How to Read Guitar Tabs

Published 6 November 2026.

Guitar tab shows you which string to play and which fret to press. You read it from left to right, like a line of text. This guide covers how to read guitar tabs: the lines, the numbers, the common symbols, and the part tab often leaves out, which is rhythm.

The Six Lines Are Your Strings

A guitar tab has six horizontal lines, one for each string. In standard tuning they look like this:

e|----------------|  high E (thinnest string)
B|----------------|
G|----------------|
D|----------------|
A|----------------|
E|----------------|  low E (thickest string)

The low E string is at the bottom of the tab and the high E string is at the top. The letters on the left name the open strings. Check them before you start, because a tab may use a different tuning. In drop D, for example, the bottom line is still the thickest string, but you tune it down from E to D.

Numbers Tell You Which Frets to Play

A number on a line tells you which fret to press on that string. A 0 means play the string open, without pressing a fret. Follow the numbers from left to right:

e|----------------|
B|----------------|
G|----------------|
D|----------------|
A|-----0--2--3----|
E|--0-------------|

Here you play the open low E string, then the open A string, then frets 2 and 3 on the A string. You don't play every string each time. A line with only dashes has no note at that point.

Fret numbers are positions on the neck, not finger numbers. A 3 means the third fret, whichever finger you use to reach it.

Stacked Numbers Are Played Together

Numbers lined up vertically are played at the same time. That is how tab shows a chord:

e|--0--|
B|--1--|
G|--0--|
D|--2--|
A|--3--|
E|-----|

These notes form a C chord shape. The low E line is blank, so you don't play that string. If the shape is new to you, find each note on its own before playing the strings together.

What Common Tab Symbols Mean

Symbols tell you how to play a note. These are common conventions, not fixed rules, so check the key that comes with a tab if its notation is unclear.

• h (hammer-on): in 5h7, play fret 5, then press fret 7 firmly with another finger without picking again.
• p (pull-off): in 7p5, play fret 7, then pull that finger off so the note at fret 5 sounds.
• / and \ (slides): 5/7 means slide up from fret 5 to 7, and 7\5 means slide down. Keep your finger on the string as you move.
• b (bend): 7b9 usually means bend the string at fret 7 until it reaches the pitch of fret 9.
• r (release): after a bend, let the string come back to its unbent pitch.
• ~ (vibrato): let the note ring while you gently move its pitch up and down.
• x (muted note): usually a percussive sound with the string muted so it doesn't ring. In some chords it means don't play that string.
• PM (palm mute): rest the edge of your picking hand lightly on the strings near the bridge, for a shorter, duller sound.

You don't need to learn every symbol before you play. Start with the lines and numbers, and pick up each technique when a tab uses it.

Bars, Rhythm and Tuning

Vertical marks such as | split a tab into bars, or measures. They help you keep your place and find a short passage to practise. They don't tell you how long to hold each note.

Many plain-text tabs give little or no rhythm. The spacing between numbers can hint at timing, but it rarely shows note lengths or rests clearly. Listen to the song while you follow the tab to hear when each note falls. Guitar Pro files can include rhythm notation, so note lengths and timing are written down.

Look for the tuning at the start of the tab too. If the strings are tuned differently from standard E A D G B E, the same fret numbers give different notes. If you play the written frets and it sounds wrong, check the tuning before you change the notes.

Practise With the Tab and the Recording

Pick one or two bars. Find the strings and frets first, then listen to that passage while you follow the tab. Notice where each note lands in the recording rather than relying on the spacing in the tab.

If the passage is too fast, slow the song down with the pitch kept, if your player can do that. Repeat the hard bars until the notes and timing feel comfortable, then build back up to full speed. A short loop gives you more tries at a hard change than playing the whole song again. There is a step-by-step routine in how to slow down a song for guitar practice.

Practising Tabs in LumaFrets

You can build a practice setup from separate tools for tabs, slowing down, splitting audio and guitar sound, or use one app. The routine is the same either way: open the tab, hear the song, find the passage and repeat it at a speed you can manage.

LumaFrets is a desktop app for Mac, Windows and Linux. It opens your own Guitar Pro (3 to 7), MusicXML and TuxGuitar files and shows the tab as a 3D note highway in time with a YouTube video or your own audio file. You can slow the song from 25% to 100% with the pitch kept, loop a passage and use the speed trainer. It also has a tuner that follows the tab's tuning, a count-in, a click and scoring. It is free to download. Pro is a one-time $39 and adds splitting your own audio file into parts. LumaFrets doesn't edit tabs and has no tab library, so you need a tab file first. For other options, see free guitar tab players for Mac, Windows and Linux.

Download LumaFrets for Mac, Windows or Linux.

Whatever you use, start with three questions for each note: which string, which fret, and when it happens. Once you can answer those, you can play along with a tab.

Download LumaFrets free