Need some basic info on guitar tabs

Hi,

I've just recentely started out practicing the guitar and going through the fundamental lessons here on guitar tricks. I've just noticed the metronome and its been helping get a feel for how the music should sound like in proper time but I'm having an issue with the guitar tabs in the lessons provided.

I looked around though I didnt find any info so I'm asking here. What do the numbers at the top of the tab in the lessons mean? it says something like "moderate (musical note) =120" for example. and the 4/4 at the beginning of the tab. How do i use this information to set my metronome according to the piece of music? Do i use the top info or the 4/4 info or both? For some reason the videos and explanations on the tabs here dont seem to explain this part of the tabs.

Thank you.

Hey & welcome!

Originally Posted by: sirnadWhat do the numbers at the top of the tab in the lessons mean? it says something like "moderate (musical note) =120" for example.

The number is the Beats Per Minute. If you want to use your metronome, then set it at 120 BPM (Beats Per Minute).

However, I encourage beginners just starting out on the fundamentals to simply play along with me on the video. It's a lot to ask for a beginner to deal with learning to play & learning to use a metronome. The use of the metronome is covered in depth later on in GF2.

The BPM indication on the notation scores is mostly just included for the sake of completeness. Hope this helps!

If you have more questions, please ask. :) Have fun!

welcome!!

another thing that beginning guitarists should consider when using the metronome...when a song is at say 120BPM (beats per minute) you most likely wouldnt be playing that song that fast, especially if your a beginner.
Its always best to slow it way down to say 60-70bpm and once you can play it comfortably at that speed, you can then work your way up to the actual song speed. It's a pain in the butt to do but it works.

hey all,
Good advice, I always say slow it down, get it right, and the speed will come. After you get used to what you're doing, then go with the metronome. If you rush it, you may end up getting very frustrated. It's also good to get a feel for things at a slower speed too.

Happy new year, and let us know if you need more help.