How to read a tab

Hammer-on is executed by picking a note and then hammering done with the fretting hand on the second note. The second note isn’t actually picked but kind of echos the first one. Song example with this technique:

. Hammer-ons are written in a tab like this:

Pull-off is the opposite of a hammer-on, so the first note is played again then the fretting hand pulls the finger off and lets the one fretted behind it play. Song example with this technique:

(bar 5).

This is where the fretting hand actually bends the string to give a wobbly effect. It's often used in solos. Song example with this technique:

(bar 3).

Release bend is just like a bend, but it tells you when to release the bend and go to the next note. Song example with this technique:

(bar 41).

For a slide you start off plucking the first note and slide on the string up or down to the second. Song example with this technique:

(bar 5). In the tab below you would play the first note on the 10th fret then slide the finger that is holding that note up to the 8th fret (a slide-down):

Or here you slide your finger from the 3rd fret to the 5th without lifting your finger (a slide-up):

The same as usual slide except the second note is not struck. Song example with this technique:

(bar 1).

Vibrato is like a constant rhythmic bending of the string. You do a bend up and bend down quickly to create a moving sound. Song example with this technique:

(bar 3).

The pitch is varied to a greater degree by vibrating with the fretting hand. Song example with this technique:

(bar 1).

This technique utilizes the tremolo bar to achieve vibrato. If the beat contains multiple notes, the effect is applied to all notes in the chord. The Wide vibrato creates a more pronounced effect than a Slight one. Song example with this technique:

(bar 5).

"Let ring" marker tells you to let that note ring until the end of the dashed line. Song example with this technique:

.

A palm mute effect is achieved when you take the side of your right hand (4th finger side) and lightly touch the string at the edge of the bridge. This will give the notes that you are playing a muffled sound. Song example with this technique:

.

The best description of a ghost note, is a note that is felt but not heard. You will play the note softer, and without emphasis. A ghost note can be played by fretting a note, but not picking it. Ghost notes are barely audible, but they do a lot to the feel of the music. The notation for the ghost note is round brackets. Song example with this technique:

(bar 1).

Dead note refers to muting the strings with your left hand. A dead note effect is achieved by lightly resting your left hand across the strings without actually pressing the strings against the fret. Song example with this technique:

.

The first chord is to be played with a down stroke, the second chord is to be played with an up stroke and the third is to be played with a down stroke again. Song example with this technique:

.

The chords are to be played with arpeggio technique, so that the notes in the chord are played very quickly one after another. Song example with this technique:

(bar 8).

Natural harmonics are notes that produce a bell like sound when you touch a string over a particular fret bar. The notation that is most commonly used is the fret that you will touch with romb sign before. Song example with this technique:

.

Polyphony is a type of musical texture consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody. In the tabs, one of these lines is shown in gray with the number of the fret, the other in black. Song example:

.

A pinch harmonic is a guitar technique to achieve artificial harmonics in which the player’s thumb or index finger on the picking hand slightly catches the string which the player picked, silencing the fundamental frequency of the string, and letting one of the harmonics dominate. Song example with this technique:

(bar 23).

It is common for smaller valued notes to be grouped together via beams. Grouped notes usually have the length of one beat. Rests are never beamed:

Notes and rests can be attended by a small dot, appearing just to the right of the rhythmic element. This increases the duration of the note or rest by one half. Song example with this technique:

(bar 1).

The first dot extends the note's duration by half, and the second dot adds another quarter of that extended duration, a half of a half. Song example with this technique:

(bar 1).

The duration of notes can also be increased by the use of ties. When tied together, the following notes are held for the duration of the second note as well. Rests are never tied together. Song example with this technique:

(bar 3).

A Grace note is a musical ornamentation characterized by a quick note played before another note. Grace note doesn't factor into the bar's duration or rhythm display. Song example with this technique:

(bar 1).

Similar to the one before the beat, but initiated exactly on the beat, resulting in a subtle delay of the subsequent beat. Song example with this technique:

(bar 4).

An accented note is an emphasis, a stronger attack placed on a particular note. Play this note louder than the others. See

for example (bars 16 – 18).

A heavily accented note is a maximum emphasis, an even stronger attack placed on a particular note. Play this note much louder than the others. See

for example (bar 19).

Staccato indicates a very short note, independently of the note’s duration on the score. See

for example (bar 3, 4).

Popping is a technique commonly used on bass guitars where the player forcefully plucks one of the two highest strings using the right-hand index finger. This produces a sharp and percussive sound. See

for example (bar 1).

Slapping is a technique primarily used on bass guitars, where the player hits the strings with their right-hand thumb while rotating their wrist to produce a percussive sound. See

for example (bar 1).

Tapping is hitting a fret with your fingers with no previous attack on the note. See

for example (bar 33).

Tremolo occurs with quick short picks up and down. In this case, the pick pulls the string with the same force both when moving down and when moving up, the hand is as relaxed as possible to achieve high speed. See

for example (bar 9).