All Guitar Tab Symbols
Every mark you will meet in guitar tablature · what it looks like, what it means, what it sounds like
How to play
- Guitar tab is not sheet music. The six lines are the six strings, not pitches — the top line is the thin high E, the bottom line is the thick low E. A number on a line is the fret to press on that string, and 0 means play it open.
- Numbers stacked vertically are struck together as a chord; numbers spread left to right are played in that order. Tab shows you where to put your fingers but usually not how long each note lasts — that is its one big weakness, and why players usually need to know the tune already.
- Everything else in tab is an articulation mark sitting between or above the numbers, and that is what this chart covers. Tap any symbol to see it drawn in a real tab staff and hear what it does.
- Tab (tablature) is six lines, one per string — the top line is the thin high E, the bottom is the thick low E. Numbers are frets, read left to right.
- Tap a symbol to see how it's written on the staff and hear the technique demonstrated. Replay plays it again.
- Symbols sit between two fret numbers (like 7h9) or after one (like 7~). They tell you how to move between or shape the notes.
- These are the standard ASCII tab marks you'll see in online tabs. Vol sets volume. Keyboard — Tab to a symbol, Enter/Space to hear it.
A great way to learn about all the common notation marks used in guitar tabs is this interactive table of the tablature system. It allow you to click on each symbol and navigate through them using your mouse or more quickly via your computer keyboard. It will display each symbol, play it back to you, and explain its meaning in plain English.
First, let’s review how it works. Look at the top right-hand side of the display and hit the How to play button. You’ll see a handy little guide that tells you that the six lines is not notes but instead represent the guitar strings. The numbers refers to the position of each fret, with stacked ones showing chords. Watch for this whenever you need to remember the overall tablature layout.
How to Use the Guitar Tab Guide
The main interface has a grid of buttons, one for each articulation mark. There are hammers, pull-offs, bends, slides, vibrato, etc. Just tap the symbol you want to choose. It instantly displays that symbol in the display area. It includes an explanation of the physical technique required to produce it and a brief audio demonstration. You get to listen to how each technique sound when you select one from the list.
Below the tab staff, there is also a Replay sound button. This will play what you have selected again if you wish to practice getting the timing right with a trill or distinguish it from another mark like a slide or bend. This can help close the gap between seeing the ASCII characters in score and knowing what it sounds like and how to physically make that move on the guitar.
The ‘Vol.’ slider controls the master output level of all audio examples. Turn it up to listen out for those slight tonal variations between playing with harmonics or palm muting, or turn it down if you’re in a communal environment. Your chosen setting is stored until next time you visit the site, so you do not need to adjust it each time you select a different example.
If you’re watching it in a small window such as on your mobile phone, click on the full-screen button and it will open up the widget providing more space for you to view the tab staff without having to scroll around. This can be especially useful if you’re trying to learn some tricky notation that uses lots of symbols placed close together like rake sequences or pinch harmonics. To come out of full-screen mode just click the button once again or use your browser’s regular exit commands.
Keyboard shortcuts allow you to cycle easily between symbols while still holding down on the keys that type them. To get to the next symbol button, just hit Tab. After selecting a button with spacebar/Enter, the note will be played and its information displayed. It’s a fast way of scrolling through the list and it works well for touch-typing if you know what you’re looking for.
The widget helps demystify those abbreviations that appear in the tabs you’ve found online. Pull-offs and hammers is noted between the fret numbers; vibrato is represented with a tilde. If you’ve ever wanted to know what all the other symbols mean and sound like, there’s an explanation. The staff looks exactly like it does in the actual ASCII tab file.
Select some of the symbols you’ve spotted in tabs without understanding their purpose and see how they work. For example, listen through the demos to note the difference between a pinch harmonic and a natural harmonic, or letting a note ring out versus a standard slide. These simple but effective audio demonstrations highlight the nature of each sound. You can also control the volume to highlight other parts of certain techniques. For example, dead notes depend more off the percussive attack than on pitch.
As you develop your ability to read guitar tab, start by clicking on each symbol to learn what it represents. By familiarizing yourself with them quickly, you’ll soon be reading and performing music at lightning speed. You should of used this sooner. Use this as a handy reference guide and leave it open when you’re working on your favorite tabs.