Tab: the line is a string, the number is a fret

Lay the guitar flat on your lap, strings facing up, and look at the tab. The top line is the thinnest string, the one nearest the floor when you play, and the bottom line is the thickest, nearer your face.

That turn is enough for the page to stop looking like six random dashes: tab is a simplified view of the strings, read left to right like text.

The line first, then the number

The line names the string, and the number names the fret. If a 1 sits on the B line, you press the second string at the first fret; a 3 on the same line keeps you on the second string and moves the finger to the third fret.

Zero means an open string, struck with no left-hand pressure. In the example above it sits on the top line, so you play the thinnest string, e. You do not yet need the note names. Follow the instruction: string, fret, stroke.

Numbers stacked vertically sound together

When several numbers sit exactly one above another, you strike those strings at the same time, because that is how tab writes a chord. Numbers placed one after another are a melody: notes played in sequence.

You do not need hammer-ons, slides or ornaments yet. Meet them one by one when a song actually uses them. Lines, numbers, zero and the vertical stack are enough to read the first melody.

Tab shows where, not always when

Play the four numbers from the figure in even gaps, then in the rhythm of the words of Panie Janie. The fingers do the same work; only the second version sounds like the song.

Simple tab does not carry the exact length of a note. You take the time from your ear, from the notation beside it, or from highlighting in the player. Do not assume the numbers always say how long to hold a note.

Four notes from Panie Janie

Open the song, switch on the Tab layer and stay with the first phrase: B1 B3 e0 B1. That is C, D, E, C. Play it slowly without playback. Then turn playback on and watch whether the finger is on the right line as the highlight moves.

If the strings blur, name the two lines aloud: the top one is e, the second from the top is B. The exercise Find the note is useful later. It is not a condition for this phrase.

If the numbers are right but the tune is not

Check the direction first: the thick E string is at the bottom of the tab, even though you see it at the top while you play. Mixing that layout puts the right frets on the wrong strings, so everything looks correct and none of the notes match the melody.

Then check every zero, because an open string must ring like a note pressed at a fret. Do not skip it and do not mute it with the left hand: in the first phrase of Panie Janie the zero is the third note, not a rest.

Finally separate the fingers from the rhythm. Play the phrase without the backing and say with each move: “B one, B three, e zero, B one”. When the order is sure, add the melody’s rhythm. Fixing place and time at once usually hides where the mistake appeared.

Can tab teach a whole song?

Yes, if you already know its rhythm, or the tab sits beside notation and playback. Tab itself is a strong map of the neck, but it does not replace listening. A known melody is a good start because the ear flags a mistake faster than the eye.

In time you will recognise repeating shapes and stop reading every number on its own. Do not force that. The first goal is smaller: look at any place on the six lines and name the string and fret without hesitation.