Electric Guitar Tabs

The electric guitar tabs you need to know so you can rock the show.

Electric guitar tabs are a kind of musical notation that will teach you to play music more easily. Guitar tabs tell you where to put your fingers on the strings instead of which notes to play. The full name for guitar tabs is actually guitar tablature and it is an easy method of learning even the most complex songs.

Electric guitar tabs are often used to notate pop, rock and folk music. Unlike regular musical notation which shows a musician the pitch and rhythm of a note, tabs show the strings and frets of the instrument in the form of a "picture". This picture illustrates where the fingers must be place to produce specific notes.

Electric guitar tabs are made up of horizontal lines in series. These lines form a staff (or stave). Each one symbolizes one guitar string. This means that guitar tab has a six-line staff. Different numbers are written on the lines. These numbers denote one fret. So a number 3 written on the top line of the staff means you should press down on the high E (top/thin) string not the low E at the third fret.

So how are electric guitar tabs different to standard musical notation? Tabs can make it much easier to play the guitar. Because the different notes are graphically represented it can help the player to position his fingers quicker. Guitar tabs are an excellent tool for beginner guitarists but are also used by musicians who are able to read music quite well.

Guitar music results from playing many notes at once. To play one note you need to do several actions with your fingers. Electric guitar tabs make it easier to visualize the complete picture more quickly. Standard guitar notation is written on one staff while electric guitar tabs are not. This makes playing complex chords easier.

Electric guitar tabs use numbers, letters and symbols to show the fretboard and this means that tabs can be shared electronically. The good news is that tabs are freely and widely available over the Internet. These are called 'text-tab' or ASCII tab. Of course standard printed tabs are also available.

Are there any disadvantages to using electric guitar tabs? Guitar tabs can only be read by a guitarist while standard musical notation can be played by any musician versed in a suitable instrument. Most guitar tabs also do not show the rhythm of the notes, but this is beginning to change as more complete tabs are being written. However these tabs are not available via the Internet at present.

Also, be sure to check out our pages about History Of Electric Guitar, Custom Electric Guitars, Electric Guitar Kits, and Free Electric Guitar Lessons elsewhere on this site.