Great Beginner Guitar Tabs

Pick up the old guitar (or the new guitar if you just made your first purchase), and pay attention. It is time to learn some great guitar tabs for beginners.

You might be wondering, what is a guitar tab? The actual term is guitar tablature, and it is basically a notation designed as an easy-to-read alternative to sheet music. If you cannot read sheet music, then tabs are most likely what you are going to be studying for the next several months (although it is highly recommended that you learn to read sheet music as well).

Guitar tabs are laid out exactly like the strings on a guitar, beginning with the low E (6th string, the thickest) at the bottom of the tab and ending with the high e (1st string, the thinnest) at the top of the tab. Here is an example of a guitar tab courtesy of http://www.ultimate-guitar.com:

How Tabs are Labeled:

It’s Easy to Learn. Figuring out the fingering and how to play the notes on a tab is not too difficult. All you have to remember is that tabs begin with low E on the bottom and end with high E at the top. Notes are marked using numbers 0-25+. This allows for direct response so that you can match up the number to the frets immediately.

Tuning. Some tabs do require a different kind of tuning, and if you are new to guitar, it is safer to stay away from the tabs that require special tuning until you feel comfortable with the tuning process. However, some songs only require Drop-D tuning, a relatively straightforward way to tune. Simply pluck the low E string (6th, thickest) on the 7th fret and the A string (5th) open at the same time. Then, tune the E string until the note perfectly matches the pitch of the A string. Congrats, you have now mastered Drop-D tuning. Also, a tuner can do this in half the time and with greater precision if you are interested in making the investment.

Symbols. The concept of the symbols on a guitar tab is the same as a map. Instead of having small pictures depicting the action, tab-creators use letters and symbols easily created by a standard keyboard. The chart to the right shows the standard symbol chart, but keep in mind that there are hundreds of variations because of the limitless distortions and/or effects you can try with a guitar.

Now, as promised, below is a list of some great guitar tabs that are not only notable songs to learn, but also teach the fundamentals of guitar-playing:

Almost every song ever produced now has a tab for it, so as the saying goes, pick your poison. Whatever you want to learn, go for it. You are more likely to practice long hours working toward a song or sound that you enjoy. The above choices are optimal songs to learn on, but you will put forth a much greater effort to learn a song you appreciate for your own reasons. Good luck!