MusicRadar

Tab actually pre-dates traditional music score, let alone the internet...

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You don't have to be able to read music to play guitar. Because most notes can be played in several different positions on the guitar, traditional music notation can sometimes make getting music off the page and onto your guitar quite tricky. Thankfully, tab is here to save the day.

Each line in the tab notation represents a string on the guitar and each number represents a fret number. It's that simple. There are some symbols which represent different guitar techniques like string bends and hammer-ons and pull-offs. We've put together a guide to help you make sense of these symbols, which will make tab even easier to understand.

Click here for MusicRadar's tab guide (in pdf format) - feel free to print out this guide for your own reference.