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Posted by: manwesulimo2004 Feb 16 2012, 11:26 AM

I just checked out the Lick of the Day and realised how much I don't know about reading guitar tabs. I'm familiar with the basics (and I just read http://www.guitarmasterclass.net/guitar_forum/index.php?showtopic=4141) but I still have some questions:

E S S E S S S S S S S S S S E. S S S E Q Q
E||-------0---3b--0------0----------------|---------------------------||
B||---3b----0-------0-3b---0--------------|---------------------------||
G||*-------------------------2br-L-0------|--------------------------*||
D||*---------------------------------2p-0-|------2-L-2---------------*||
A||---------------------------------------|----------------2----------||
E||---------------------------------------|--0---------3b--0----------||
[Unfortunately the editor is scrapping the correct spacing so some characters are a bit off here.]

What do those stars (*) mean and what's with the letters above the tab (E, S, Q)? Thanks for your help.

Also, it would be cool if a link or button was added to the tab section of Lick of the Day, linking beginners to a guide or some kind of reference to help them understand things better.

Posted by: Ben Higgins Feb 16 2012, 12:16 PM

Hey there Those letters at the top refer to the note duration.. like half note, quarter note etc. However, you don't need to worry about them so much, espeically if you have the music itself to hand because you can hear it anyway.

For a complete list of the symbols used in the tab, go to any GMC lesson and click on one of the lesson parts (not the main video), one of the numbered videos.. it should show some tab underneath each lesson part. Underneath that will be a button called Tab Legend. If you click that a little pop up menu appears with the symbols and explanations

I'm not sure about the * symbol either, sorry !!

Posted by: dark dude Feb 16 2012, 01:42 PM

I believe that the * is being used here to indicate the start and end of that section.

It really depends on the tab, I've seen * used to indicate pinch harmonics before, so if the song doesn't have a tab legend, as Ben mentioned above, I'd have a quick look at the song/video to check.

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about E (8th notes), S (16th notes) and Q (quarter notes), tabs are bad at illustrating the length of notes, so this is an attempt to give you a better idea. Would always listen to the lick, track or the video to get a feel for the timing instead.

Posted by: Alex Feather Feb 16 2012, 10:18 PM

QUOTE (manwesulimo2004 @ Feb 16 2012, 10:26 AM)

Posted by: manwesulimo2004 Feb 17 2012, 07:17 PM

Ooooooh. Thanks everyone. It makes sense now.

Posted by: Alex Feather Feb 17 2012, 10:54 PM

QUOTE (manwesulimo2004 @ Feb 17 2012, 06:17 PM)

Ooooooh. Thanks everyone. It makes sense now.