order the numbers are in. For example...

------------------------1---------------------------
----------------------------------------------3-----
----------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------4-------------------
-------------6--------------------------------------
------0---------------------------------------------

You would play it in the order of.. "0, (which is an open string,) 6, 1, 4, 3"

The lowest line in a section is the lowest string on your guitar. Then you just read it across like regular sheet music. Pretty cool, huh?

Answer 4

E --- these are the strings, as if you were holding the guitar.
B
G
D
A
E this string would be the 6th string on the guitar.

the numbers on the strings are the frets that you hit that string on. and you hit the numbers as they are written from left to right.

hope its not to confusing!

Answer 5

6----------6--------- =E 6th fret
5--------8------------ =B 8th fret
4------------5--------- =G 5th fret
3-------2----------------- =D 2nd fret
2--------5------------------ =A 5th fret
1----1----------------------- =E 1st fret

1-6 are strings. on the other side are the notes they equal.
the numbers in between are examples of notes ,on the right are the string letter and what fret to play,

Answer 6

like normal music is read

Answer 7

From left to right, and from top to bottom..............LOL
Haven't a clue!