Tablature

I use staff notation to provide examples in my articles on music theory. However, I consistently use tablature and nothing else for guitar exercises. This is not just because I am lazy and it is easier to make tablature as ASCII text than to copy and paste music examples from my notation program.

To write my exercises in proper music notation would be overkill. The exercises are almost without exception to be played in an even rhythm anyway, which kind of obviates the main selling point of notation, i.e. relative note values. The purpose of tablature is to put the right fingers on the right strings and frets, which is all that the exercises actually need. To write them in music notation would mean tons of accidentals and I have decided that the reader will understand that it would not be worth the hassle for either of us.

My brand of tablature follows rules and guidelines that are consistent to me, and therefore they might differ from what you find on the WWW in general. Therefore, I hereby provide this tablature legend:

General Principles

Tablature is a graphical method that does not illustrate pitches, but which strings are to be played and on which frets. The tablature staff consists of six lines, representing the six strings on a guitar, upside-down as you would see them when holding the guitar normally.

The numbers that are placed on the strings indicate which frets are to be pressed down by the fretting hand. A zero indicates an open string.

Where fingerings are critical, they are indicated below the tab staff by the numbers 1 through 4, where 1 is the index finger, and 4 is the pinky.

Two-handed playing is indicated with a T (for picking-hand tap-on) or an H (for fretting-hand tap-on).

A regular D major chord in tablature:

E--2---|
B--3---|
G--2---|
D--0---|
A------|
E------|

An arpeggiated D major chord with fingering:

E--------2---|
B------3-----|
G----2-------|
D--0---------|
A------------|
E------------|
     1 3 2

Articulation

Unless otherwise stated, every note is to be picked. The exceptions are stated as follows below:

  Hammer-on     Pull-off     Nonlegato slide    Legato slide
E-------------|------------|-------------------|---------------
B-5--h7-------|-7--p5------|-5--s7-------------|-5---s(7)------
G-------------|------------|-------------------|---------------
D-------------|------------|-------------------|---------------
A-------------|------------|-------------------|---------------
E-------------|------------|-------------------|---------------

Bending Strings

Half-step bend   Whole-step bend   1½-step bend   2-step bend
E--------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------|
B-5--b½--------|-5--b1-----------|-5--b1½-------|-5--b2---------|
G--------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------|
D--------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------|
A--------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------|
E--------------|-----------------|--------------|---------------|


Bend + release   Pre-bend + release    Hold bend, fret, release
E--------------|---------------------|--------------------------|
B-5--b1---r----|-5pb1----r-----------|-5b1h>---6--5r------------|
G--------------|---------------------|--------------------------|
D--------------|---------------------|--------------------------|
A--------------|---------------------|--------------------------|
E--------------|---------------------|--------------------------|