Guitar Lessons That Don't Suck! Part 2

The ability to read music is a wonderful thing. The problem with that approach is that in today’s real world of popular music there is little need for it. In fact even session players who play on the songs you hear on the radio and on your CDs don’t read formal music when they record these songs even if they know how. They listen to a demo of the song, write out a chart (we’ll get to that later) and make up their parts on the spot using the chart and their experience and talent.

I really have come to believe that the great majority of people wanting to learn guitar these days just want to be able to play the songs they hear on the radio and on their CDs. They just want to play by ear! You see there is a real art to being able to play by ear.

It takes talent to be able to listen to a song and play it without music in front of you. Playing by ear comes easier to some than others. But except for those who are truly “tone deaf” the ear can be developed and I can teach you how to listen and play, listen and play. One more time, LISTEN AND PLAY!

In the world of playing music by ear we still need a way to communicate so we’re not just a bunch of crazy musicians in a room or on stage each playing whatever strikes us at the moment. I took some time an researched how others were teaching music lessons online. I learned that if I looked at 10 different websites, they did it 10 different ways.

So I developed a system that will take you step by step one lesson at a time to get you to that Rock Star status you all dream of. For this lesson, I decided that if you and I can’t communicate we aren’t going to get very far. So, the first section of this lesson 2 will be your introduction into the world of Tablature or TAB for short. Basic TAB is not very difficult. TAB is all we will use until you are good and familiar with it and can use it as easy as breathing. So hello TAB, here we come.

TAB is short for Guitar Tablature. It was invented in the 15th century by lute players and has been used for hundreds of years by players of all fretted instruments.

After World War II, acoustic and electric guitars became very popular and players turned to TAB to communicate. Since very few guitar players read traditional music, TAB has made it possible for them to communicate the music they love so much and love to play.

TAB has opened up a whole new world of learning and playing for guitarists all over the world. Just like you learned English to communicate with those around you, please put in the time to learn TAB until you know it like the back of your hand. TAB is your musical language to learn new concepts and communicate with other musicians. TAB will take you from where you are right now to whereever your dreams want to go.

The next section will begin to show you how it works.

Say hello to TAB. In the graphic above, you will notice that there are 6 lines. Yes, you're pretty quick, the lines do represent the strings on your guitar. You should know what they are by now. The numbers represent the frets you place your fingers on to form chords and/or to play musical phrases.

This section explains how TAB is used to notate chords. In the next section you will learn how individual notes are written in TAB. When the numbers are presented in a vertical line, like in the example above, you should place your fingers on the correct string on the correct fret and strum the chord. This diagram represents a C Chord. You would strum the strings of the guitar, using alternating picking, alternating up and down motions.

The first example above is the TAB for a C chord. The 0's mean the high E, G and low E strings are played open. On the B string, place a finger on the first fret. On the D string place a finger on the 2nd fret and on the A string a finger on the 3rd fret. I know, not exactly rocket science, but it works. Put your fingers on the indicated frets for the indicated string and then check it against the C chord chart below it.

When you are finished and comfortable with this concept, please move on to the next section.

Just like in the first section on TAB above, the lines represent the strings on your guitar and the numbers represent the fret you will put your finger on. While basic TAB is a fairly easy way to cimmunicate guitar concepts, it is by no means perfect. If you notice in the examples above there is nothing to indicate which finger you are supposed to use to play the example.

The other negative is that you have no way of knowing how long to hold a note. Never fear, future guitar slayers. In the next few lessons I will show you a simple way to deal with these issues. For now, just try to wrap your head around this lesson and the earlier one on TAB and who knows, we might invent a new, revolutionary addition to the TAB system and all become famous. Wouldn't that be a hoot!

In the next section I give you a few TABs to practice on followed by a great link where you will find dozens of easy TABs to songs we all know and love. So waste not another moment. There are new horizons to be discoverd and your many fans waiting for you to WOW them. Have fun!

Joe 

In this section I will present you with the TAB for a chord followed by the chart for the same chord. Hopefully by the end of this section you will have a good understanding of how basic TAB works. First try to form the chord using the TAB only without looking at the chord chart. After you have formed the chord with TAB, use the chord chart to see how you did.

This first TAB is a G major chord. Look at the 2 graphics above. Put your 4th finger on the 3rd fret, 1st string, 3rd finger on the 3rd fret, 6th string and 2nd finger on the 2nd fret, 5th string. The O's are open strings. Now strum using alternating picking. . Form the chord using TAB only, and then check it against the G chord chart. Unlike the TABs, the numbers on the chord charts represent the finger you are to use, while the numbers in the TABS represent the frets.

This TAB is a Cmajor chord. Put your 3rd finger on the 3rd fret, 5th string, 2nd finger on the 2nd fret, 4th string and 1st finger on the 1st fret, 2nd string. The O's are open strings. Now strum using alternating picking. Form the chord using TAB only and then check it against the C chord chart. Unlike the TABs, the numbers on the chord charts represent the finger you are to use, while the numbers in the TABS represent the frets.

Free Guitar Stuff

Here is a great website with links to thousands of TABs, guitar tricks, free videos, bass TABs, Top 100 Guitar Sites, Lyric Crawler, Riffs and Solos and much, much more.

You will find hundreds of TABs of songs you know. You can find many TABs there that require only the 3 chords you learned in this lesson. Start now visiting these sites. Then when you learn more chords, go back and find songs with those chords in them. Have fun, you are becoming a great guitar player. Stay positive and practice every day.

Keep working on Basic TAB until you know it just as well as you know your own English language. It really is that important. TAB will be one of the main ways you will communicate with other guitar players. The next lesson will introduce you to advanced TAB which will show you how to do cool things like slides, hammer ons and tapping. Please make sure you have a good understanding of basic TAB before you move on to the next lesson called, Advanced TAB.