Lesson 3 - Don’t Let Tabs Intimidate You
Don’t be so shy when it comes to learning tablature, or what we call
tabs in the guitar world. Tabs are our link to learning other musicians’
songs. For a guitar newbie, these tabs may look complicated and
incredibly difficult to understand at first glance. The truth is,
learning the tabs can easily be intimidating, overwhelming, and
frustrating, but once you learn to read them, continue practicing and
you will have these down in no time!
Tabs are the basic way of showing you where to position your fingers
along the fret board of your guitar. Each note is indicated by a number;
the number represents where your finger should go on the fret board. Not
only do tabs tell you which fret to play on, they also guide you which
string to press to produce the right sound. This is one other thing tabs
are good for; it’s a simple and easy method to learning the basics as
well as practicing how to play songs. Take a look at the picture below,
and before you continue, try and see if you can decipher tabs work.
e--------------------------------
B--------------------------------
G--------------------------------
D--------------------------------
A--------------------------------
E--------------------------------
The diagram above illustrates how tabs will look before you put any
numbers there. The first string is the thinnest string on your guitar.
In other words, it’s technically the last string on the guitar. From
there, it goes all the way to the thickest string, which is the first
strand on your actual guitar. This is where it can seem to be a bit
confusing, and it may take you a couple tries to get the hang of how it
works. From here, numbers are placed along these lines; the numbers tell
you what fret you need to play on. Now, if you are trying to learn your
favorite song on tabs, it is probably a good idea to try and play along
with the song. This way, you will know what the strumming pattern of the
song is, and how you can mimic it as well!
Below is another example of tabs; only this time, there are numbers
placed along the strings. Play along!
e-------------------------------
B-------------------------------
G-------------------------------
D-------------------------------
A--2--2--2--4--2--0------------
E-------------------------------
In this pattern, you would be playing the second thickest string on the
second fret. After three strums, you would switch to the fourth fret,
then the second. As for the 0, this indicates that you play the string
open --- meaning, you don’t play on any fret at all; you just simply
strum the string. Easy as pie, right?
Bottom line is, tabs are not as daunting and intimidating as beginners
make them out to be. The best way to tackle tabs is just to sit in your
room, stretch out and relax your fingers, and concentrate. Stay away
from surroundings that will frustrate or fluster you as you practice.
Initial frustrations cause a lot of people to give up on the guitar and
completely miss out on such a fulfilling experience. So sit back and
relax, get comfortable, master the basics, start out simple, and go for
it!
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