When you are starting out your guitar playing hobby, you will soon come across with something called ‘tabs’. The guitar tablature or guitar tabs is a special system of music notation that helps guitarists play specific songs without necessarily learning to read standard sheet music.

So how easy is it to read guitar tabs?

Mixed Opinions

When it comes to guitar tabs, the opinion is divided between those who believe they make reading music a lot easier and to those who think it’s not an easy method. As guitar tabs are an alternative to standard sheet music, some also believe it isn’t the most musical approach to learning to play.

Tabs are essentially a much simplistic way of showing how you can play specific notes and therefore, often considered theeasiest way to master playing the guitar.
Tabs always use the generic model and thus once you learn the format, understanding all the other tabswill be straightforward. Furthermore, tabs are great for beginners because they show the specific finger positions on the strings.

For example, here is the tab for playing ‘Happy Birthday’ on the guitar:

On the other hand, if you already know how to read music – perhaps you play another instrument – learning to play the guitar with tabs could just make it all too confusing. If you know the traditional method of reading sheet music, it might be worth sticking to this format.

Furthermore, just knowing where to place your fingers doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll make the song sound right. Guitar tabs won’t tell you anything about the little bends or riffs the song might have and therefore, it might be helpful to always listen to the songs as well!

Alternatives to Guitar Tabs

If you are just starting out and you are looking to play the guitar as a hobby, guitar tabs are a great way to master the instrument. They generally offer a very easy approach to playing a song. On top of this, the Internet offers a number of guitar tab resources – you can find a huge amount of tabs for all sorts of songs.

But if you are serious about your musical career, you do want to consider tackling the traditional way of reading music. Don’t be afraid of music theory; it isn’t as difficult as it might look!

It is technically possible to play the guitar just by your ear. This would mean listening to a specific note or a chord and then trying to find the right position by trial and error. Although it is certainly possible to play the guitar by the ear, it won’t be very easy and your progress won’t be as quick as if you learn to read tabs or traditional sheet music.

On the other hand, guitar video lessons can be a great addition to your music playing. With a video, you can see the position of the fingers and hear the sound you are supposed to make as well. Video lessons alone might not be enough, especially if you are aiming to learn to play fast, but together with other guitar resources, they can boost your understanding of the instrument a great deal.