Guitar Tab Symbols Meaning

Below is an interactive widget that will teach you some common guitar tablature symbols. It are meant to be a quick reference for the techniques and playing mark you’ll find when looking at online tabs. Click the symbols with your mouse, or use your computer keyboard to play and navigate them. All this is to get you familiar with what the techniques look like on staff and sound like.

First, take note of the grid of buttons with symbols above them (b,p,h). These are a list of technique including bending, hammering and pulling off. Click on any symbol to listen to an example of what that should of sounded like plus highlight the symbol. Below the buttons is a staff that shows where each symbol would be placed in relation to the fret numbers. That give you some visual context for connecting this abstract mark back to physical action on your guitar.

How to Use the Guitar Tab Widget

Alternatively, you can control it via your keyboard as well. To jump from symbol to symbol, just hit the Tab key on your keyboard. You’ll notice that when one of the symbols is highlighted, hitting Space (or Enter) will play an example of what it sound like. If you’re someone who doesn’t always like using a mouse, this could come in handy and it’s good for quickly playing around with multiple technique at once. All told, it’s an interface you can use without a mouse or trackpad.

To the top right, there’s an option to take the widget full-screen. This is handy for those times when you just want to see the tab examples without distraction or for a smaller screen size. Just hit button a second time and it returns to the standard format. This gives you more space to read the tabbed music more comfortabley.

Beneath the grid of symbols is the staff illustration of the chosen technique in action. Here you can observe that the staff represent the guitar’s six strings. Each line shows the number of frets to play on that string. Your chosen symbol appear on the correct string, placed either directly after or between the fret numbers. This allows you to learn where your fingers should be and also how to move from note to note easily. It give you a clear point of reference to listen to the example against.

Below the staff is a description of how to physically do it. The text will tell you to tap the fret, push the string, or even to mute the note. What the text does then is complement the audio and clarify the physical action that have happened with your hands. So it makes sure you know what was going on mechanically to create the sound you’ve just heard.

This is a master volume output. A volume slider (shown to the right of the description) will allow you to adjust the overall output volume. If the example sounds too quiet or too loud, you’ll want to change it until its appropriate for your space. The sound comes from all symbols so you can dial it in comfortabley first and then explore the techniques. This way you can use the widget in collaborative environments without annoying anyone else.

At the top of the widget, there is a help button. When clicked, you’re shown a quick guide on using the interface as well as reading tablature. You’ll be reminded that bottom line of the staff is the low E string and the top is the high E string. If this is your first time seeing tab or you want a quick refresher on the basics of how tablature notates music, this will come in handy. This will help you move from reading tabs to playing them.

Unclear tab notation may become clearer when you hear the distinction between a hammer-on and a slide. Compare other similar techniques such as releases and bends and listen for their impact on pitch. Because you get an instant playback, it’s simpler to get inside the sound of each articulation.

Choose a symbol from the list, listen to how it sounds on this instrument, and then attempt to play it yourself. Pay attention to the dynamics and timing of the example. The widget is a safe space to experiment with the notation before applying it to a full song. Complex phrase are broken down into individual components to help you learn more effectivey. Be sure to spend some time with this and get to know what each symbol sounds like, but don’t try to memorize everything now.

Because this widget is so interactive, anytime you see a mark that you don’t recognize on your tabs, you can use it for reference. Have it open while practicing and refer back when you have questions about how to play something.