Okay...I wasn't sure where this would go, because it was half question and half request soo...:heh: I'm sorry if I shouldn't have put this here.

Okay, I'm trying to sing and play Hyeseong(Korean version of Houki Boshi) on the piano, but at one point in the song, I come to an 8 measure rest, which in the actual song, is filled up by a guitar part. So I looked online for the guitar music to play on the piano but being that it's a different instrument...it's written in tabs and not notes so...I don't know how to read it. Can someone help me with this by either a) explaining how to read it (if it's simple enough to explain through typing words...) or b) tell me the notes played on the guitar ^.^?

Heres the chords and some of the tab.

*anime fall* Thank you very much, now how do I read tabs?

Theres six lines.
Each represents a string

_E
_B
_G
_D
_A
_E

Now, there's numbers on the strings.

-E-5------7--9
-B----7------8 Take that for ex.

Those are the frets you play.
You would play the fifth fret on the E string, then the 7th fret on the B string, then the 7th fret on the E string again and finally you play the 9th fret on the E string and the 8th fret on the B string together.
*^ This is just an example, It's not Houki Boshi*

Do you understand?
If not I can get more indepth.

@_@... :heh:, this is why I'm a piano player...
Can you tell me what a fret is? And what you mean by '7th' fret and '9th' fret and etc.?

The fret is the position on the guitar where you put your finger to increase the tone height of the original string. One fret up means one half tone up.
If you play the 5th fret on the 6th string (which is "e") you get an "a".
Take a look at this image: *klick* (http://www.singer-song-writer.co.uk/bass_electric_guitar_lessons_keyboard_tuition/GuitarFretBoard.JPG)

@_@... :heh:, this is why I'm a piano player...
Can you tell me what a fret is? And what you mean by '7th' fret and '9th' fret and etc.?

I play both piano and guitar, and I must say guitar is way easier.
A fret is the metal bars on the fretboard

Take this for example

----||--|--|--|
----||--|--|--|
----||--|--|--|
----||--|--|--|
1st2nd3rd

^ Say thats the headstock and the || is the nut.

All those | are the frets.
The first line would be the first fret.
But when you read tabs the fretboard behind the first fret is considered "1"
The next piece of fretboard between the Next two frets would be '2' and so on.

The reason us guitarists use tabs is because it gives us the position of where the song should be played on the fretboard as the composer/arranger intended. Since each guitar has up to 24 frets on 1 string, thats 2 octaves note range (each fret is incremental in a semitone, 12 semitones in an octave) for each string, so really we can play the same note 3 or more different ways. Also most guitarists find tab a whole lot easier to read than standard notation.
Also there are different ways of expressing technique on tab, but it tends to vary between the arrangers. Off the top of my head the most common ones used are
p - pull off
h - hammer on
/ - slide
b(#) - bend up to fret #
tr - tremolo picking
x in place of fret # - indicates a muted strum or pick of the note
PH - pinch harmonic
AH - artificial harmonic
NH - natural harmonic
and countless more..

I play both piano and guitar, and I must say guitar is way easier.
A fret is the metal bars on the fretboard

Take this for example

----||--|--|--|
----||--|--|--|
----||--|--|--|
----||--|--|--|
1st2nd3rd

^ Say thats the headstock and the || is the nut.

All those | are the frets.
The first line would be the first fret.
But when you read tabs the fretboard behind the first fret is considered "1"
The next piece of fretboard between the Next two frets would be '2' and so on.

@_@...wait, I'm still not sure what frets and headstocks are...

@_@...wait, I'm still not sure what frets and headstocks are...

PM'd.

:D Received.

Received...and totally not understood...
:heh: Can someone read this for me and send me the notes please?

D A Bm G D A Bm G
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|---------555555--|
-|------------77--|------------77--|------------77--|-----------------|
-|-77766677666--6-|-77766677666--6-|-77766677666--6-|-77766677--------|
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|

Thats just the transcriber being lazy with crappy format.
*I didnt transcribe that Houki Boshi btw*



D A Bm G D A Bm G
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|---------555555--|
-|------------77--|------------77--|------------77--|-----------------|
-|-77766677666--6-|-77766677666--6-|-77766677666--6-|-77766677--------|
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|
-|----------------|----------------|----------------|-----------------|


All that is playing the notes a bit faster than normal, they just didnt put a *-* in between the notes

...Wha?

Its just like normal Tabs.
The just didnt put a - in between the 7's and whatnot.
Ex. 7-7-7-7-7

:cry: I can't read Tabs period...although your PMs are helping :D...But I'm still a bit confused...Why are there notes above the Tabs?

Those are the chords that the rhythm plays.

Do they affect the notes played?

Nope, a dfferent guitar plays the rhythm.
Andddd, the notes above the tab is actually chords.

if there are notes that generally denotes the rhythm.
as you can tell looking at a bunch of lines and numbers wouldnt help you sightread a piece you've never heard or seen before
ill need to see what you mean though

edit. ehh i didnt see the 2nd page posts
letter names are the chords, such as Em for E minor
actual notation on no ledger lines would be the rhythm

So...if I want to write out the notes from the tab do I need those chords or can I ignore them?

you can ignore them

:D Okay!

F# F# F# F F F F# F# F F F D D F
F# F# F# F F F F# F# F F F D D F
F# F# F# F F F F# F# A A A A A

Okay...now if I've been absorbing what I've learned so far correctly, those should be the notes...but what about the rhythm?

Most tabs aren't going to give you rhythm or note length, so you'll either have to listen to the song or make it up.

>.<...that...sucks...esp. because I just happen to have no sense of rhythm :heh:...

How To Read Guitar Tabs (http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/lessons/the-basics/how-to-read-guitar-tab/)

As somebody mentioned, rhythms aren't quite common in tabs... like the ones off the internet. In books, the rhythms are most likely given at the first bar of the chord pattern and give you the strum pattern with that as well.

How To Read Guitar Tabs (http://www.howtotuneaguitar.org/lessons/the-basics/how-to-read-guitar-tab/)

As somebody mentioned, rhythms aren't quite common in tabs... like the ones off the internet. In books, the rhythms are most likely given at the first bar of the chord pattern and give you the strum pattern with that as well.

Yeah, you pretty much have to figure out the rhythm yourself :p

>.<...okay...ganbarimasu(I'll give it my all/I'll do my best)!!