Guitar tablature is a specific type of notation using diagrams and numbers to represent the placement of fretting hand fingers at particular points on the guitar neck. Tablature consists of numbers placed on a stave of six horizontal lines.
Each horizontal line represents one of the guitar strings. The line at the bottom of the staff is string 6, low E, the thickest string. The line at the top of the staff is string 1, high E, the thinnest string.
String 1 E (thin) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
String 2 B ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
String 3 G ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
String 4 D ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
String 5 A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
String 6 E (thick) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Numbers placed on the staff indicate the frets at which the left-hand fingers are placed. 0 indicates an open (unfretted) string. Tablature is read sequentially from left to right.
--1-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------3---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------------------------------------7---------------------------------------------
--------------------------------0-----------------------------------------------------------
-------------------5------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------0-------------------------------
Tablature may also indicate the sounding of multiple notes (chords) simultaneously. In this case, the numbers are stacked vertically across the staff.
--0-----------3-----------2------------------------------------------------------------------
--2-----------0-----------3------------------------------------------------------------------
--2-----------0-----------2------------------------------------------------------------------
--2-----------0-----------0------------------------------------------------------------------
--0-----------2-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------3-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tablature is limited in that it only indicates where the strings are fretted. It does not indicate which fingers to use to play particular notes. Nor tablature generally indicate rhythm and note duration.
