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Pull Tab

Pull Tab

Guitar Tabs For Beginners (Part 1)

Guitar Tabs For Beginners (Part 1)

Hey Everyone, and welcome to our latest article. We are doing what we can to help you learn how to play guitar. In this article we will be talking all about tab music reading. Why it's important and how it can shave years off of your learning time.

TAB music notation is nothing new, it has been widely used for organ music notation since the 1300's. TAB music notation is a viable way to learn to play guitar.

What Is Tab (tabulator)? It is a different way to read music. A common way to remember what TAB Stands for is T= Treble A= Alto B= Bass.

TAB sheet music for guitars usually has a line going left to right. Each line represents a string on the guitar. The bottom line on the tab music represents the low E string on the guitar and the top line on the tab sheet music is the high E string.

------E------------------------

------B------------------------

------G------------------------

------D------------------------

------A------------------------

------E-------------------------

Now that you know what each line is, now we need to talk about what the numbers on the lines mean. So lets say that there is the #5 on the first line of the tab sheet music. This would symbolize the A note on the low E string. As you can see below this is a very easy way to learn how to read music. It is the same for each line and number.

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---------5------5--------5------5-----

Guitar Tab Chord Reading

Reading chords in TAB is basically the same as reading it in note. The main difference is that instead of playing a single note you play multiple notes at the same time. It is important to remember that you should only play the strings that have numbers on them.

A5 Or Power Chord

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---------2---------2-----------------

---------2---------2-----------------

---------0---------0-----------------

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Guitar Tab Symbols

So now you know the basics to reading tab. Lets talk about what all the symbols you see on top of the tab notes. Each one of the symbols below is a representation of a motion to be done on the guitar. It is important that you memorize each one of these for sight reading. In doing this it will make it a lot easier for you to learn to read sheet music.

 

h - hammer on

p - pull off

b - bend string up

r - release bend

/ - slide up

- slide down

v or ~ - vibrato

t - right hand tap

What do all these symbols mean and how do you use them?

Below we will go through each one of these TAB symbols.

A hammer on is done by playing the first note and then just fretting the second one. You do not play the second note with the pick. Example: Using your left hand you want to put your index finger on the 5th fret and play the note, then while the note is ringing out put your ring finger on the 7th fret that is the basics to a hammer on.

-----5h7--------- Hammer On

A pull off is the opposite as a hammer on. Instead of playing the 5th fret first you would play the 7th fret then let it go while still holding the 5th fret.

------7p5-------- Pull Off

A bend is represented by the letter b after the number that needs to be bent. All the bends should be made one step up unless otherwise noted. What this means is that the highest note in the bend should be the same as a note that is played 2 frets up. Example: if you bend on fret 5 it should sound like fret 7 at it's highest point of the bend.

--------7b------------- Bend

A release bend is similar to a standard bend except when it is released, you should drop to the note # that is represented in the tab. Example Bend on the 7th fret and the release the 7th to the 5th fret after bend,

----------7r5------------- Bend Release

A slide note is played by striking the first note and then while the note is ringing out you slide your finger to the note that is indicated.

--------5/7---------------- Slide Up

A slide down is similar to a slide up but the opposite way. You would do this by playing the first note and sliding down to the note indicated.

-------7/5----------------- Slide Down

 

Vibrato can be indicated two different ways, it just depends on who is writing the tab. Vibrato can also be played two different ways. The first way is to use the whammy bar, you just play the note and then use the whammy bar up and down quickly. The second way is to do the vibrato is with your finger. You simply just play the note and then quickly bend the string up and down.

-------5v----------------- Vibrato

or

------5~--------------- Vibrato

Tapping is a way to play a note without picking it with your right hand. To tap a note you simply just place your left hand over the note you want to tap, then you tap it lightly with the right finger this will sound the note.

---------7t--------------------- Note Tap

That is it for this article. There are more symbols that are used in TAB but we think you should focus on these ones at first. Once you have all of these mastered then you can move on to the next TAB article.

Thanks and we will see you in the nest article. As always please take the time to check out our featured product.

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My mom used to sell a type of pull tab where you win items not cash, where can she find these pull tabs?

Once she sold all the slots, the winner would get ornaments, household items, etc and the person selling it would get the same prize. She is wondering if anyone knows if these are still around. Thanks.

That is from the seventies and eighties. I don't believe the company that did this exists anymore. More modern pull tabs have come under scrutiny as games of chance and are classified as a type of gambling which requires different permits then the raffles that those games once were. There are still bingo houses and other places that employ the pull tab form of raffle where state law permits but each state has very different rules some more strict than others.

Like any other form of gambling/raffle depending on where you live you might find these available but they no longer advertise them as a way of house wives to make money. Instead, they suggest various work at home jobs or companies like party light where you can make money selling candles to your friends and neighbors.

Smart Boards Using Pull Tabs