Reading Guitar Tablature...

I am toataly Brain Dead when it comes to reading tab..I understand a few things the lines (Strings) the numbers (Fingers) The rest is all Foreign to me...thru on of my issues of Guitar World they have a Page that explanes certaint things like Palm Muting and Down strokes and up strokes but yet Its still confusing to me..is there any cheap and Easy ways to learn to read tab?

If you could give me some exemples of what you don't understand I could shed some light on it.

If the charts are confusing to you then the best way is to analyze some of the tabs that give you a hard time.

there is all the different keys...I know the stings the number is for frets.. Thats about the basics..Theres the curves then all the different symbols i know there is the down stroke the up stroke and so on..I need some website or book that will teach me to read tablature..its like band you have all these symbols and no way to know what they are..in the guitars case..since my mother was big into guitar i learned the way the guitar is lined up on paper is a lefty style..numbers indicate the fret used however when you look at guitar cord set ups the numbers are fingers as the pointer is one the middle is 2 and so on...Its a complicated set up and it would help..I know the PM with the --- is palm muting other then that you get the D E5 with certain fret placements..you have all these lines and boxed lines that are located with the Numbers and its all a blur...

Like i said its a brain dead situation...

Im looking for a good way to learn what it all means

We have a small tablature legend that might help you

http://www.guitartricks.com/contribute/main.php#

click on the tabs symbol link.

You'll have an exemple for both text tablature and notation.

thanks...It should help there is so much more to learn..but that helps a bit

Hozzy, I'm in the same boat as you are - a green beginner. I recently had the same questions you do and went to the bookstore and bought a copy of Rock Guitar for Dummies. Don't let the title disuade you from buying it . In the last few nights of reading ,it has opened many doors and answered many questions I have had. I found that it is a very light read and has many tips and some excersices to follow and has a bit of humor mixed in to keep your attention . It has chord tables to follow , a chapter on tab itself and a few famous rock names you can read about . Keep trying, don't quit learning - eventually we'll both be burning up our fretboards.

Here's another great resource for learning how to read tab:

http://www.thenextstepguitar.com/lessons/tab_guide.html