There is a reason why it seems that so many people can just pick up a guitar and play as opposed to other instruments which seem to require hours of classes and practice – and this is it. It is guitar tab that enables so many guitar players to be self taught, and precisely what will enable you to play any song in minutes.
An alternative means of showing you where to place your finger is not with numbers but with a compact diagram showing you the guitar neck from the pegs at the top down. This type of tab will show you what looks like a table with 5 columns and several horizontal lines. The lines that divide the columns are the strings and the horizontal lines are the frets. If you see therefore a black circle on the 5th line across and the third line down, you know you need to place your finger on the fifth string on the third fret.
You will also notice small numbers positioned on one of the lines/strings of the guitar tablature. This number is telling you what fret and what string you should be positioning your finger on. This way you can see at a glance where to position your finger: if you see a 5 on the 3rd line/string down, you know you must place your finger on the g string on the 5th fret.
When you look at a guitar tab you must imagine that you are looking at the neck of your guitar. There are six lines, each representing a string: e-b-g-d-a-e, with the first string at the top; so the bottom string of the tab is the lowest e which is the bottom string on your guitar.
As you learn guitar tabs you will become more and more familiar with each of these different methods and they will actually start to mold into one in your head as they are simply slight variations on the theme of easily displaying the finger movements that can then be mimicked by you.
For the most part, the only way to get good at something is to practice, practice – practice. Doing it the hard way is a part of getting there. Thankfully this is not entirely true for learning to play the guitar; in fact, you can learn how to play your favorite songs very easily and very quickly. The secret is this: Learn Guitar tabs and play any song in minutes. Sounds too easy? Keep reading!
Learn Guitar Tabs and Play Songs in Minutes