1.7 How to Read Tablature / Chord Charts
This Section Of The Beginner Guitar Course Covers The Following:
Unlike traditional sheet music, tablature is a map of where the fingers sit on a fret board; therefore it is much easier to read. Tablature consists of six horizontal lines which represent the strings on a guitar. The bottom line represents lowest note which is the bottom E string and the top line represents the highest note which is the top E string.
The numbers on the line tell which fret you need to push down to create a particular note. Zero (0) represents an open note which means you don’t need to push down on any string.
In tablature, when numbers are stacked vertically on the same line in tablature it means that multiple strings should be played at the same time by strumming them like a chord. When several numbers are on top of each other all on the same fret, you should barre the notes.
Tablature doesn’t guide how long to hold notes or how long to pause. The vertical bars indicate measures of the song.
Traditional sheet music includes a time signature which tells you the timing of a song. Most songs have four beats per measure in a song. Tablature sometimes comes with accompanying sheet music allowing you to see what the timing of the song should be. Often times you will use tablature to play a song that you are already familiar with and therefore you will already know the timing for the song.
There are two additional symbols that you should be aware of in tablature which are discussed below.
An arrow pointing up to the word “full” indicates that you should bend a string up a step which is two strings on a guitar.
A bridge looking icon indicates that you should hammer on or pull off of a string. More about hammer ons and pull offs will be discussed later in the course.
