Reading tabs from the internet

Most of the free guitar music on the internet is written as text tab (also called ASCII tab): a few lines of dashes, numbers and letters you can type on any keyboard. Song sites, forums and video descriptions are full of them. This lesson covers every convention you'll run into, so no text tab will ever look cryptic again. Every example plays — press Play and follow the highlighted column.

You met the basics in Reading chord diagrams and tabs. Here we go all the way.

Anatomy of a text tab

A typical tab starts with some information about the song, then the tab itself:

Song:    Example Riff
Tuning:  Standard (E A D G B E)
Capo:    none
Tempo:   100 bpm

[Intro]
e|----------------|----------------|
B|----------------|----------------|
G|----------------|----------------|
D|------0---2-----|------0---2---0-|
A|--0-3---------3-|--0-3-----------|
E|0---------------|0---------------|

• Six lines, one per string. The top line is the high e string (the thinnest) and the bottom line is the low E — exactly the opposite of what you see when you look down at your guitar. A lowercase e usually marks the high string and an uppercase E the low one. Some tabs number the lines 1–6 instead, or leave the names out.
• Numbers are frets. 0 is an open string, 3 is the 3rd fret, 12 is the 12th fret.
• Dashes are just space between notes.
• Vertical lines (|) are bar lines that split the music into measures.
• Section labels like [Intro], [Verse] or [Chorus] tell you where you are in the song.

e|----------------|----------------|
B|----------------|----------------|
G|----------------|----------------|
D|------0---2-----|------0---2---0-|
A|--0-3---------3-|--0-3-----------|
E|0---------------|0---------------|

Together or one after another

Notes in the same column are played at the same time — that's a chord. Notes spread across columns are played one after another, from left to right.

e|0-------|--------0-------|
B|1-------|------1---1-----|
G|0-------|----0-------0---|
D|2-------|--2-------------|
A|3-------|3---------------|
E|--------|----------------|

A string with only dashes in a chord is simply not played (here the low E). Some tabs write an x on it to say "mute this string" so it doesn't ring.

Rhythm in text tabs

This is the weak spot of text tab: spacing is only a hint. Most authors put more dashes between notes that are farther apart in time, but nobody counts exactly. Good tabs help with one of these:

• A count line above the tab: 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &.
• Rhythm letters above each note: W (whole), H (half), Q (quarter), E (eighth), S (sixteenth), sometimes with a dot for dotted notes.
• A note like "each dash = one 16th note".

   1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
e|-----------------|
B|-----------------|
G|-----------------|
D|---------2---2---|
A|-----0-2---2---0-|
E|-0-3-------------|

On this site every text tab is played with one character = one sixteenth note, so you can hear the intended rhythm. With tabs you find online, listen to the recording — and when you need exact rhythm, look for a version with standard notation, which you'll learn to read in the next lessons.

Technique symbols

Letters and symbols between the numbers tell you how to play the notes. Spellings vary a little from site to site, but these are the common ones:

Hammer-ons, pull-offs and slides

e|---------------------------------|
B|---------------------------------|
G|-5h7-----7p5-----5/7-----7\5-----|
D|---------------------------------|

Only the first note of each pair is picked; the second sounds from the left hand alone.

Bends and vibrato

The number after b is the fret whose pitch you bend up to: 7b9 means "pick fret 7 and bend until it sounds like fret 9" (a whole step). 7b8 is a half step. r releases back down.

e|-----------------------------------|
B|-----------------8~~~~-------------|
G|-7b9-------7b9r7-------------7~~~~-|
D|-----------------------------------|

Palm mutes and dead notes

A PM line above the tab marks which notes are palm-muted. An x on its own is a dead note: fret-hand fingers touch the string without pressing it, giving a percussive "chk".

PM--------  PM--------
E|0-0-0-0-x-x-0-0-0-0-x-x-3---5---|

Harmonics

<12> means a natural harmonic: touch the string lightly right above fret 12 (don't press it down) and pick. Natural harmonics ring clearly at frets 12, 7 and 5.

G|<12>---<7>----<5>-----|
D|<12>---<7>----<5>-----|

Tapping

A t (sometimes T or +) above or next to a note means you tap it with a finger of the picking hand, then pull off to the notes the fretting hand holds.

 t       t       t       t
e|-12p5-8--12p5-8--12p5-8--12p5-8--|

Repeats and song structure

Text tabs save space with repeat marks:

• x2, x4 after a bar or section: play it that many times.
• |: … :| or ||: … :||: repeat what's between the signs.
• Section labels with a note, like "[Chorus] (play twice)" or "Verse 2: same as Verse 1".
• N.C. means "no chord" — the band stops or only the riff plays.

[Verse]   (x4)
E|0-0-3-0-5-0-3-0-|

Chords written as text

Many "tabs" are actually chord sheets: chord names above the lyrics, placed over the syllable where the chord changes. Some also show the shape as six characters, from the low E string to the high e, with x for strings you don't play:

Em: 022000     C: x32010     G: 320003     D: xx0232

Em              C
  Lyrics go here and the chord changes
G                  D
  right above the syllable where it falls

Look up any chord in the chord dictionary.

Text tab is quick to read but leaves out the rhythm. In the next lessons you'll learn standard notation, which shows everything — and how Guitar Pro-style scores put both together.