Confusing Guitar Tabs
By ParaTed2k
@ParaTed2k (22940)
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
January 16, 2008 2:16pm CST
Does anyone know why the people who developed tablature did them upside down?
Standard tuning on a guitar goes
E
A
D
G
B
e
The low E string is on the top, and the high E is on the bottom.
However, tabs are written just the opposite
e
B
G
D
A
E
When I teach new students how to read tabs, they are almost always a little confused by this. Can anyone explain why it's done this way?
2 people like this
6 responses
@Trevor1213 (6)
• Canada
27 Jan 08
this is an everlasting paradox of guitar playing lol. to simplify teaching to new students for cases dealing with alternate tunings, strings are numbered indicating the high-e as string 1 and low-e as string 6. could it be possible that, since we don't read/write from bottom to top, that the tabs are set up so that string 1 is at the top and string 6 is at the bottom?
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
28 Jan 08
Hmmm, that's probably the most rational reasoning so far. Thank you.
It doesn't make it easier to understand, just a more rational explanation. ;~D
@redyellowblackdog (10629)
• United States
16 Jan 08
I'll make a guess.
No matter what the subject, no matter how simple it could be presented, there are some teachers who want to impress upon their students how smart they (the teacher) really are by making the instruction as complex and difficult as possible. Apparently, this is to impress the student that the teacher who has already mastered the subject is a genius.
My guess?
The guy who set up the Guitar tabs was one of those ego driven teachers.
2 people like this
@Sissygrl (10912)
• Canada
17 Jan 08
How about.. its being written that way for lefties ? cause they put the strings on the guitar upside down.. I have a friend who was learning and was a leftie and she had a difficult time cause everything was backwards.. That's my best guess where i am not a guitar player ;0)
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
17 Jan 08
Considering the fact that even most left handed people play right handed guitar, I kind of doubt it. Guitar is one of the few things I do right handed.
1 person likes this
@Sissygrl (10912)
• Canada
17 Jan 08
cause if your left handed then your not used to doing anything with your right hand, therefor a lot of strumming and picking would be hard. Picking takes control. . As for piano, i dunno, i guess cause both of your hands are doing the same action. . I believe anything with strings has right handed and left handed ways of playing. who cares as long as it makes it easier for them to play right ? after all lefties are people too.
1 person likes this
@Galena (9110)
•
17 Jan 08
put the guitar on your lap, then you'll see.
I find it makes more sense than it would the other way round, so I've never even thought about it.
after all, it would work the other way if you were looking at it head on, but when playing you're looking at it from a different direction. one in which the way used for tab makes more sense.
1 person likes this
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
17 Jan 08
That would make sense for a reason, but doesn't make sense in practice. Unless you are Jeff Healey, you don't play a guitar while it's sitting on your lap. ;~D
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
17 Jan 08
No, it's called the high e because of tone not position. Either way, it doesn't make sense... of course, if it were switched now, it would be just as confusing to try to relearn it. ;~D
@smwilliams (647)
• United States
16 Jan 08
I dont have an answer to this, but my husband is teaching me to play the guitar ( he is in a band )and I dont get it either. I have a hard time with the fact that I have tiny hands I think my guitar is to big for me..and then I have to deal with all these crazy tabs written bass ackwards..If you figure it out let me know :)
1 person likes this
@justabloke (526)
• United States
17 Jan 08
I think I read somewhere that it is suppose to represent one looking down the neck of a guitar when you are playing it, rather than when you are looking straight at a guitar...confused? Yes I still am!
I never really understood guitar tabs. I always thought it would be better if we all learned to read music(as in treble and bass clefs), it would be harder to start with, but in the end we would all be better educated in musical terms.
@ParaTed2k (22940)
• Sheboygan, Wisconsin
17 Jan 08
Down the neck of the guitar makes less sense than with it sitting on your lap!
I teach my students both. I think it's important for a musician to be able to read music, but there are benefits to tab notation that you can't do with staffs.
On a piano (or most other instruments), there is only 1 way to play each note. There are 3 of the same note on a guitar in standard tuning. While all three make the same note, there are reasons why you would want to play one instead of the other two. Staff notation doesn't offer a way to reflect which one to use.
Besides, tabs are a common notation system for guitar, I'd be doing my students a disservice if I acted like they didn't exist.
