There are many people writing tablature on the internet and there are subtle variations throughout. Generally, everyone uses the same symbols and I will explain here the ones that I will be using. You will probably find that most other tablature is similar to this, too.
Okay - your standard guitar has six strings, right - so the tablature writer first draws out six lines, marking which is the relevant string on the guitar (EADGBE).
E ----------------------------------------------------------------
B ----------------------------------------------------------------
G ----------------------------------------------------------------
D ----------------------------------------------------------------
A ----------------------------------------------------------------
E ----------------------------------------------------------------
Then you have frets up the neck that we represent with numbers. For example - say we want to play a note of C on the A string at the 3rd fret. The tablature writer would illustrate that note as:
E ----------------------------------------------------------------
B ----------------------------------------------------------------
G ----------------------------------------------------------------
D ----------------------------------------------------------------
A ---3------------------------------------------------------------
E ----------------------------------------------------------------
Now we will look at how chords are written down. I prefer not to use tablature for notating chords as they aren't really that clear and I prefer to use the standard textual chord boxes. Below are the chords Cmajor and Gmajor also with their relative chord boxes.
E ---0------------------------3------------------------------------
B ---1------------------------3------------------------------------ Cmajor { x32010 }
G ---0------------------------0------------------------------------ Gmajor { 320033 }
D ---2------------------------0------------------------------------
A ---3------------------------2------------------------------------
E ---X------------------------3------------------------------------
Now we could write out a scale of C major on the tablature lines. The order in which the notes are played reads from left to right
E -----------------------------------------------------------------7---8---
B --------------------------------------------------------8---10---------
G -----------------------------------------7---9---10--------------------
D ---------------------------7---9---10----------------------------------
A -------------7---8---10------------------------------------------------
E ----8---10--------------------------------------------------------------
Unfortuneatly, there is no defined way of illustrating the length of the notes or where the notes will actually appear with a musical bar. We can get fairly close by inserting bar lines into the tablature. This will give you a basic idea of how many notes you have to play every time you count round the time signature. For example - if the piece is in 4/4 time and there are eight notes in the first bar (as shown below) then you know that as you count 1,2,3,4 you need to play all eight notes during that length of time. This kind of tablature is designed mainly for people who are learning a song that they actually have the recording for. When you buy tablature in the shops it has the actual music notation above it to justify the exact placing and length of the notes. It is my intention to include .wav files in my guitar lessons section so that you know what it is you are trying to play.
E --------------------------------------|-----------------------------
B --------------------------------------|------------------------------
G -----------------------------0---- ---|--0---------------------------
D --------------------0---2--------2---|------------------------------
A -----------0---2---------------------|------------------------------
E ---0---3------------------------------|------------------------------
That clears up the issue of which notes to play and roughly when to play them.
Now then; when God invented the guitar (!?!) he decided that man should be allowed to bend strings, slide up the fretboard, play harmonics, hold notes and allsorts. It is my duty now to fill you in on how that is shown in tablature. Below is a piece of tablature that contains a number of interesting features and below that is an explanation of the ones used. Please note that the 'x' in chord boxes does not represent a harmonic - it is a string that isn't played.
E ------------------------------------|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
B ------------------------------15---|------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
G ----12 h 14 p 12--14b16---(16)--|----12 / 14 / 16 \ 14 \ 12-----------------|---/12 ~~~~~~ -14---12/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\-------------|
D -----------------------------------|---------------------------14--12---9----|-----------------------------------------------------|
A -----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
E -----------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
E ---------------|---------------------|----------------------|------------------------|---------------------------------------|
B --12 tr 13-15-|---------------------|-12^13^15^13^12- |------------------------|-12 lt15 rt17 lt15 rt17---------------|
G ---------------|-12--14 b 16 r 14--|----------------------|------------------------|--------------------------12x--14X---|
D ---------------|--------------------|----------------------|-------------------------|---------------------------------------|
A ---------------|--------------------|----------------------|--------------------------|---------------------------------------|
E ---------------|--------------------|--------------------- |--0\\\\\full\\\\--////full/////0--|---------------------------------------|
h = Hammer-on................... This means to pick the first note then strike the string with your fretting hand at the next fret indicated - for example 12 h 14 means to pick the string at the 12th fret then hammer-on to the 14th fret.
p = Pull-off....................This is the reverse of hammering-on and involves picking the first note and then pulling the finger off the fretboard to play the second note - for example 14 p 12 means that you play the note at the 14th fret then release that finger to play the note at the 12th (fretted previously by another finger).
b = Bend the string. 14 b 16 means to pick the string at the 14th fret and then bend the string up 2 semitones to play the tonal equivilent to the note at the 16th fret.
r = Release the bend of the string. 14 b 16 r 14 means to bend the string 2 semitones and then lower the bend back to the original note. If there is no bend up indicated and the r sign is shown then this means a pre-bend - this involves bending the string up to the note shown and then striking the string and releasing the bend.
( ) = Notes in parentheses are notes that are still sounding from previously picked notes. They are not played again, they are shown to let the player know that the note is still being held. Beware - some tablature writers use brackets as a way of indicating string bends but they usually tell you this within the tab somewhere.
/ = Pick the note shown and then slide your finger up the fretboard to the next note shown without re-picking the string.
\ = The same as above, only sliding down.
~ = Vibrato.
/\/\/\ = Heavy vibrato - usually involving using the tremolo arm (whammy bar).
tr = Trill. Play the note shown then hammer on an pull off the second note repeatedly until the next note is to be played.
^ = Legato - play all of the notes as smoothly as possible.
lt = Tap the string at the fret indicated using a fretting hand finger (indicated as left-tap due to majority of right handed playing). This could technically just be a hammer-on but it is more obvious to look at the sequence as a tapping phrase.
rt = Tap the string at the fret indicated using a finger of the picking hand.
0\\\\\\full\\\\\\\ = This is what I use to illustrate use of the whammy bar. This shows the note picked and then the number of semitones that you lower the pitch by with the bar. The term 'full' here means that the whammy bar goes all the way down to the body. The whammy bar can either raise or lower the pitch and this is shown using the same method as the slide symbols.
x = A small 'x' means that the note is actually a natural harmonic
X = A large 'X' denotes an artificial harmonic.
m = Although not shown in the above tablature, this is what I use to show a muted note.
Well, there you go. I hope that I've helped you grasp reading tablature easier than before. Just looking around tablature on the internet as I wrote this page I have noticed many different ways in which people are writing their tab. I will stick to the above methods for any tablature that I write and any other tablature that appears on the page, well I'll make sure that an explanation to their symbols is included. See you later and keep playing.