Lessons · Beginner
How to Read Guitar Tab and Bass Tab
Everything you need to read guitar and bass tablature fluently, from fret numbers to bends and slides.
What is tablature?
Tablature (tab) is a way of writing music for fretted instruments that shows where to play each note: which string, and which fret. It does not show note names. For guitarists and bassists who do not read standard notation yet, tab is the fastest way to learn riffs, melodies, chord voicings and exercises.
Tab is old: lute players used similar systems centuries ago. Today it is everywhere, in books, magazines and on the web, so reading it fluently is an essential skill.
The lines are strings
A guitar tab has six horizontal lines, one for each string. The crucial rule:
- the top line is the highest-sounding string (the thin high E, string 1);
- the bottom line is the lowest-sounding string (the thick low E, string 6).
This is the opposite of what many beginners expect when they look down at the guitar, where the low E is on top. Think of it this way: high notes on top, low notes at the bottom, just like standard notation.
| Tab line | String number | Open note (standard tuning) |
|---|---|---|
| top | 1 | E (high) |
| 2nd | 2 | B |
| 3rd | 3 | G |
| 4th | 4 | D |
| 5th | 5 | A |
| bottom | 6 | E (low) |
A bass tab works the same way with four lines: from top to bottom G, D, A, E (strings 1 to 4). A five-string bass adds a low B line at the bottom. Many tabs write the string names at the left of each line, which is a good habit to check, because alternate tunings change them. See guitar tuning for the standard tuning.
The numbers are frets
Each number on a line tells you which fret to press on that string:
- 0 means play the open string;
- 3 means press the 3rd fret;
- 12 means press the 12th fret.
You read tab from left to right, like text. Here is the C major scale starting on the 5th string:
Read it as: 5th string fret 3 (C), 5th string fret 5 (D), 4th string fret 2 (E), 4th string fret 3 (F), 4th string fret 5 (G), 3rd string fret 2 (A), 3rd string fret 4 (B), 3rd string fret 5 (C).
Tab tells you the fret, not the finger. A good general rule: in one position, use one finger per fret (index on the lowest fret of the position, little finger on the highest).
Chords: numbers stacked vertically
When numbers are written one above the other in the same column, you play them together, as a chord. Numbers in a row, from left to right, are played one after another. Lines without a number in that column are not played.
The C chord has no number on the 6th string, so you do not play that string. The D chord uses only the top four strings. If the same notes appear one by one, spread out from left to right, you play the chord as an arpeggio.
Vertical bar lines divide tab into measures, just as in notation. They help you keep your place, even though the tab itself does not show exact rhythm.
Technique symbols
Letters and signs between or after the numbers tell you how to play the notes. These are the most common:
| Symbol | Name | How to play it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| h | hammer-on | pick the first note, then strike the higher fret with a fretting finger without picking | 5h7 |
| p | pull-off | pick the higher note, then pull the finger off to sound the lower fret | 7p5 |
| / | slide up | pick, then slide the same finger up to the higher fret | 5/7 |
| \ | slide down | pick, then slide the same finger down to the lower fret | 7\5 |
| b | bend | push the string to raise the pitch; the number after b is the target pitch as a fret | 7b9 |
| r | release | let a bent string return to its original pitch | 7b9r7 |
| ~ | vibrato | shake the pitch slightly by small, repeated bends | 7~ |
| x | dead note | mute the string with the fretting hand and pick for a percussive click | x |
| PM | palm muting | rest the side of the picking hand on the strings near the bridge | PM----- under the notes |
A few more you will meet: ( ) around a number for a ghost note (very soft) or a note held from before; <12> for a natural harmonic at the 12th fret; t for a right-hand tap; let ring to keep notes sounding. Most tab books include a legend; always check it, because symbols vary slightly between publishers.
A bend like 7b9 on the 3rd string means: fret 7 (D), bend until it sounds like fret 9 (E), a whole-step bend. 7b8 is a half-step bend.
The limits of tab: rhythm
Plain tab tells you what and where, but not when. Spacing between numbers sometimes hints at timing, but it is not reliable. That is why:
- you often need to hear the music to play a tab correctly;
- many modern tabs add rhythm stems under the numbers (quarter notes, eighth notes, rests) borrowed from notation;
- the most complete format is tab plus notation, where a staff above shows rhythm and pitch, and the tab below shows the position.
If you learn note values and rhythm, you can read rhythm stems under the tab and play an unknown piece correctly the first time.
Tab plus standard notation
In books, tab is normally paired with a treble clef staff written an octave higher than the guitar sounds (guitar music is notated an octave above sounding pitch). Each note on the staff lines up vertically with its fret number below. Reading both together gives you the best of each system:
| Standard notation | Tablature | |
|---|---|---|
| Pitch | yes | indirectly (string + fret) |
| Rhythm | yes, exact | no (unless stems are added) |
| Position on the neck | no (or by fingering marks) | yes, exact |
| Technique | partly | yes (h, p, b, /, ~...) |
| Works for other instruments | yes | no |
Start with tab, but use the staff as a rhythm guide. Over time, connecting the two will teach you to read notation too. See staff and clefs.
Bass tab
Bass tab follows exactly the same rules with four lines. Here is a simple root–fifth–octave pattern in A:
The low E string (string 4) is at the bottom, the G string (string 1) at the top. Read bass basics for fingering and right-hand technique.
Practice
- Read and play the C major scale tab above, saying each note name as you play it.
- Write a short riff of your own on guitar tab paper or bass tab paper, with at least one hammer-on, one slide and one chord.
- Practise the techniques with the legato exercise and the chromatic exercise for guitar, or the bass chromatic exercise.
- Rewrite a few bars from tab on staff and tab paper, adding rhythm in notation, then check your rhythm with the rhythm worksheet.
- Learn the neck so you can name the notes you are reading with the fretboard trainer.
Related lessons: guitar fretboard notes, note names, practice method and pentatonic and blues scales. New to the instrument? Start the 30-day beginner guitar path or the 30-day bass path.