DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME : Rotteneggs.com text files and message bases are for INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. DO NOT undertake any project based upon any information obtained from this or any other web site.We are not responsible for, nor do we assume any liability for, damages resulting from the use of any information on this site.
(126 votes) Published: Mar 25, 2006 11:39 p.m. In 10 Favorites Lists Viewed 686 times
First of all, this egg is not copied, this is a combination of what I know, and what I have learnt over the years...
THIS EGG IS PRETTY LONG, SO MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE TIME TO READ IT ALL, AS IT IS ALL IMPORTANT. IF YOU ARE A GOOD GUITARIST, YOU MAY KNOW MOST OR ALL OF THIS. PLEASE RATE WELL.
HOW TO PLAY GUITAR/BASS USING "TABS".
***What is a TAB*** A TAB or tablature is a method of writing down music played on a guitar or Bass. Instead of using musicall notations and symbols, it uses something called: ASCII characters and numbers, making it easy for people on the Internet to link up and view it, instead of having to download musical symbols and characters. They can highlight the TAB file, copy it to a word document, read it, and so on. (A notepad file would be better to copy it onto).
***What a TAB will tell you*** A TAB will tell you what notes to play. It will tell you which string to pluck and which fret to fret it at. TAB will also tell you where hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, slides, harmonics, and vibrato are used. TAB will usually tell you what kind of tuning the piece is in. If it is not told explicitly, assume that it is done in normal tuning... TABs will give an indication of what rythym is played. Whether it is a long not or short. The problem is, they wont show HOW long you play them for, you use your imagination for this. Assuming its a song you’re learning to play, etc.
***What a TAB won’t tell you*** TABs will not show you which fingers to fret a certain note at, my advice is to just do what feels best for you. TABs usually don’t tell you whether it is sposed to be plucked or strummed, its up to you whetther you use upstrokes or downstrokes...
***TAB Notation - The Basics*** TAB is simple to read, and should be simple enough to write down if it is a song you have worked on yourself. The idea is:
You start out with 6 lines (or 4 for bass, or if you are very talented, 12 lines for 12 string guitars). I am using 6 for now. These lines correspond to the strings of the instrument. The top line is the highest pitch string and the bottom is the lowest pitch string. Below is a blank bit of TAB with the string letters at the left side.
Numbers are written on the lines to show you where to fret the string with the left hand. If a zero - "0" appears, just play the open string. Like standard musical notation, you read from left to right, to find out what order to play the notes. The following piece of TAB would mean play the sequence of notes (E F F# G G# A) on the bottom E string by moving up a fret at a time, starting with the open string.
Here we have notes being played one at a time. If two or more notes are to be played together, they are written on top of one another (just like standar notation). In the next example we have a G bar chord.
Which would mean to strum the same shape starting at the bottom string, so that each string is hit slightly later than the last string, but all notees will ring together. Below is an example of the same shape again, but now the gaps between the notes are bigger - so you would probably pluck the strings seperatly, instead of slowly strumming the shape.
But, in essence, it would be easier to play a TAB to a song that you’ve heard, rather than one you’ve never heard, etc...
***What a TAB won’t tell you*** A lot of other important information can be included in a piece of TAB. This includes hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, bends, vibrato, and so on. The standard practise is to write extra letters or symbols between notes to indicate how to play them. Here are the letters/symbols most often used:
h - hammer on
p - pull off
b - bend string up
r - release bend
/ - slide up
\ - slide down
v - vibrato (also written as "~" - without quotes)
t - right hand tap
x - play note with heavy damping
For slides, "s" is sometimes used to indicate either an up or down slide. The last one - "x", is used to get a choppy, percussive sound. You usually use your fretting hand to lightly damp the strings so when you pick the note, it sounds dead.
There are a number of other symbols for things like whammy bar bends, pick scrapes, and so on. There seems to be no particular standard of writing these - details should be given in the TAB to explain what the symbols mean. Bass TABs will probably need a few extra symbols to cope with the different techniques - for example: slapping.
***Note length information*** Occasionally you will find a TAB which includes all information on all of the note lengths. There seems to be no particular ’standard’ way of doing this, but it usually involves a line of letters or symbols above the TAB.
THATS ALL I *THINK* YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT READING AND WRITING TAB!!
if you seriously do have any questions, that you feel I haven’t covered in this egg, please Message me...
Mar 26, 2006 3:02 am - nooooooo! my school friend nick was going to make an egg on this and hes never made an egg before, and he has nothing else do do an egg on so DAM YOU!
but still 4*
Mar 26, 2006 6:37 am - Don’t forget that in some tabs ([number]) is a ghost note , a harmonic note or if right after a bend , a continue’d bend.
ex : (9) Harmonic or Ghost note (depends on the song listen to it , and you could easily find out what is is)
ex : 9b12 (11) (10) (14) This is a continous bend , first you bend nine to sound as a 12 (pick at the string) , then 11 then 10 , then at last 14. But don’t pick at it for the last three notes , you use the first note to bend to all the other notes.
It’s pretty hard to explain , but I guess that’s about it.
Mar 28, 2006 1:44 pm - Did you just make an egg showing me how to read tabs? I really hope you didn’t... Please tell me you did not just make such an egg...
Apr 18, 2006 1:36 pm - 5* only because i also got a black SG.
SG ROCKS! BTW bend is usually marked by ^ with the next number indicating how much you should bend the string, like 14^16 means bending the 14th fret so it sounds as high as the 16th fret.
and if you do an egg on tabs you should give a tab site like ultimate-guitar
Edit Page
Message DaDevil
Add Comment
Add to Favorites
Email to Friend
