Guitar tablature

Guitar tablature
Guitar tablature consists of a series of horizontal lines forming a staff (or stave) similar to standard notation. Each line represents one of the instrument's strings. Therefore standard guitar tab has a six-line staff and bass guitar tab has four lines. The top line of the tablature represents the highest-pitched string of the guitar. By writing tablature with the lowest pitched notes on the bottom line and the highest pitched notes on the top line of the tablature follows the same basic structure and layout of Western Standard Notation.
The following examples are labelled with letters on the left denoting the string names, with a lowercase e for the high E string. Tab lines may be numbered 1–6 instead, representing standard string numbering, where "1" is the high E string, "2" is the B string, etc.
The numbers that are written on the lines represent the fret used to obtain the desired pitch. For example, the number 3 written on the top line of the staff indicates that the player should press down at the third fret on the high E (first string). Number 0 denotes the nut—that is, an open string.
For chords, a letter above or below the tab staff denotes the root note of the chord.
Examples of guitar tab notation:The chords E, F, and G:

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

Below is a simple melody in tablature.


e---0-1-3-5-3-1-0-- -----------------
B------------------3--1---------------
G-------------------------------------
D-------------------------------------
A-------------------------------------
E-------------------------------------


[edit] Lower Section
In the lower section of the example above, the top line represents the thinnest string of the guitar (high e) and the lowest line represents the thickest string of the guitar (low E). Each number on a line represents a fretted note on that string. The number zero is an open string, the number one is the first fret, and so on.
The tab is divided into bars using bar-lines but the duration of the notes is not indicated. You can figure out the duration of the notes using the Standard Notation in the upper section. You can also work out the note values using the time signature; which in this example is four-four time. This means that there are four quarter-notes in each bar. The tempo or style, which is given at the top of a piece of sheet music, is also an indicator of how a song should be played.
The key signature is not shown in the example. Key signatures show which sharps or flats are to be used; represented by #'s and b's. Each sharp or flat is shown on their respective line and space after the time signature.
[edit] Upper Section
The upper section of the example above is in Standard Notation and shows that the first bar has 8 notes. Each note is represented by an oval note-head which indicates which note is to be played and the note stem indicates the notes duration (how long the note is to be held). Because the notes in the first bar are all eighth notes they are connected with a beam as shown in the example. The beaming of the same notes in a bar allows for easier reading. Eighth notes would normally be shown with a single tail which here is replaced by a single beam. Sixteenth notes have two tails so a double beam is used when grouping.
At the end of the last eighth note there is a vertical bar-line. The bar-lines are used to show the pulse and rhythm of a piece of music. If a note is tied over the bar-line with a curved tie-line, then the note duration is held over to the next bar. Bars must never have more notes in them than is indicated by the time signature. In the next bar there is a whole note, which is an oval that is not shaded in the middle and has no stem.
The two vertical black lines at the end are called a double bar-line and this shows that the piece of music has ended.

"Every Good Boy Deserves Food" and the word "face" = egbdf and face

STAR Kids Rhythm

Drumming With Kids
STAR Kids Rhythm

Sound like FUN? You bet it is! Drums & Percussion are FUN!
Kids are instinctive drummers!
Music is so interesting. If you are ready to ROCK, we will show you how we ROLL!
STAR Kids Rhythm is an exciting music, movement, drumming and character-building program designed to integrate rhythm into the lives of children, educators, schools, families and communities.
You will sing, drum and dance together to the infectious beats--it's hard not to dance.
What are some of these principles?
1. Study and regular practice increase your abilities, and make it more fun
2. Good timing and good tone are important.
3. Pay attention.
4. Relax, keeping the back straight and the arms and shoulders relaxed.
5. Begin slowly and carefully. If it is hurting you to play, stop doing whatever is causing the pain
6. Take off your rings when hand drumming, to avoid damaging the membrane.

Homemade Percussion & Junkmusic ? Musical Instrument Building.
Just another idea……this class will teach you how to build truly unique musical instruments…….

Yes! Your child can play the guitar!

Kid's Guitar Lessons

"Finally, A Quick and Easy Way For
Your Child to Play the Guitar,
Without any Musical Background,
Training or Experience."

If you're going to start playing guitar early in life, you might as well do it right.

The lessons were created with the beginner in mind. It is suggested that new guitarists start at lesson one, spending at least one week learning the exercises and songs in that lesson before moving on.

Dear Parent, Grandparent, Uncle, Aunt,
and friend of a precious Child:

Does your child enjoy music? Does he, or she, like to sing around the house? Have they ever expressed an interest in learning to play the guitar?

You know, children learn differently than adults. I've taught classes of little kid's, age 5 - 9, and know this from experience.

They will learn:

♦ How to hold down a note to get a clear tone on the guitar
♦ A simple exercise to strengthen their hands.
♦ Familiar songs they can sing & play.
♦ cool strumming patterns.
♦ new guitar chords.
♦ Exercises to strengthen their hands.

Does your child need a guitar? For your convenience,
we offer two very nice kid's guitars packaged with
our program. They are options on the Enrollment Page.

Our guitar program is the most effective way to enhance the student's talents and abilities. All guitar lessons offer students the opportunity to not only learn their favorite songs, but also learn the fundamentals of music and guitar playing including reading music/notation, music theory, and composition.

Vocals Music: The Essential

Vocals Music: The Essential

The voice is an effective tool for building student confidence and skills.
Our voice and singing program emphasize the development of proper vocal technique to protect the voice, improve sound production and gain confidence for personal enjoyment or public performances.
Small group instruction emphasizing vocal development through proper breath control, articulation and presentation of contemporary and/or traditional repertoire, building your own harmonies; reading music; scales, chords and intervals; stage and studio techniques; drills for the advanced singer; singing through chords; diatonic progressions; chart reading; duets; four-part harmony. Increase your endurance and range, correct bad habits, and sing longer and better. Help to improve your voice with a variety of exercise techniques. Exercises include: warming up, stabilizing the tone, loosening the throat and placing the sound forward, increasing range, breath control, etc.
Performance classes develop skills in singing, movement, and theater while preparing to perform at the end of the quarter.

REPEATS

REPEATS

One of the most confusing parts of a musical score can be the navigation symbols, such as repeats, D.S. al Coda, D.C. al Fine, To Coda, etc.

Repeat symbols are placed at the beginning and end of the passage to be repeated.

You should ignore repeat symbols with the dots on the right side the first time you encounter them; when you come to a repeat symbol with dots on the left side, jump back to the previous repeat symbol facing the opposite direction (if there is no previous symbol, go to the beginning of the piece). The next time you come to the repeat symbol, ignore it and keep going unless it includes instructions such as "Repeat three times."

A section will often have a different ending after each repeat. The example below includes a first and a second ending. Play until you hit the repeat symbol, jump back to the previous repeat symbol and play until you reach the bracketed first ending, skip the measures under the bracket and jump immediately to the second ending, and then continue.

D.S. stands for dal segno or "from the sign." When you encounter this indication, jump immediately to the sign (). D.S. is usually accompanied by al Fine or al Coda. Fine indicates the end of a piece. A coda is a final passage near the end of a piece and is indicated with . D.S. al Coda simply tells you to jump back to the sign and continue on until you are instructed to jump to the coda, indicated with To Coda .

D.C. stands for da capo or "from the beginning." Jump to the top of the piece when you encounter this indication.

D.C. al Fine tells you to jump to the beginning of a tune and continue until you encounter the Fine indicating the end of the piece (ignore the Fine the first time through).

HARMONICS

HARMONICS

Harmonics are represented by diamond-shaped notes in the standard notation and a small dot next to the tablature numbers. Natural harmonics are indicated with the text "Harmonics" or "Harm." above the tablature. Harmonics articulated with the right hand (often called artificial harmonics) include the text "R.H. Harmonics" or "R.H. Harm." above the tab. Right-hand harmonics are executed by lightly touching the harmonic node (usually 12 frets above the open string or fretted note) with the right-hand index finger and plucking the string with the thumb or ring finger or pick. For extended phrases played with right-hand harmonics, the fretted notes are shown in the tab along with instructions to touch the harmonics 12 frets above the notes.

ARTICULATIONS

ARTICULATIONS

There are a number of ways you can articulate a note on the guitar. Notes connected with slurs (not to be confused with ties) in the tablature or standard notation are articulated with either a hammer-on, pull-off, or slide. Lower notes slurred to higher notes are played as hammer-ons; higher notes slurred to lower notes are played as pull-offs. While it’s usually obvious that slurred notes are played as hammer-ons or pull-offs, an H or P is included above the tablature as an extra reminder.

Slides are represented with a dash, and an S is included above the tab. A dash preceding a note represents a slide into the note from an indefinite point in the direction of the slide; a dash following a note indicates a slide off of the note to an indefinite point in the direction of the slide. For two slurred notes connected with a slide, you should pick the first note and then slide into the second.

Bends are represented with upward curves, as shown in the next example. Most bends have a specific destination pitch—the number above the bend symbol shows how much the bend raises the string’s pitch: 1/4 for a slight bend, 1/2 for a half step, 1 for a whole step.

Grace notes are represented by small notes with a dash through the stem in standard notation and with small numbers in the tab. A grace note is a very quick ornament leading into a note, most commonly executed as a hammer-on, pull-off, or slide. In the first example below, pluck the note at the fifth fret on the beat, then quickly hammer onto the seventh fret. The second example is executed as a quick pull-off from the second fret to the open string. In the third example, both notes at the fifth fret are played simultaneously (even though it appears that the fifth fret, fourth string, is to be played by itself), then the seventh fret, fourth string, is quickly hammered.

CAPOS, TUNNINGS, VOCAL TUNES

CAPOS

If a capo is used, a Roman numeral indicates the fret where the capo should be placed. The standard notation and tablature is written as if the capo were the nut of the guitar. For instance, a tune capoed anywhere up the neck and played using key-of-G chord shapes and fingerings will be written in the key of G. Likewise, open strings held down by the capo are written as open strings.

TUNINGS

Alternate guitar tunings are given from the lowest (sixth) string to the highest (first) string. For instance, D A D G B E indicates standard tuning with the bottom string dropped to D. Standard notation for songs in alternate tunings always reflects the actual pitches of the notes. Arrows underneath tuning notes indicate strings that are altered from standard tuning and whether they are tuned up or down.

VOCAL TUNES

Vocal tunes are sometimes written with a fully tabbed-out introduction and a vocal melody with chord diagrams for the rest of the piece. The tab intro is usually your indication of which strum or fingerpicking pattern to use in the rest of the piece. The melody with lyrics underneath is the melody sung by the vocalist. Occasionally, smaller notes are written with the melody to indicate the harmony part sung by another vocalist. These are not to be confused with cue notes, which are small notes that indicate melodies that vary when a section is repeated. Listen to a recording of the piece to get a feel for the guitar accompaniment and to hear the singing if you aren’t skilled at reading vocal melodies.

cHORD DIAGRAMS

CHORD DIAGRAMS

Chord diagrams show where the fingers go on the fingerboard. Frets are shown horizontally. The thick top line represents the nut. A Roman numeral to the right of a diagram indicates a chord played higher up the neck (in this case the top horizontal line is thin). Strings are shown as vertical lines. The line on the far left represents the sixth (lowest) string, and the line on the far right represents the first (highest) string. Dots show where the fingers go, and thick horizontal lines indicate barres. Numbers above the diagram are left-hand finger numbers, as used in standard notation. Again, the fingerings are only suggestions. An X indicates a string that should be muted or not played; 0 indicates an open string.

FINGERINGS

FINGERINGS

Fingerings are indicated with small numbers and letters in the notation. Fretting-hand fingering is indicated with 1 for the index finger, 2 the middle, 3 the ring, 4 the pinky, and T the thumb. Picking-hand fingering is indicated by i for the index finger, m the middle, a the ring, c the pinky, and p the thumb. Circled numbers indicate the string the note is played on. Remember that the fingerings indicated are only suggestions; if you find a different way that works better for you, use it.

Tablature

TABLATURE

In tablature, the six horizontal lines represent the six strings of the guitar, with the first string on the top and sixth on the bottom. The numbers refer to fret numbers on a given string. The notation and tablature in our lessons and transcriptions are designed to be used in tandem—refer to the notation to get the rhythmic information and note durations, and refer to the tablature to get the exact locations of the notes on the guitar fingerboard.

Time Signature

The duration of a note is determined by three things: the note head, stem, and flag. A whole note equals four beats. A half note is half of that: two beats. A quarter note equals one beat, an eighth note equals half of one beat, and a 16th note is a quarter beat (there are four 16th notes per beat).

The fraction (4/4, 3/4, 6/8, etc.) or character shown at the beginning of a piece of music denotes the time signature. The top number tells you how many beats are in each measure, and the bottom number indicates the rhythmic value of each beat (4 equals a quarter note, 8 equals an eighth note, 16 equals a 16th note, and 2 equals a half note). The most common time signature is 4/4, which signifies four quarter notes per measure and is sometimes designated with the symbol (for common time). The symbol stands for cut time (2/2). Most songs are either in 4/4 or 3/4.

Music Notation

music notation key

The music at Acoustic Guitar Central, and in our books and magazines, is written in standard notation and tablature. Here's how to read it. STANDARD NOTATION Standard notation is written on a five-line staff. Notes are written in alphabetical order from A to G.