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Tablature on the Guitar

Reading tablature on the guitar fretboard:

In tablature reading, unlike the standard notation system, there are six lines instead of five. Each line represents a guitar string as shown in the diagram. The numbers on the tablature are fret numbers. The number ”0” means we play the open string.

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Note Durations

Although we are independent of standard notation reading, we are not independent of timing. For this reason, I am adding the note duration chart here. In the exercises and pieces, we present the tablature and the notation together. We can understand the timing of each number on the tablature, meaning each sound, from the note durations directly above it.

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Tablature and Staff

You can read the finger numbers on the fretboard from the tablature, and you can read the note durations along with the right- and left-hand fingerings from the staff.

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Exercises

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Beginner-Level Pieces

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Classical Guitar Pieces

If you have completed all the exercises and pieces above, you are now ready for polyphonic music. Before moving on to the polyphonic pieces where the true beauty of the guitar emerges, complete the arpeggio exercise below. In the right hand, we play the bass notes with the p finger and the treble notes with the i, m and a fingers:

If the arpeggio exercise is also complete, you are ready for your classical guitar journey:

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