TAB and Notation Quick Reference

Everything you need to read guitar TAB, chord diagrams, strumming patterns, and basic standard notation.

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Reading Guitar TAB

TAB (tablature) uses six horizontal lines representing the six guitar strings. The bottom line is the lowest-pitched string (low E), the top line is the highest (high e).

e|---  ← high e string (thinnest, 1st string)
B|---  ← B string (2nd string)
G|---  ← G string (3rd string)
D|---  ← D string (4th string)
A|---  ← A string (5th string)
E|---  ← low E string (thickest, 6th string)

Numbers on Lines

• A number on a line = press that fret on that string and play
• 0 = play the string open (no fretting)
• Read left to right, like text

e|------0---1---3---|
B|------------------|
G|------------------|
D|------------------|
A|------------------|
E|------------------|

This means: play high e string open, then fret 1, then fret 3.

Notes Stacked Vertically

• Numbers stacked in a column = play those strings simultaneously (a chord)

e|------0---|
B|------1---|
G|------0---|
D|------2---|
A|------3---|
E|----------|

This means: play the five strings from A to high e at once (this is a C major chord). The low E line is empty, so that string is not played.

Rows Under a TAB

Many TABs in this course have labelled rows underneath. Each mark sits in the column of the note it belongs to.

• Count: — the count for each note (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &). A number in brackets, such as (2), is a beat where you play nothing new: keep counting and let the last note or chord ring. A bracketed (&) works the same way. Where no & is written after a number, the note on that number lasts the whole beat
• Pick: — which way the pick moves: D = downstroke, U = upstroke
• Strum: — the strum for each count (symbols in “Strumming Pattern Notation” below)
• Accent: — a > in the column of each stroke to play louder
• Finger: — the fretting-hand finger number for each note (a dash means an open string); in fingerpicking, the picking-hand letters p i m a
• Notes: — the name of each note
• PM: — palm muting. PM = palm muted. O = let the string ring (palm lifted).
• Chord: — written above the TAB: each chord name starts over the first note it covers

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TAB Technique Symbols

Symbol	Name	Meaning	Example
h	Hammer-on	Pick the first note, tap finger onto the second fret without picking again	0h2 = play open, hammer to fret 2
p	Pull-off	Pick the first note, pull finger off to sound the second note	2p0 = play fret 2, pull off to open
/	Slide up	Pick the first note, slide finger up to the second fret	2/5 = play fret 2, slide to fret 5
\	Slide down	Pick the first note, slide finger down to the second fret	5\2 = play fret 5, slide to fret 2
x	Deadened note	A struck, deadened note: the pick hits the string but a hand is stopping it from ringing. First used: Session 20	x on a string line
PM	Palm mute	Rest the edge of your strumming-hand palm lightly on the strings just where they cross the saddle (the thin strip on the bridge)	PM in a PM: row under the TAB
O	Let ring	In a PM: row: lift the palm and let the string ring (the opposite of PM)	PM: O PM O PM
PM throughout	Palm mute throughout	Palm-mute every note in the passage	written under the TAB
let ring	Let ring	Leave the notes sounding; do not stop the strings	written under the TAB

The examples above are written tightly. On the TAB grid the sessions use, each note has its own column and the symbol stands in front of the fret it leads to: 0---h3 means the same as 0h3 (pick the open string, then hammer on to fret 3), 3---p0 the same as 3p0, and 3---/5 the same as 3/5. The h, p, / or \ belongs to the number after it.

A string that is not played has only hyphens on its line. A muted strum (written chk in a Strum: row) appears in TAB as x on every string the pick crosses.

Symbols you will meet after this course

No session, handout or assessment in this course uses these. They are listed so that you recognise them in TAB from other sources.

Symbol	Name	Meaning	Example
b	Bend	Push the string sideways to raise the pitch	7b9 = play fret 7, bend up to pitch of fret 9
r	Release bend	Return a bent string to its normal position	7b9r7 = bend up, then release
~ or v	Vibrato	Wobble the string rapidly for a wavering sound	7~ = play fret 7 with vibrato

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Strumming Pattern Notation

Symbol	Meaning
D	Downstroke (strum toward the floor)
U	Upstroke (strum toward the ceiling)
d	Softer downstroke (lighter than D)
u	Softer upstroke (lighter than U)
(d) (u)	Ghost strum: barely touching the strings
chk	Muted strum: a strum on strings that are being held still, giving a dry “chk” with no pitch. With open chords the edge of the strumming-hand palm holds them still (Session 13); with the moveable power chords the fretting fingers relax onto the strings instead (Session 20)
>	Accent: written in an Accent: row, in the column of a stroke; play that stroke louder

Reading a Strumming Pattern

Patterns are written as a Strum: row and a Count: row. Each stroke sits in the column of its count:

Strum:  D     D  U     U  D  U
Count:  1     2  & (3) &  4  &

• The numbers 1, 2, 3 and 4 are the beats
• & (say “and”) marks the halfway point between two beats
• Down on the numbers, up on the &s. Your hand keeps swinging down-up even when it does not touch the strings.
• A number in brackets, such as (3), is a beat where you play nothing new: the strum row is left blank there and the chord keeps ringing. On beat 3 your hand still moves down, but it misses the strings: a silent downstroke. That keeps the hand swinging down on every number and up on every &.
• Say the count of this pattern aloud: “1, 2-and, (3)-and, 4-and”

Common Patterns in This Course

Pattern 1 — Downstrokes (from Session 1)

Count:  1   2   3   4
Strum:  D   D   D   D

Pattern 2 — Down-up, called “D/U” (from Session 5)

Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
Strum:  D   U   D   U   D   U   D   U

Pattern 3 — D D U U D U (from Session 5)

Strum:  D     D  U     U  D  U
Count:  1     2  & (3) &  4  &

Pattern 4 — Waltz strum in 3/4 (from Session 7)

Count:  1   2   3
Strum:  D   d   d

Pattern 5 — Syncopated rock pattern (from Session 13)

Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
Strum:  D   U   chk U   D   U   chk U

With dynamics (Session 13 Segment 3):

Count:  1   &   2   &   3   &   4   &
Strum:  D   (u) chk U   D   (u) chk U

Spoken: “ONE-and-chk-AND-THREE-and-chk-AND”. The loud strokes are the downstrokes on 1 and 3 and the upstrokes on the & of 2 and the & of 4. The & of 1 and the & of 3 are ghost strums.

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Reading Chord Diagrams

Chord diagrams show you where to place your fingers on the fretboard.

Am

XOO

1

2

3

EADGBe

This is an Am chord.

Element	Meaning
Vertical lines	The 6 strings (left = low E, right = high e)
Horizontal lines	Frets
Numbers in the grid	Which finger to place (1 = index, 2 = middle, 3 = ring, 4 = little finger)
O above a string	Play that string open
X above a string	Do not play that string
Fret number on the left	Which fret row you are looking at

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Finger Numbering

Fretting Hand

Finger	Number
Index finger	1
Middle finger	2
Ring finger	3
Little finger	4
Thumb	T (not used for fretting in this course)

Picking Hand

Used in fingerpicking (Session 15 onwards). These letters appear only in rows labelled Finger: under a TAB.

Finger	Letter	Spanish Name
Thumb	p	pulgar
Index	i	indice
Middle	m	medio
Ring	a	anular

Between two fret numbers inside a TAB line, p means pull-off. In a Finger row under the TAB (p i m a), p means the thumb.

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Basic Standard Notation

The Staff

• Five horizontal lines
• Guitar music is written in treble clef (G clef)
• Guitar sounds one octave lower than written

Note Values

Symbol	Name	Duration (in 4/4 time)
Filled notehead, stem, no flag	Quarter note	1 beat
Filled notehead, stem, one flag	Eighth note	1/2 beat
Open notehead, stem	Half note	2 beats
Open notehead, no stem	Whole note	4 beats
Filled notehead, stem, two flags	Sixteenth note	1/4 beat (four to a beat; not played in the sessions)

Rest Values

Symbol	Name	Duration
Squiggle	Quarter rest	1 beat of silence
Angled mark	Eighth rest	1/2 beat of silence
Hat on line	Half rest	2 beats of silence
Block under line	Whole rest	4 beats (or a full measure) of silence

Time Signatures

Signature	Meaning	Feel
4/4	4 quarter-note beats per measure	Most common in rock, pop, blues
3/4	3 quarter-note beats per measure	Waltz feel

Notes in Open Position (Open Strings and Frets 1-3)

Note	String	Fret
E	1st (high e)	Open
F	1st (high e)	1
G	1st (high e)	3
B	2nd (B)	Open
C	2nd (B)	1
D	2nd (B)	3
G	3rd (G)	Open
A	3rd (G)	2
D	4th (D)	Open
E	4th (D)	2
F	4th (D)	3
A	5th (A)	Open
B	5th (A)	2
C	5th (A)	3
E	6th (low E)	Open
F	6th (low E)	1
G	6th (low E)	3

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Quick Symbol Reference

Context	Symbol	Meaning
TAB	0	Open string
TAB	1, 2, 3 …	Fret number
TAB	h	Hammer-on
TAB	p	Pull-off
TAB	/	Slide up
TAB	\	Slide down
TAB	x	Struck, deadened note
TAB	PM	Palm mute
TAB	O	Let ring (in a PM: row, the opposite of PM)
TAB	PM throughout	Palm-mute every note in the passage
TAB	let ring	Leave the notes sounding
Strumming	D	Downstroke
Strumming	U	Upstroke
Strumming	d u	Softer downstroke, softer upstroke
Strumming	(d) (u)	Ghost strum
Strumming	chk	Muted strum
Strumming	>	Accent
Chord diagram	O	Open string
Chord diagram	X	Do not play
Chord diagram	1-4	Finger number
Fingerpicking	p i m a	Thumb, index, middle, ring

Between two fret numbers inside a TAB line, p means pull-off. In a Finger row under the TAB (p i m a), p means the thumb.