Acoustic Guitar Tabs - Know Them And Play Better Guitar music has its own special musical notation.  Rather than a guitarist using the standard musical notations which other musicians use i.e.,  staffs, notes, note values, ledger lines, key signatures and time signatures.  Guitar players will use a much simpler operational type of musical notation, known as the tab.  The advantage to using acoustic guitar tabs is that you can learn to play guitar without needing to learn to read music in the normal sense.  Tabs (tablatures) are not only used by guitarists but by other people who play any kind of stringed instrument. When you start to learn how to read these tabs, you will see in front of you a diagram with various different lines, numbers and dots on it.  The lines on the diagram represent the strings on the guitar the top one being string number one and the bottom line being string number six.  As for the numbers that appear on the diagram these represent the frets which are found on the neck or fingerboard of the guitar and which is where you fingers will need to be placed in order for the right note to be produced.  Yet if you see a Zero (0) on the line this then tells you that you need to leave this string open (no finger placed on it), where as the letter "X" informs you that the sound that this particular string produces needs to be muffled. If you are unsure as to what we mean by the Fret, this is the area that is located between the two metal bars that are on the neck (fingerboard) of the guitar.  Normally a good quality guitar will have between 21 and 24 frets on it.  In order to know which fret you need to place your finger a dot appears on the diagram in front of you. However when looking at these tabs you notice that all of the numbers appear on the same line one after another and the same goes for which fret you need to be by.  Then all you have to do is place your fingers in the location required and then just pluck that one string and no others.  This tab clearly shows that you must only play this note and this one note only. Yet if you find that as you, look at the diagram there is a number located on each line and they are then above one and another, this tells you that you must play all of these notes together.  In order to do this rather than pluck at the strings you need to strum all six of them at the same time. But as well as the tabs mentioned above there are other types that you will have to learn about including hammer on, bends, slides and pull offs if you want to be read acoustic guitar tabs.  The letter "H" denotes the Hammer On.  Whilst Pull Offs are denoted by the letter "P" and Bends by the letter "B" as for slides these are denoted by a slash "/".  So for example, you may see a notation for a  Hammer On, which reads 7h9 on the diagram in front of you. Once you are able to read acoustic guitar tabs you then need to start looking for some that you can practice.  Ideally go online and search for some easy acoustic guitar tabs and then pick a song (basic as possible) that not only do you know well and then start to play it.  But be warned you will find it will take some time before you are able to read and play these tabs as they take some getting use to.  But you will be surprised just how quickly you are able to pick them and read others ones as well. Also being able to hear the song that you are trying to learn makes it much easier for you to learn it as well.  Even if you do think that you remember how it goes, by listening to it whilst you are learning will help you with rhythm and detail of the song as well. Using acoustic guitar tabs to learn to play the guitar can be a great deal of fun and before long; you will be able to play several different songs.  Which you cannot only play for your own pleasure but also for impressing friends and family at parties as well.       Read also: