My new Guitar

Ive just got a new electric guitar, i think its pretty awesome. i live in a really small town so im restricted to books. i have a book that shows me the chords so i have all the chords practiced but im having alot of trouble getting music of the net cause i dont know how to read tabs or music properly. i read the how to read tabs part on this site but im not sure about whether to play the frets individually on the tabs or what... n yeah- its confusing.

Help!

Leesha x

tabs are easier to read than musical notes! it really depends on what the tab is. example: if the tab has a number thats right above another number ( like a minor chord or a power chord ) they are played at the same time.
like an open E chord:
|-0-| see how the numbers are stacked on each other.
|-0-| this means that they are played together in one
|-1-| picking stroke.
|-2-|
|-2-|
|-0-|
and if the tab looks like this-
|------0-| this means that they are played
|-----0--| individually in a down picking stroke.
|----1---| pick the notes slowly downwards and
|---2----| let all the notes ring together.
|--2-----|
|-0------|

and most of the time you'll find a tab that looks like this:
|-15-12--12--------------------------------------------------|
|-------15--15-12-15-12---12--------------------------------|
|------------------------14---14-12-14-12-------------------|
|------------------------------------------14-12-------------|
|------------------------------------------------14-12-------|
|------------------------------------------------------15-12-|
this tablature of notes is picked individually. they're not on top of each other
like a chords notes. it is a solo tab.
you can put these tabs together now. starting with the individually picked solo tab and on to the all-together picked chords tab!
this is mostly just basics. you'll find tabs that have symbles and letters here and there like:
|----------------------------------------------15h17h19/22b24~v-|
|-------------------------------------15h17h19-------------------|
|----------------------------14h15h17----------------------------|
|-------------------14h15h17-------------------------------------|
|----------12h14h15----------------------------------------------|
|-12h14h15-------------------------------------------------------|
the "h" stands for "hammer-on"s, the "/" stands for slide up, the "b" stands for
bend the note to the next note and the "~" and "v" are kinda the same, they
both mean vibrato the note. except "v" is more like a rapid vibrato and "~" is less rapid. ( more like smooth... ). i hope this helps.
btw-what brand/kind of guitar did you get?

What kinda guitar did you get...electric or acoustic...brand?

Important note about tabs...lots of people get confused by tabs because they think of it like they are looking at a guitar neck in front of them. You should think of it as if you're holding the guitar on your lap and looking down on it. So to use kafofkah's example of an E chord, you can see that a tab is arranged with the notes being

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

Also I don't know if this was clear to you, but the numbers on the tab represent the fret that you should be playing beind. So on that tab above, on the E string (the one closest to your face when you play your guitar) you should not hold down any frets. On the second string, the A string, you should hold down the string at the second fret. And so on.

Good luck with learning and if you have any trouble with it just let us know. :)

Thank you so much guys, you really helped me out. I got a new Betamanns? electric guitar. Im kinda new to it all so i dont know if its a good one or not. i love it but, i think it rocks! Ive got all holidays now to practice cause i just finished school- YEAH!!!!!!!

Anyways, im sure i'll be back to you guys with the next obsticle i face playing the guitar. i need to upgrade so i can watch that video on how to play brown eyed girl... its my song!

Thanks a heap- Alycia x

ahh i love the feeling of a satisfied beginner...makes me puffy and warm inside...u will have fun with ur guitar...because guitars are simply groovy..

Welcome!

You've come to the right place. GT is loaded with talented folks who really enjoy helping out and answering questions. Good luck and have fun!

hey i got the tabs for one of my fav songs, good riddance by greenday but its too hard! i cant pick the beggining part fast enough. Do any of you have any suggestions for some good songs to start with?

(i cant believe i can read tabs now, lol!)

thanks guys- Leesha

I'm not sure wich site your useing for your tabs. Just keep in mind when searching for Tabs that alot of sites will give you somewhat different tabs for the same song.

Try this one: http://www.fretplay.com/tabs/g/green_day/good_riddance-tab.shtml


It seems simple enough, you shouldn't have to much trouble with it. Don't try and start out going as fast as the actual song, remeber you need to walk before you can run.

I also suggest you check out http://guitartricks.com/guide.php Its a great step by step guide with some neat easy to learn songs for begginers.

One tip I can offer about tabs is to go slow at first. Make sure you play the notes in order, and can do it correctly before you speed up. I've also read that doing only a few measures at a time really helps. Listening to a section of a song and breaking it down while following along in the tab works for me if I get bogged down too.

One thing tabs usually lack in are the melody and playing techniques commonly used by the artists. That is something usually learned on your own by listening and practice. Many tabs are someones interpretation of the song, so let your ear be the judge. If a part doesn't sound right you can sometimes take the notes that do, find the key or scales they are associated with and figure it out yourself, which is one of the practices that build confidence in your playing.

Its okay everyone- i got good riddence down packed now! lol. ive got a friend coming over weekly to show me a thing or two but i really wanna rock out on my guitar. Does anyone have any idea's for some good easy rock songs for the electric? like system of a down, korn, MM or something heavy? i tried some tabs for system of a down and i got a couple of there songs but most of them are picking... which is fun but i want it to sound official on he amp! lol.

thanks guys- ya never let me down ;)

Leeshaaa

Wanna rock out, you say? Learn power chords. Nothing heavier, or easier to learn, than good ol' power chords. Crank up the distortion and you're good to go.