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This too is a relatively simple process. When the tab displays a series of numbers, stacked vertically, it is indicating to you that it wants you to play all these notes at the same time. Hence, the above tablature indicates that you should hold down the notes in an E major chord (second fret on fifth string, second fret on fourth string, first fret on third string) and strum all six strings at once. Often, tablature will additionally include the chord name (in this case E major) above the tablature staff, to help guitarists recognize the chord more quickly. 
The above tablature contains the exact same notes as the first E major chord presented on this page, but it will be played differently. In this situation, the notes in the chord will be played one at a time, rather than all together. "How fast should I play these notes?" you may ask. Good question... one which leads smoothly into:
Fundamental Flaws of Guitar Tab Rhythmic notation is the biggest one. And it's a doozy of a flaw. Most guitar tab doesn't notate rhythm in any way, so if you haven't heard how the guitar part to the song you're playing goes, you have no way of knowing how long to hold each note. Some guitar tab does attempt to include rhythms, by putting stems on each number (to indicate quarter notes, eighth notes, etc), but most guitarists find this cumbersome to read. And besides, if you're going to include traditional rhythmic notation in guitar tab, why not just go the extra step and write the whole thing in standard notation?
Another major problem with guitar tablature is only guitarists can read it. While standard notation is readable by those who play any instrument, tab is native to guitarists, so those who don't play guitar won't be able to comprehend it. This makes any sort of musical communication with a piano player, or other musician, very difficult.
We've covered the basics of the pros and cons of guitar tablature. Now, we'll take a moment to talk about a few of the intricacies of tab - like how to read/write string bends, slides, and more.
Next page > Bends, Slides, and More > Page 1, 2, 3
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