Tabs???

I see TABS TONS on Ultimate-Guitar and it's SO frustrating :( that I can't do anything with them because...

I've got no idea how make sense of them! :confused:

What part don't you get? It is pretty straight forward. 6 lines for the 6 strings of the guitar. Bottom line is low E, top line is high E. The numbers tell you what frets to hit on that particular string.

--------------------5-----------------
-------------------------------------
------------1-------------------------
------------2-------------------------
------2-----2--------------------------
--0---------0--------------------------

Open 6th string, 5th string 2nd fret, E major chord, 1st string 2nd fret.

The only thing tabs don't tell you is the timing, so you have to know how the song goes.

Also....just Google it. "how to read tab". Easy to find tons of explanations, have you actually tried looking?

Well I get the thing about the six strings and six lines and about the fretting.

So is it that tabs tell you which strings/frets to press/hold down and then you just strum? And you have to figure out when to switch?

I tried doing some tabs by the "rules" I mentioned in my last reply. Didn't work. So I STILL DON'T GET IT. UGH

Originally Posted by: TaylorSwiftYAYI tried doing some tabs by the "rules" I mentioned in my last reply. Didn't work. So I STILL DON'T GET IT. UGH

Question: Do you have copies of the songs you are trying to learn? If you adjust EQ settings on your playback device (drop the bass, enhance the mids) you can get a pretty clear sound of the guitar. You should be able to study with your ears and get a pretty good idea of what's going on.

Originally Posted by: hunter1801Also....just Google it. "how to read tab". Easy to find tons of explanations, have you actually tried looking?

Google's my best friend but for some odd reason the thought didn't occur to me. Thanks. I'll look. :)

Originally Posted by: RazboQuestion: Do you have copies of the songs you are trying to learn? If you adjust EQ settings on your playback device (drop the bass, enhance the mids) you can get a pretty clear sound of the guitar. You should be able to study with your ears and get a pretty good idea of what's going on.

Um, I'm kinda confused about what you're saying. I have an acoustic guitar. No electronics or plug-ins or anything.

Originally Posted by: TaylorSwiftYAYUm, I'm kinda confused about what you're saying. I have an acoustic guitar. No electronics or plug-ins or anything.

Sorry. :) I was wondering if you are trying to learn songs using Tab without actually having the songs to listen to. When I mentioned the bass & midrange stuff, I was talking about your stereo or whatever and adjusting it so you could hear the artist's guitar clearly.

Using hunter1801's example:

--------------------5-----------------
-------------------------------------
------------1-------------------------
------------2-------------------------
------2-----2--------------------------
--0---------0--------------------------

You have to read tab sequentially, starting at the left. In this example, first you play the open E (on the low E string), then the next note by fretting the A string at the second fret, next you play the four notes that make up the open E chord all at the same time, and finish up on the fifth fret of the high E string. Each vertical 'column' of notes should be played at the same time, but you need to figure out for how long (which is why people are suggesting you focus on songs you know).

Hope that helped.

The notes are spaced to indicate durations but that's hard to see. I prefer the standard notations along with the tabs.

Tabs are great but don't take it too literally. Trust your ears to develop a flow of notes out of it. I learned the songs with the tabs but I made changes to smooth it out.

Originally Posted by: RazboSorry. :) I was wondering if you are trying to learn songs using Tab without actually having the songs to listen to. When I mentioned the bass & midrange stuff, I was talking about your stereo or whatever and adjusting it so you could hear the artist's guitar clearly.

Oh. That makes SOOO much more sense! :) I usually don't listen to the songs WHILE I'm trying to figure out the tab. But I almost always know the songs (because I've listened to the song so much). About the bass and midrange, I've never tried to do that. How would I do that?

Oh and I know about using tabs to do picking. What I don't know is how to make sense of tabs when you're STRUMMING. Sorry if I didn't make that clear.

Originally Posted by: summer sandUsing hunter1801's example:

--------------------5-----------------
-------------------------------------
------------1-------------------------
------------2-------------------------
------2-----2--------------------------
--0---------0--------------------------

next you play the four notes that make up the open E chord all at the same time,

I think what you are looking for is the Strum Pattern indicated by up and down arrows.. Generally are not used..
May look something like this
v v v ^ down down down up v v v ^ down down down up


Back to the listening of recorded music..
Bass, Middle and Treble tones are your dial controls on a Stereo systems and accessing audio setting on digital devices..
Good luck.
Gordon

This site really helped me when I started trying to figure out TABS. I printed the whole page out to refer back to and bout a Chords book from boarders Books and a Marilyn Manson Guitar book and just keep everything together and things are starting to come together for me.

Hope this helps.
http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/lessons/the-basics/how-to-read-guitar-tab/

Try www.kickstartguitar.com they have free video lessons available which show you the chords and the strum patterns. He breaks them down into nice easy sections.

I use this site to learn specific songs as it suits my learning style.

Tabs should be though of as a reference, as they don't tell you "how" to play. There is so much than cannot be written in a tab. You need to listen to songs over and over to get each note stuck in your mind. Focus more on listening rather than what is written.

hey i am looking for some 1 who si good at listening to a song a figure it out i can not find the tabs online
if u can help me learn some song would be cool please email me http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Znliy1iWbPk