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The
music at acousticguitar.com, and in our books and magazines, is
written in standard notation and tablature. Here's how to read it.
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STANDARD
NOTATION
Standard
notation is written on a five-line staff. Notes are written in
alphabetical order from A to G.
The
duration of a note is determined by three things: the note head, stem,
and flag. A whole note equals four beats. A half note is half of that:
two beats. A quarter note equals one beat, an eighth note equals half
of one beat, and a 16th note is a quarter beat (there are four 16th
notes per beat).
The
fraction (4/4, 3/4, 6/8, etc.) or  character
shown at the beginning of a piece of music denotes the time signature.
The top number tells you how many beats are in each measure, and the
bottom number indicates the rhythmic value of each beat (4 equals a
quarter note, 8 equals an eighth note, 16 equals a 16th note, and 2
equals a half note). The most common time signature is 4/4, which
signifies four quarter notes per measure and is sometimes designated
with the symbol (for common time). The symbol
 stands for cut time (2/2).
Most songs are either in 4/4 or 3/4.
TABLATURE
In
tablature, the six horizontal lines represent the six strings of the
guitar, with the first string on the top and sixth on the bottom. The
numbers refer to fret numbers on a given string. The notation and
tablature in our lessons and transcriptions are designed to be used in
tandem—refer to the notation to get the rhythmic information and note
durations, and refer to the tablature to get the exact locations of the
notes on the guitar fingerboard.
FINGERINGS
Fingerings
are indicated with small numbers and letters in the notation.
Fretting-hand fingering is indicated with 1 for the index finger, 2 the
middle, 3 the ring, 4 the pinky, and T the thumb.
Picking-hand fingering is indicated by i for the
index finger, m the middle, a
the ring, c the pinky, and p
the thumb. Circled numbers indicate the string the note is played on.
Remember that the fingerings indicated are only suggestions; if you
find a different way that works better for you, use it.
CHORD
DIAGRAMS
Chord
diagrams show where the fingers go on the fingerboard. Frets are shown
horizontally. The thick top line represents the nut. A Roman numeral to
the right of a diagram indicates a chord played higher up the neck (in
this case the top horizontal line is thin). Strings are shown as
vertical lines. The line on the far left represents the sixth (lowest)
string, and the line on the far right represents the first (highest)
string. Dots show where the fingers go, and thick horizontal lines
indicate barres. Numbers above the diagram are left-hand finger
numbers, as used in standard notation. Again, the fingerings are only
suggestions. An X indicates a string that should be
muted or not played; 0 indicates an open string.
CAPOS
If
a capo is used, a Roman numeral indicates the fret where the capo
should be placed. The standard notation and tablature is written as if
the capo were the nut of the guitar. For instance, a tune capoed
anywhere up the neck and played using key-of-G chord shapes and
fingerings will be written in the key of G. Likewise, open strings held
down by the capo are written as open strings.
TUNINGS
Alternate
guitar tunings are given from the lowest (sixth) string to the highest
(first) string. For instance, D A D G B E indicates standard tuning
with the bottom string dropped to D. Standard notation for songs in
alternate tunings always reflects the actual pitches of the notes.
Arrows underneath tuning notes indicate strings that are altered from
standard tuning and whether they are tuned up or down.
VOCAL
TUNES
Vocal
tunes are sometimes written with a fully tabbed-out introduction and a
vocal melody with chord diagrams for the rest of the piece. The tab
intro is usually your indication of which strum or fingerpicking
pattern to use in the rest of the piece. The melody with lyrics
underneath is the melody sung by the vocalist. Occasionally, smaller
notes are written with the melody to indicate the harmony part sung by
another vocalist. These are not to be confused with cue notes, which
are small notes that indicate melodies that vary when a section is
repeated. Listen to a recording of the piece to get a feel for the
guitar accompaniment and to hear the singing if you aren’t skilled at
reading vocal melodies.
ARTICULATIONS
There
are a number of ways you can articulate a note on the guitar. Notes
connected with slurs (not to be confused with ties) in the tablature or
standard notation are articulated with either a hammer-on, pull-off, or
slide. Lower notes slurred to higher notes are played as hammer-ons;
higher notes slurred to lower notes are played as pull-offs. While it’s
usually obvious that slurred notes are played as hammer-ons or
pull-offs, an H or P is
included above the tablature as an extra reminder.
Slides
are represented with a dash, and an S is included
above the tab. A dash preceding a note represents a slide into the note
from an indefinite point in the direction of the slide; a dash
following a note indicates a slide off of the note to an indefinite
point in the direction of the slide. For two slurred notes connected
with a slide, you should pick the first note and then slide into the
second.
Bends
are represented with upward curves, as shown in the next example. Most
bends have a specific destination pitch—the number above the bend
symbol shows how much the bend raises the string’s pitch: 1/4 for a
slight bend, 1/2 for a half step, 1 for a whole step.
Grace
notes are represented by small notes with a dash through the stem in
standard notation and with small numbers in the tab. A grace note is a
very quick ornament leading into a note, most commonly executed as a
hammer-on, pull-off, or slide. In the first example below, pluck the
note at the fifth fret on the beat, then quickly hammer onto the
seventh fret. The second example is executed as a quick pull-off from
the second fret to the open string. In the third example, both notes at
the fifth fret are played simultaneously (even though it appears that
the fifth fret, fourth string, is to be played by itself), then the
seventh fret, fourth string, is quickly hammered.
HARMONICS
Harmonics
are represented by diamond-shaped notes in the standard notation and a
small dot next to the tablature numbers. Natural harmonics are
indicated with the text "Harmonics" or "Harm." above the tablature.
Harmonics articulated with the right hand (often called artificial
harmonics) include the text "R.H. Harmonics" or "R.H. Harm." above the
tab. Right-hand harmonics are executed by lightly touching the harmonic
node (usually 12 frets above the open string or fretted note) with the
right-hand index finger and plucking the string with the thumb or ring
finger or pick. For extended phrases played with right-hand harmonics,
the fretted notes are shown in the tab along with instructions to touch
the harmonics 12 frets above the notes.
REPEATS
One
of the most confusing parts of a musical score can be the navigation
symbols, such as repeats, D.S. al Coda, D.C. al Fine, To Coda,
etc.
Repeat
symbols are placed at the beginning and end of the passage to be
repeated.
You
should ignore repeat symbols with the dots on the right side the first
time you encounter them; when you come to a repeat symbol with dots on
the left side, jump back to the previous repeat symbol facing the
opposite direction (if there is no previous symbol, go to the beginning
of the piece). The next time you come to the repeat symbol, ignore it
and keep going unless it includes instructions such as "Repeat three
times."
A
section will often have a different ending after each repeat. The
example below includes a first and a second ending. Play until you hit
the repeat symbol, jump back to the previous repeat symbol and play
until you reach the bracketed first ending, skip the measures under the
bracket and jump immediately to the second ending, and then continue.
D.S.
stands for dal segno or "from the sign." When you
encounter this indication, jump immediately to the sign ( ). D.S. is usually
accompanied by al Fine or al Coda.
Fine indicates the end of a piece. A coda
is a final passage near the end of a piece and is indicated with  . D.S. al Coda simply tells
you to jump back to the sign and continue on until you are instructed
to jump to the coda, indicated with To Coda .
D.C.
stands for da capo or "from the beginning." Jump to
the top of the piece when you encounter this indication.
D.C.
al Fine tells you to jump to the beginning of a tune and
continue until you encounter the Fine indicating the end of the piece
(ignore the Fine the first time through).
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