Your Basic Guide to Guitar TABs

Most instruments can rely on standard music notation to find the notes and symbols they need to play. But what about guitar and other fretted instruments? Is standard notation always the best option for them?

Today, TAB (short for tablature) is the most popular notation system among fretted instrument players. It allows beginners to learn their favorite songs without needing to read sheet music, while professional composers can use it to clearly notate techniques, articulations, and effects specific to fretted instruments.

If you struggle with reading TAB notation, you’re in the right place! This post covers the basics of TAB notation, and break down the most common symbols in guitar tabs.

What is Guitar TAB Notation?

Tablature (or TAB) is a visual system for indicating notes on fretted instruments like guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, ukulele and banjo, without relying on standard music notation. It uses numbers to represent frets and horizontal lines to represent the strings.

Additionally, TAB notation can picture specific techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides or bends—essential elements of guitar playing. While it doesn’t express timing as clearly as standard notation, TAB often includes symbols and cues to help with timing and rhythm.

Lines and numbers

TAB notation is composed of horizontal lines which represent the strings of the instrument. For the guitar, the bottom line is the low E string, and the top line is the high E string.

On top these lines, numbers indicate which fret to press down for each note. And, if you see a 0, it’s an open string! It’s important to point out that these are fret numbers, not fingerings.

This is what this short snippet would look like in TAB and sheet music:

Key symbols of TAB Notation

Now that we’ve covered the basics of TAB notation, we have listed and defined the key symbols to make things as clear as possible. Let’s dive in!

• Hammer-ons (H): playing the note by hammering the fret with your finger, without playing the string with your picking hand. 

• Pull-offs (P): playing the note by dragging the finger when removing it from the fret, without playing the string with the picking hand.

• Tap (T): producing notes by using a strumming finger to tap them directly on the fretboard.

• Bends (b) and Releases (r): raising the note’s pitch by bending the string with the finger. It has many variations. The usual representation is an arrow a for pointing a full (1-step bend) or a half (½ step) bend.

• Slides (sl.): this technique indicates that a note should slide up or down to the next one without releasing the pressure on the fretting finger. 

• Vibrato (~): slightly variating the pitch by quickly moving the fretting finger. It’s a very personal effect, closely tied to a player’s individual style.

• Palm muting (* or P.M.): dampening the strings by placing the strumming hand near the bridge, to produce a muted, percussive sound.

• Muted note (x): muting the strings by resting the fretting finger on the string with no pressure, to produce a muted sound.

• Upstrokes and Downstrokes: These symbols indicate the direction of the picking or the strumming (upward motion or downward motion).

• Harmonics (H), such as Natural Harmonics (N.H.)–the most common ones, Artificial Harmonics (A.H.), and Tap Harmonics (T.H.)

TAB Notation: final conclusions

Now that you have grasped the essentials, we have one last piece of advice for you. The best way to learn to read TAB notation comfortably is through practice!

At My Sheet Music Transcriptions, we’re here to give you that little nudge. Turn your favorite tunes into reality, right on our website, and don’t hesitate to get in touch with us!