How to Read Guitar Notations: A Quick Guide
I had been getting a lot of request in the form of comments asking how to read guitar notations that were alien to them. These were mostly beginners who had picked up guitar only a while ago and had decided to learn from the internet. So I thought to write a quick post explaining all the basic notations which will help you understand everything that is posted on this blog as well as all over the internet. If I forget something here and there, please let me know in the comments and I will update the post accordingly. So here we go…
Chord Representation

Here at Abhiguitar.com, I have adopted the following chord presentation style. I place the chords at its appropriate place surrounded by normal brackets ‘()’ and bolder than other text (song lyrics). The font-size is also relatively larger to make it more prominent. There is no single standard way of representing chords. Elsewhere on the internet, chords are mentioned in a separate line above the lyrics that it is referred to. Both represent chords only.
Need a quick reference to all the chords you would ever need to play? Check out Guitar Chords Chart. Bookmark it!
I had a question from some absolute beginners that they wanted the chord info in tabular format with dotted lines and numbers. What they actually meant were tabs/leads and not chords. Representing chords that way is cumbersome and a waste of space so I won’t be doing that. But tabs will always be represented that way. See below.
Tabs / Leads Representation

As you can see the above format is used for representing tabs/leads. The lines represent the strings and the numbers represent the frets. The topmost line is the thinnest string and bottom-most one… you guessed it, the thickest string. Move from left to right and play the frets mentioned as is. This representation has a flaw that it does not give any information about the delays between each plucking. You will have to judge that by yourself. If you are creating music, don’t use this type of notation.
Special Effects Notations
You will find below notations in more advanced songs but they are not at all complicated if practiced well. Here I will list the symbols used for various special effects. I have discussed these effects in detail here: Raise Your Guitaring Level By Mastering These Basic Effects.

Symbols
h – hammer on
p – pull off
b – bend string up
r – release bend (optional)
/ – slide up (to higher frets)
– slide down (to lower frets)
v – vibrato (sometimes written as ~)
t – right hand tap
x – mute the specific note by damping.
Pehla Nasha is one song where these notations are used extensively. You might think of avoiding these effects for easy guitar playing, but remember you will never sound great without these effects. They are the tools to better guitaring.
That should get you started if you are a complete newbie. To all my pro readers, if I missed something, then remind me in the comments and I will add it up.
If you are absolute beginner or have just started out then bookmark this page for easy reference.
Please give a lesson how to read guitar tablature
Can i have the leads Representation for sond Jane tu yaa jane naa… any more songs
Dear freind email me like this songs leads & teach me how to play guitars
Please give an easy lesson on how to read guitar tablature & how to play leads of the chords major & minor…
can we identify the strum pattern in tabs
for eg. DDUUDDUU
d -down strum
u- up strum
wat r d numbers u write in front of d chord name…like in bakhuda u hav written G(334553)??plz help…dnt mind if its a stupid question…i m new at guitar..
it is the chord notation from top string to bottom…. for eg – G (320033) means G chord is played by holding(numbers denotes frets) E3,A2,Dopen,Gopen,B3,E3
if every string has number like EADGBE which string should hit first if e has 4 5 number in A has 6 9 D has 3 2 n G 3 3 3 3 B 1 2 2
Hi. I m keshav, i m a beginner n i read ur tips.
Can u please tell me about chords and tabs in details.
boss plz let me know how to play the lead(tabs)
i don`t get it
plz explain it
which string is to played when
help me….
guitars are not to be learnt on internet
you can go to guitar classes. I can give u the
address.COZ here u are wasting time plz dont
feel bad this is d truth
hi..please display the list of songs that you have here…
I have just started to learn “Guitar” but you have done superb job dear.
thanks a lot for help !!!
Hi Abhinav! great job with the website! i think this is what every beginner guitarist in india dreams of! I’ve been taking guitar classes for about 3 months now, but the teacher only teaches me english songs, so was searching for hindi song tabs on the net and found ur site…
for all the beginners like me in india, can u tell which of the bollywood songs on ur site would be the easiest (with least special effects!) to start on (i mean fro playing tabs, not chords)? i just tried startin with pehla nasha coz i like the song, but found it too difficult!
if any regular contributors to this site with lots of experience playing bollywood songs are reading this, please feel free to add ur opinion on which is the best song in this site for a beginner to start on!
Thanks and keep up the great work!!!
Hi Jacob,
I don’t have many tabs on this blog, mostly I post chords of songs only. Pehla Nasha is an intermediate level song so you will find it a bit difficult. You can try Dil Ko, RHTDM as it is quite easy to play.
You can also try Aadat from Jal though it is a bit tough.
Cheers!
can i getlead notations of tu jane na song from ajab prem ki gajab kahani
Hi Abhinav,
wow!! u had done a real great job. I am a beginner and was searching such a stuff 4m long time. I asked my friends 2 give sum tips but it dint worked. Actually speaking i cant express how much happy n satisfied i am after reading all posts. Your work is really very good n it is of great help 4 beginners like me. Plz keep adding lessons 4 us. Thanks a Lot:):):):):)
hi abhinav its been a gift to me that i got ur blog.its really superbbbbb… bt plzzz do tell me how to read the strumming pattern, i dint understand it. plzzzzz
hi abhinav its been a gift to me that i got ur blog.its really superbbbbb… bt plzzz do tell me how to read the strumming pattern, i dint understand it. plzzzzz do write for that.
Thank you for sharing an great track! I really like it!
hey buddy, i am totally confused about the tab u taught.Is there any freet no. 0. in guitar??
Hi abhi,
My Name is Ashish and i used to learn guatar from a music teacher who wested my 3 month time and he told only stupid thing. Actualy i want to learn leading on guitar. plase suggest me the easiest way to learn leading on gutar. i will realy thankful to you.
Looking forward.
Ashish
Dear I m bigenner i was spend 3months with one class bt he toot only notations im not happy wit this plz suggest wat to do
i want to learn the notations in easy way.