Friday, October 1, 2010

Utilizing Guitar Tabs For Beginners Today

By Frank Morris

Some people, such as identical twins, seem to have their own language. They seem to understand each other when outsiders can't. Some musicians, such as guitar players, have a similar language, called tablature or tabs. Explaining about guitar tabs for beginners is the purpose of this article.

Musicians often play by ear. They can hear music and duplicate it without the restriction of needing written compositions. The advantage is that they can play alone or join others in playing familiar tunes. However, they are usually unable to play unfamiliar songs. If they've never heard a song, they may not be able to figure out the melody or the rhythm.

Learning to read music opens up a world of possibilities for playing various types of music. Even without ever hearing a tune, a written score can show the melody, the rhythm, and the tone of any song, as long as the musician has knowledge of the process. Many people either don't know how or don't want to learn how to read music in the conventional manner, but guitar players, in particular, have developed their own language.

Guitar tablature, or tabs, are illustrations that show even a new guitar player which string to play and which area on the string to hold down. Each line of the diagram has a designated letter that corresponds to a guitar string. A letter on the diagram shows the musician to strum that string, and the tone moves from high to low as the strings are closer to the body. The letters are: e, B, G, D, A, and E.

The long, slender neck of the guitar has some short lines that cross it at intervals. The space between the lines are called frets, and are numbered. Pressing a finger on the string at those points change the tone of each string.

When reading the tab, the musician looks for the letter and the number, indicating which string to strum or pluck, and at which fret to apply pressure. The six strings, played as the various frets are held, make different notes. As the process moves through changes, a melody unfolds.

Learning about guitar tabs for beginners is quite a simple task. New guitar players can play basic song melodies very soon after first picking up their instruments. More can be accomplished, however, by learning to play chords and more challenging rhythms. Chords are several notes played at once. They give songs a richer sound, and are useful in accompanying someone who is playing or singing the melody of a song. Much more information, and even free lessons are available online for new guitarists.

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