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Reading Guitar Tab2
Understanding Special Symbols Used in Guitar Tab



Reading Guitar Tab2--Special Symbols

There are several special symbols that you will see when you read a guitar tab. These symbols are instructions about TECHNIQUES used to play each note. Here are the most common symbols and their meanings:

h - hammer on
p - pull off
b - bend string up
r - release bend
/ - slide up
- slide down
v - vibrato (sometimes written as ~)
t - right hand tap
x - play 'note' with heavy damping

Here is an example of how these symbols might look in a tab:

E---------------------------------String 1
B---------------------------------String 2
G---------------------------------String 3
D---------------------------------String 4
A---------7h9-----------10b12---String 5
E----5p3-------------------------String 6

These mean, in order: Do a "Pull-Off" from the 5th fret to the 3rd fret; Do a "Hammer-On" from the 7th fret to the 9th fret; "Bend" the note on the 10th fret up to sound like the note on the 12th fret.

Learn To Read Guitar Tab!

If you need information about how to perform these and other techniques, Guitar Solo Techniques is a free lesson on this site with instructions and audio practice files.


While we're talking about reading guitar tab2-I want to tell you about the program that I use to write tabs. Have you come across "Guitar Pro" in your tab searches? That is the program. The program also allows you to place chord names and diagrams in the score, score parts for a whole band, including keys and drums, and PLAY all of the parts so that you can hear how they fit together! PLUS, if you have the program, you can download all those "GUITAR PRO" tabs that you see for FREE. These tabs are ACCURATE. Goodbye to inaccurate tabs and inexperienced tabbers!

Give it a try--your tab life will never be the same!


Here is a complete reading-guitar-tab2 legend, courtesy of my friend, Chris Elmore of Elmore Music.

Tablature Legend

 


 h - hammer-on
 p - pull-off
 b - bend
 pb - pre-bend
 r - bend release (release immediately if no number after r)
 / - slide into or out of (from/to "nowhere")
 s - legato slide
 S - shift slide
 - natural harmonic
[n] - artificial harmonic
n(n) - tapped harmonic
 ~ - vibrato
 tr - trill
 T - tap
 TP - trem. picking
 PM - palm muting

/ - tremolo bar dip; n = amount to dip
 
 - tremolo bar down
 n/ - tremolo bar up
/n - tremolo bar inverted dip
 = - hold bend; also acts as connecting device for hammers/pulls
 <> - volume swell (louder/softer)
 x - on rhythm slash represents muted slash
 o - on rhythm slash represents single note slash


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