TAB, which is short for tablature, is a good way for many people to learn to play the guitar. When learning to play the flute, piano, saxophone, violin, and other types of music, a person uses written music. However, the guitar is different in that chord diagrams are used instead. Now, some people have the ability to read chord music quite well while other people struggle. Because of this, a different method of learning was devised whereby a person can learn guitar TAB.

Tablature is simply a way in which a series of notes are written so a person can learn a riff or run on the guitar. For many individuals, the option to learn guitar TAB is a blessing, helping them learn quickly and with much less frustration. However, you need to understand that while TAB has many benefits, a few drawbacks do exist.

First, when playing the guitar, you are playing not only notes but also rhythm. With TAB, transferring information specific to an intended rhythm is difficult, if not impossible to do. For instance, if you play a musical instrument using sheet music, part of the music shows the rhythm so you know how fast or slow a song should be played. However, when you learn guitar TAB, this rhythm information is not there. For this reason, most people will choose a song they already know the rhythm to so all they have to learn are the notes.

A major difference in how a person would learn guitar with TAB is that the lines on the sheet music have lines that represent the guitar strings. In addition, the music would have dots on the lines, which is the appropriate finger placement. With this, you simple look at the fingers and place yours on the guitar string to match. Again, for many people to learn guitar TAB is the only way they can grasp this particular instrument.

Another important thing to know about TAB is that as you read the TAB, the line on the bottom is the sixth or deepest pitched string on the guitar while the top line is the first or highest string. You will also find when you learn guitar TAB that the dots may or may not be accompanied by a number, which is a reference to the fret on that particular string you need finger. For this, you would make the decision as to the finger used.

Then, as you learn guitar TAB, understand that if a song has two or more notes needing to be played simultaneously, they would show up on the TAB with one directly above the other. Additionally, when looking at a tablature, anything that shows up as an “O” means an open string or no finger placement on that particular string.

For most people who learn guitar TAB the beginning is a bit awkward and confusing but with time, it will soon become extremely easy. Many people learning to play guitar prefer this method for a number of reasons. In addition to being visually easier to learn, hundreds of TAB songs are now available online, giving them a much greater selection of songs to learn without having to pay for expensive DVDs, CDs or instructional material.

Nick seigal

http://www.articlesbase.com/music-articles/learn-guitar-tab-does-it-help-you-teach-yourself-guitar-420712.html

5 Comments

  1. Kevin L says:

    How do you learn to play the guitar yourself? (self teach)?
    I’ve heard about people learning how to play the guitar by themselves (self teach).
    I have a guitar with me but I have no idea on how to play it.
    Anyone knows how can I possibly learn to play it without any teacher/instructor?
    thanks for the help.

  2. sky b says:

    there’s instructional movies
    be sure to learn to tune your guitar, if it’s electric, you’ll need a tuner
    it’s real hard to learn if your guitar is out of tune
    talk to the folks at your local music store and ask them how they learned and if they have any recommendations, they would be happy to talk to you
    also get a guitar chart that shows all the frets and various notes (very helpful) I got my chart from walmart in the poster section
    References :
    also you need to practice every day, about 30 minutes so you’ll develope muscle memory, again, ask the music store folks for advise like how to properly hold a guitar, arch of fingers and wrist ect.

  3. jezebelspassion says:

    The only way to self teach is by getting a good DVD or online teacher.
    References :

  4. Sal Chaech says:

    There’s several ways to go about it, but there’s only one thing you can do:

    Develop an insatiable appetite for learning new things.

    Let me repeat that, and if you need to look up words to get its true meaning, do it now. Develop an insatiable appetite for learning new things. Take things one step at a time, and do research on your own in order to find music in as many different sources as you need to be able to reach that next step. If that’s instructional videos, guitar tabs, figuring things out on your own, or whatever you can find that works, use it to your advantage.

    Never. Stop. Learning. Practice often. Very often. Take whatever help you can get. Learn in as many ways possible.
    References :
    Experience, 17 years self taught.

  5. Walk away & Taste the pain says:

    i only know about 3 famous musicians that were self taught.
    believe me you learn alot more being taught by a teacher & you will have good technique that will take you a mile further.

    of course it is up to you but any good guitarist i personally know/like (ie as in famous) all got lessons
    References :
    irish bass player

Leave a Reply