One of the most common questions I hear from students is whether or not they should learn to read tablature for guitar or bass. There’s a common misconception that tablature is a recent shortcut developed by modern guitarists to bypass learning standard notation. In reality, tablature has been around for centuries—long before the electric guitar existed.
Tablature (or “tab”) is a practical and highly visual method for reading music that applies specifically to stringed, fretted instruments like the guitar, bass, banjo, or lute. The system uses horizontal lines to represent strings and numbers to represent fret positions. It’s intuitive, especially for beginners, and allows students to quickly understand how to play music on their instrument without needing to interpret traditional music notation.
However, tablature and standard notation are not interchangeable, and they serve different purposes. Tablature shows where to place your fingers, but it doesn’t always show how the music should sound—there’s typically no rhythmic information, articulation markings, or expressive dynamics. Standard notation, on the other hand, provides the complete picture: rhythm, pitch, timing, and expression. It is essential for musicians who want to play in ensembles, compose, or explore a variety of instruments beyond fretted strings.
While many successful musicians have thrived without learning to read standard notation—especially those who play by ear or are visually impaired—students who are serious about developing well-rounded musicianship should aim to understand both systems. Each method enhances your ability to learn, communicate, and grow as a player.
Tablature has sometimes earned a bad reputation due to the abundance of low-quality, user-submitted tabs found on various websites. These tabs often contain inaccuracies and can lead to poor habits. If you use tablature to learn songs, make sure you’re using reliable and legal sources created by professionals.
In conclusion, don’t choose between tablature and standard notation—learn both. They each offer unique benefits and, when used together, give you a more complete toolkit for learning and expressing yourself musically.
Have questions or thoughts about reading music? Let us know in the comments—we’d love to hear from you.
By Henry Bahrou – Guitarist, Music Theorist, Music Academy Director
Tablature has been around as long as fretted musical instruments, and certainly does have it’s applications, but by no means is it equal to standard notation! Thanks for this post. And for investigating the SOPA situation! I wondered why facebook wasn’t blacked out and then realized… How else would people find out about the Act if facebook wasn’t around?!
Wow you’re right! Does this mean that facebook is in danger? Are we really going to be forced into getting only what the big corporations online want us to get? Sounds kind of scary. I vote to keep internet free!
From what I understand, you get a better and deeper understanding of music by learning to read standard notation. But I say, what’s so wrong with a short-cut? Sometimes short-cuts or a different way of learning a (stringed) instrument is just what some people need.
P.S. I’m not digging this SOPA act!!! Always picking on the little people!
You’re right. Sometimes people who may not have a lot of time to dedicate to an instrument may need a short-cut in order to learn what they want.
I think that it depends on what people want to get out of the instrument. Some people just want to learn how to roughly play a song by a campfire. For those people, tablature works well. Standard notation, though, is very necessary if one wants to master the instrument, and be able to communicate properly with musicians on other instruments.