Tablature is a type of notation for stringed instruments. For the guitar, it will show six lines representing the six strings. The thinnest string (High E string) is on the top line, and the thickest string (Low E string) is on the bottom line.  The numbers on the lines represent the fret at which you are to play.  Notes are read and played from left to right.

E———————————————————-
B———————————————————-
G———————————————————-
D———–2———————————————-
A——-2————————————————–
E—0——————————————————

If you were to play the above, you would play an open E on the 6th string, then a B on the 5th string by playing the 2nd fret, then play an E on the 4th string by playing the 2nd fret. If you notice, tablature does not tell you how long to hold each note. Because of this, you must either know the song or you must also have the standard notation with it. Standard notation is given along with tablature in a lot of guitar sheet music.

Chords in tablature look like the E Major chord shown below.  To play this tablature, you must place your fingers in the appropriate positions and strum all six strings. You can see the finger pattern for an E Major, in this video.

E—-0—————————————————–
B—-0—————————————————–
G—-1—————————————————–
D—-2—————————————————–
A—-2—————————————————–
E—-0—————————————————–

Hammer-ons

A hammer-on is played by plucking a note and then “hammering on” another fret. The symbol for a hammer-on is an “h.” The note that you pluck comes before the “h” and the note that you hammer on is the one that follows the “h.”

E———————————————————-
B———————————————————-
G———————7h9———————————-
D———————————————————-
A———————————————————-
E———————————————————-

Pull-offs

A pull-off is played by plucking a note then letting go of that note and letting one at a lower fret sound. The symbol for a pull-off is a “p.” The note that you pluck is the one that is located before the “p.” The note after is the one that will be sounded when you pull off of that note.

E———————————————————-
B———————————————————-
G———————9p7———————————-
D———————————————————-
A———————————————————-
E———————————————————-

Bending, Releasing, and Vibrato

A bend is executed when you push or pull the string to make the pitch higher. The higher pitch is what we call the target pitch. The symbol used for a bend is a “b” but I have also seen it as a “^.” The note that comes before it signifies the fret that you are bending at, and the note that comes after it is the fret of the target pitch. In other words, you are trying to get the bend to sound like the note at the fret after the “b.”

A release is signified by an “r.” As you know, a release is when a string is already bent and you let it go. Well, the note before the “r” represents the bent tone or the target pitch, and the note after represents the note after you have released the bend.

Vibrato (”~”) is simply when you wiggle your finger at a fret to produce a sustained, almost pulsating sound. You will find the “~” symbol after a note that you are to use vibrato on.

Below shows an example of bending, releasing, and vibrato.

E———————————————————-
B———————————————————-
G———————7b9r7—7~—————————
D———————————————————-
A———————————————————-
E———————————————————-

Sliding

Slides are symbolized by slashes (”/” or “\”). A slide up (”/”) is when you play a note and then hold your finger on the fretboard and slide your finger to the target pitch. A slide down (”\”) is exactly the opposite. Below, you would play the 7th fret, slide up to the 9th fret, and then slide back down to the 7th fret.

E———————————————————-
B———————————————————-
G———————7/9\7——————————–
D———————————————————-
A———————————————————-
E———————————————————-

Tapping and Dampening

Tapping is symbolized by a “t” and you would simply tap on the note that follows the “t.” Dampening is symbolized by an “x.” To execute a dampened note, simply lay your left hand on the strings and play that note. Be careful not to sound a harmonic though.

Don’t be fooled by an “x” in chord charts such as the one shown here:

EADGBE
————
x32010 (C Major)

An “x” in a chord chart means to not play anything on that string; it does not mean to dampen it.  However if the x lies on an interior string, as shown below, then you must dampen it so you  can strum the chord.  You do not need to dampen it if you are fingerpicking because you only pluck the strings that you want to be heard.

EADGBE
————
2x0232 (F#/D)

Summary of tablature notation

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