DMBTabs.com

FAQ - How do I read Tabs?

Basic Tab Reading
To read tabs, all you need to do is know how to
understand/read numbers and a basic understanding of the guitar. The guitar
is sectioned off into Frets. A Fret is the space in between
the metal bars on your guitar as shown below.

Each fret is represented by a number. In order to tell you
what to play, we go by the fret numbers on the guitar.
The following shows how we represent playing the 5th fret
on the 3rd string:
E:----
B:----
G:-5--
D:----
A:----
E:----
2

Although not commonly done, this tab site shows what fingers Dave uses
when playing single notes. This is in order to help you, the
user, play "exactly" like Dave. The tab above tells you that you
should play the 5th fret on the 3rd string with finger #2.
Fingers are numbered as pictured below:

Chords are when we combine notes and play them at the same time.
It is basically strumming multiple strings at the same time(as opposed
to picking a single string/note). The following is the tab for
a normal D-chord with a picture to show you what I mean:
E:-2--
B:-3--
G:-3--
D:-0--
A:----
E:----

What this means is that you press down on String #1 on the
2nd fret, String #2 on the 3nd fret, and String #3 on the
2nd fret. The problem with tabs is that they do not tell
you what fingers to use on each string. A normal D-chord is
easy enough but some chords are harder to figure out.

I have created a specific section on what fingers to use for
many chords that Dave commonly uses. You can visit it by the
link to the left Dave Style Lessons or clicking Here. If you
are unfamiliar with Dave guitar songs or tabs in general....it is
IMPERITIVE that you go to that page and read it or else
you will have major problems reading/playing the tabs on my site.

When we come across a chord that isn't commonly used and isn't
a "normal" chord, the site posts the fingers Dave uses on these
chords. This is how an uncommonly used chord would look
(ENDING\Swim Naked Outro from One Sweet world):
E:---------
B:---------
G:-8----7-- <---4on8(2on7)
D:-8----8-- <---3on8
A:-6----x-- <---1on6
E:------6-- <---1on6
While this specific tab shows commonly used chords by Dave, it is
there to show you just how a tab would look. The video
illustrates how to play this best.

>> Understanding tabs Basic Tab Reading >> Advanced Tab Reading

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