Tablature (commonly shortened to "tab" or "tabs") is a type of musical notation that uses ordinary written characters to represent note progressions and chords in a song. Because tabs are easy to read and distribute digitally, they are also a popular alternative to sheet music in this internet age, especially among amateur musicians. There are different types of tabs and each uses a different way of notating music - tabs for pianos usually indicate a note to play by assigning a note and the octave on the piano where the note belongs. Read step 1 below to start learning how to read tabs for the piano.
Step
Part 1 of 2: Playing the Piano on Tab for Piano
Step 1. Divide the piano into octaves represented by each line on the tab
Usually a tab for a piano consists of several horizontal lines, each with a number on the left as follows:
5|------------------------------
4|------------------------------
3|------------------------------
2|------------------------------
At first glance, this tab doesn't represent the black and white keys of the keyboard. But actually these tabs represent several different areas of the keyboard in a clever way. The number to the left of each line represents the "octave" in which the notes in that line are located. The octaves on the tabs for pianos refer to the C scale - starting at the far left of the keyboard the first C note on the piano refers to the beginning of the first octave the second C note refers to the beginning of the second octave, and so on until the highest C note.
For example, in the tab example above, the lines represent (starting at the top) the fifth, fourth, third, and second octaves of the leftmost C note on the piano. Tabs for piano don't need to include the entire octave in the piano - only the octave for the notes being played
Step 2. Place notes on tabs according to their octave line
The letters A through G should be spread across the tab lines for the piano, as follows:
5|-a-d-f------------------------
4|-a-d-f------------------------
3|-------c-D-e-f-G--------------
2|-----------------f-e-d-c------
Perhaps you already understand that each of these letters refers to a note! Lowercase letters refer to "natural" notes (without moles or sharps), which are represented by white keys on the keyboard. Capital letters refer to sharp notes, i.e. black keys. For example, "C" is a black key to the right of "c", which is a white key. The notes on a line in the tab must be played according to the octave indicated by the line. For example, the notes in row 4 in the example tab above are played in the fourth octave on the keyboard.
For simplicity of writing and to avoid confusion between sharps and moles, which are indicated by the lowercase "b" and the note "b", there is no mole in the tab for piano. All moles are written as sharp (example: "Db" is written as "C#")
Step 3. Read the tabs from left to right paying attention to the measure break (which is indicated by a |)
Like scores, tabs are read from left to right. The notes on the left are played first, followed by the notes on the right. If a tab is longer than the screen or page of paper, it can be continued below it - just like sheet music. Often, but not always, the tab for piano also contains | to denote a measure or count of a group of beats - usually indicated by "|" such as the following:
5|-a-d-f--------|---------------
4|-a-d-f--------|---------------
3|-------c-D-e-f-|G--------------
2|---------------|--f-e-d-c------
If you see this mark, the notes between the two "Is" are one measure.
In other words, for a song in a measure of 4/4, there are four quarter notes between the two "|", for a song in a measure of 6/8, there are six eighth notes, and so on
Step 4. Continue to play the notes in succession as you read them from left to right
Start reading the tabs for the piano from the left and play all the notes in order from left to right as you see them. If you see two or more notes directly above each other, play them at the same time to form a chord or chord.
- In the following tab example:
5|-a-d-f--------|---------------
4|-a-d-f--------|---------------
3|-------c-D-e-f-|G--------------
2|---------------|--f-e-d-c------
…we play the notes A in the fifth octave and A in the fourth octave, then D in the fifth octave and D in the fourth octave, then F in the fifth octave and F in the fourth octave, followed by the notes C, D#, E, and F in order, etc.
Part 2 of 2: Reading Special Characters
Step 1. Read the numbers above or below the tab as a beat
One downside of tabs in general is that it's difficult to express rhythm. This can be a problem when dealing with sustain, syncopated passage, and so on. To work around this, some tab writers count song beats below or above the tab. Tabs with taps look like this:
5|-a-d-f--------|---------------
4|-a-d-f--------|---------------
3|-------c-D-e-f-|G--------------
2|---------------|--f-e-d-c------
||1---2---3---4--|1---2---3---4--
In this example, the notes that are more or less above the number "1" fall roughly on the first beat, while the notes that are more or less above the "2" fall more or less on the second beat, and so on. It's not a perfect system, but it can add clarity in tabs.
- Some tabs for pianos also show off-beat or off-beat marks. Often, the off-beat is indicated by an "&" and how to count "one and two and three and four and…" Here's an example of the tabs:
5|-a-d-f--------|---------------
4|-a-d-f--------|---------------
3|-------c-D-e-f-|G--------------
2|---------------|--f-e-d-c------
||1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&|1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&
Step 2. Learn how to know when to take a break and when to step on the sustain pedal according to the markings on the tab
Another drawback of tabs is that it is difficult to express how long a note is held or how long it takes to rest between notes. Some tabs don't indicate when to take a break and when to step on the sustain pedal at all - after a note is held for example, there's a dotted line. Meanwhile other tabs will use ">" after the tone to indicate that the tone should be held. Take a look at the following tabs:
5|-a-d-f--------|---------------
4|-a-d-f--------|---------------
3|-------c-D-e-f-|G--------------
2|---------------|--f-e-d-c>>>>>>
||1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&|1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&
In this case, we're holding down the last C note starting from the third beat at the end of the measure.
Step 3. Play notes marked with dots with a staccato approach
A staccato tone is the opposite of a held tone. This tone is short, sharp, and concise. Many tabs for the piano use dots to indicate which notes should be played in a staccato manner. See the tabs below:
5|-a.-d.-f.------|---------------
4|-a.-d.-f.------|---------------
3|--------c-D-e-f|G--------------
2|---------------|--f-e-d-c>>>>>>
||1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&|1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&
In this case, we are playing the first three chords in a staccato fashion.
Step 4. Look for the letters "R" and "L" on the left to indicate which hand to use
Usually, but not always, the higher notes in piano music are played with the right hand, while the lower notes are played with the left. So, it's okay to assume that the higher notes in the tab are played with the right hand while the lower notes in the left hand. However, several tabs dictate which notes should be played with which hand. In this case, the line with the letter "R" on the left is played with the right hand, while the letter "L" indicates the note played with the left hand. See the tabs below:
R 5|-a.-d.-f.------|---------------
R 4|-a.-d.-f.------|---------------
L 3|--------c-D-e-f|G--------------
L 2|---------------|--f-e-d-c>>>>>>
O ||1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&|1-&-2-&-3-&-4-&
In this case, the fourth and fifth octaves are played with the right hand, while the second and third octaves are played with the left hand.
The "O" to the left of the tap marker at the bottom of the tab is used only to fill space and has absolutely no meaning
Tips
- When learning a song that requires two hands, learn with one hand first. The right hand usually plays the more complicated parts of a song.
- At first, try to play slowly. When you remember your tabs better, you can speed up the game.
- Try to learn to read sheet music. You can also understand a work better. Tabs for piano cannot replace scores in terms of quality.
