How to Read Guitar Tabs: A Beginner’s Guide
If you’ve ever searched for how to play a song on guitar, you’ve almost certainly encountered guitar tabs. They’re everywhere online, simple, visual representations of guitar music that millions of players use every day. And if you’ve stared at them and felt confused about what any of it means, this guide is for you.
Learning how to read guitar tabs is one of the most practical skills a beginner guitarist can develop. It opens up a huge library of songs you can learn on your own, and it’s much simpler to understand than traditional sheet music. Pair it with our list of easy two- and three-chord songs and you have a month of material.
What Guitar Tabs Are (and How They’re Structured)
Guitar tablature, “tabs” for short, is a system of notation designed specifically for guitar. Rather than representing music in terms of note names and rhythms (as traditional sheet music does), tabs represent music visually, in terms of the physical position of your fingers on the guitar. Standard notation is the other system, and our guide to reading sheet music covers it for any instrument.
A tab is displayed as six horizontal lines. Each line represents one of the guitar’s six strings. The bottom line represents the lowest-pitched string (the low E string: the thickest one). The top line represents the highest-pitched string (the high e string: the thinnest one). That is the reverse of what you see when you look down at the neck, where the thickest string is nearest your face. Tab is arranged by pitch instead: the low E is always the bottom line and the high e is always the top line, the way notes stack low to high on a staff. Most tabs print the string names down the left edge, which makes the order easy to check.
Numbers placed on these lines tell you which fret to press on that string. A “0” means you play that string open (no fret pressed). A “1” means you press the first fret. A “5” means you press the fifth fret. And so on.
So if you see a “3” on the second line from the bottom (the A string), you press the third fret of the A string. That’s a C note, the A string fretted at the third fret.
Reading a Simple Tab Example
Here is a two-bar riff on the two lowest strings, the kind of figure you meet in the first weeks. The letters down the left edge name the strings, low E on the bottom line and high e on the top, and the vertical bars mark the end of each bar.
e|-----------------|-----------------| B|-----------------|-----------------| G|-----------------|-----------------| D|-----------------|-----------------| A|-----------------|-0---2---0-------| E|-0---0---3---0---|-------------0---|
Read it left to right. Bar one is all on the low E string: open, open, third fret, open. Bar two moves up to the A string for open, second fret, open, and then drops back to the open low E to finish. Play the eight notes evenly, four to a bar, and you have an E minor riff built entirely from open strings and two fretted notes. Every number tells you exactly which fret to press while picking that string, and nothing else.
The opening of “Smoke on the Water” by Deep Purple, one of the most famous beginner riffs, reads the same way, and the simplified version lives on a single string. On the A string (second line from the bottom) the frets run 0, 3, 5, then 0, 3, 6, 5, then 0, 3, 5, then 3, 0. That closing 3, 0 is what resolves the phrase, so play it rather than looping back to the start. On the open A string the riff sits in A minor rather than the record’s G minor, which is fine for practice.
When numbers appear stacked vertically in a tab, it means you play those notes simultaneously. This is a chord. When they appear one after another horizontally, you play them in sequence. This is a melody or riff. Here is the E minor chord written in tab: second fret on the A and D strings, every other string open, all six strummed together.
e|-0-| B|-0-| G|-0-| D|-2-| A|-2-| E|-0-|
Some tabs also include additional symbols:
- h = hammer-on (press a higher fret without picking again)
- p = pull-off (remove a finger to sound a lower note)
- b = bend (push the string sideways to raise the pitch)
- / = slide up, \ = slide down
- ~ = vibrato (slight pitch wavering)
You don’t need to worry about all of these right away. Start with the basics (numbers and positions) and add techniques as you encounter them.
What Tabs Don’t Tell You
Tabs don’t typically indicate rhythm. Traditional sheet music uses note shapes (quarter notes, eighth notes, etc.) to show exactly how long each note lasts. Most guitar tabs just show you which fret to press, not how long to hold it or how fast to move to the next note.
This is why most beginners learn tabs most effectively when they already know the song. If you can hear the rhythm in your head, your fingers will naturally fall into the right timing. If you don’t know the song at all, tabs can feel confusing because you’re missing the rhythmic information. A tab shows where the fingers go but not why those notes were chosen; our guide to music theory for guitarists covers the why. Hearing the recording first fills that gap, and our guide to learning songs by ear on guitar covers working a song out without tab at all.
There is a standard way around the missing rhythm, and it is the first thing a teacher will hand you. Matt, who teaches guitar on Tunelark, takes a riff far below tempo, gets it clean at that speed, and only then brings it up. The tab gives you the frets and the slow pass gives you the timing, which together are the whole of what the page left out.
Skill video · Learning a Riff From Tab
Matt teaches guitar lessons online with Tunelark. View Matt’s profile
Some advanced tab notation does include rhythm indicators, and many online tab sites display tabs alongside an audio player so you can hear what it should sound like. Use both.
Tabs vs. Sheet Music: When to Use Each
Tabs are ideal for:
- Learning specific songs, especially pop, rock, folk, and country styles
- Quickly finding out where to put your fingers
- Self-guided learning of music you already know by ear
Traditional sheet music is better for:
- Classical repertoire and formal music education
- Understanding the full rhythmic and structural picture of a piece
- Playing with other musicians who read notation
- Building broader musical literacy
Many guitarists use both, depending on the situation. Your teacher will guide you on when each format is most useful. But for quickly learning songs you love, knowing how to read guitar tabs is an incredibly practical tool, one that guitarists of all levels use throughout their playing lives. The licks you learn from tab are also the raw material of soloing, which How to Start Improvising on Guitar builds on.
How to Find a Guitar Teacher on Tunelark
Once you’re ready to start, the right teacher makes the difference between fast progress and slow frustration. Many Tunelark teachers specialize in working with new students at this stage.
1. Open the teacher list and filter by guitar.
2. Read bios. Look for teachers who explicitly mention working with beginners and who describe their teaching approach (not just their credentials).
3. Book a trial lesson with one whose profile resonates. Your first lesson with a new teacher is $25 off their rate for the length you choose.
After the trial, ask yourself: did the teacher meet you where you actually are, or were they running through a generic beginner curriculum?
The early weeks of any instrument are where habits get formed. A good teacher gets you started right.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are guitar tabs?
Guitar tabs are a simplified notation showing which fret to play on which string. The six lines represent the six guitar strings, and numbers tell you which fret to press.
Is reading tabs easier than reading sheet music?
Yes, much easier for beginners. You can start playing songs within days. Standard notation gives more information (rhythm, dynamics) but takes longer to learn fluently.
Can I learn complex songs with just tabs?
Mostly yes. Tabs work for melodies, chords, and riffs. They’re weaker on rhythm and dynamics, so for nuanced songs you may want to combine tabs with listening carefully to recordings.
What do the numbers mean in guitar tabs?
Each number tells you which fret to press on that string. A ‘0’ means the open string (no fret). Numbers stacked vertically mean play those notes simultaneously (a chord).
Should I learn tabs or standard notation first?
Tabs first if you want to start playing songs quickly. Add standard notation when you’re more comfortable on the instrument and want access to a wider range of music.
Looking for an online guitar teacher? See our full Online Guitar and Bass Lessons page for everything you need to know about getting started.
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About Jennifer Heath
I'm Jennifer Heath, VP of Operations at Tunelark and a lifelong singer. I joined the company in 2020 and oversee much of what makes Tunelark work for students and teachers: hiring, training and supporting our instructors, student support, marketing and day-to-day operations. I started voice lessons at 7 and sang with touring choirs through my teens. Music belongs in every life, for the self-expression, the discipline, the comfort and the simple joy of it.
