How To Read Tablature (TAB)

***First of all, if you need help with terms, refer to this diagram***





Tablature, often abbreviated as TAB, is a diagram of the strings with finger positions indicated by numbers corresponding to the appropriate frets. It is the most common form of written music for guitar, and every guitarist should know how to read TAB.

Here is an example of some music written in TAB:

E------------0--------------------------
B----------0----------------------------
G--------0------------------------------
D------0--------------------------------
A----0----------------------------------
E--0------------------------------------


This written version is the same as playing each of the 6 strings on a guitar openly (without pressing down on any of the frets) from lowest to highest.

The phrase "EADGBE" is (in order) the note that each string is when it is played open, from lowest to highest. The high E string is called the first string, and the low E string is called the sixth string, so that each string is as follows:

E-6
A-5
D-4
G-3
B-2
E-1

You must remember the order of these strings!!
The way that I was taught to remember it (even though it sounds silly, it actually works) is this:

Elephants
And
Dogs
Got
Big
Ears

...To this day, I still repeat that phrase over in my head if I can't remember which string is which...

When reading TAB, remember that the highest-sounding string (the high E string) is at the top of the TAB diagram, and the lowest-sounding string (the low E string) is at the bottom.

The numbers in TAB tell which fret you should put your finger on while hitting the string that the number is on. For example, if a TAB is written like this:

E-------------------------------------------
B-------------------------------------------
G-------------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------------
E---0--0--0--0-----------------------------

Then you would play the low E string four times while pressing on none of the frets (0 means open string, which means you play it without pressing down on any of the frets). If, however, those four 0's were replaced with four 1's, you would still play the low E string, but this time you would play it while holding down that string with your finger placed on the first fret.

Oh, and before I forget, for all of you who didn't know, you don't place your finger on the fret bars...you place your finger between them, and the space between the bars is the actual fret.

SO, if you were to play the low E string (the 6th string) on the first fret, you would place your finger between the first and second bars.


If the notes (EADGBE) in the tablature of a song are changed, that means that the tuning of the guitar is different for that song. For example, if a TAB diagram were written like this:

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

that means that the originally low E string has been dropped down to a D, which is an even lower sounding note. This TAB arrangement is called "Dropped D" tuning.

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This is the end of the lesson! Go you! You didn't fall asleep (or did you?)!
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to ask, but I would suggest that you post them on this wiki rather than messaging me directly, as it stops me from being asked the same question a million times when everyone can read the answer here!