One of the guitar's greatest strengths is the expressiveness you can achieve with the instrument. Techniques such as string bending, hammer-ons, and pull-offs extend the emotional power of the instrument and give you a powerful arsenal of tools. And, luckily, guitar tab has conventions for showing when these tools are used. You might not run into them very often in beginner guitar tab, but you'll definitely encounter them sooner or later, and they're excellent techniques to practice from the beginning.String bending involves fretting a given note and then bending the string, causing the pitch to rise to a higher note. For example, you might fret a D note on the G string at the seventh fret:
fig 1
E ---------------
B ---------------
G ------7-------
D ---------------
A ---------------
E ---------------
You would then bend the note up to E, two steps above the D. This is indicated in tab with a 'b' symbol:
fig 2
E -----------------
B -----------------
G -----7b9-------
D -----------------
A -----------------
E -----------------
Note that this doesn't mean you should fret the note at the ninth fret; your finger stays on the seventh fret. It's only the pitch that rises.Hammer-ons and pull-offs allow you to play legato (smooth, flowing) passages where you don't pick every note. To execute a hammer-on, fret a note and pick it. Then, without picking again, sharply fret a higher note on the same string with another finger, 'hammering' the string with that finger. This can take time to learn to execute properly, but it's an absolutely essential skill for every guitarist regardless of musical style. Practice until the second note is the same volume as the first. The tab looks like this:
fig 3
E -----------------
B -----------------
G -----7h9-------
D -----------------
A -----------------
E -----------------
Once again we're moving from D to E, but this time with a hammer-on. You should have your index finger on the seventh fret and use the third finger for the ninth fret. Alternate between the bend and the hammer-on and pay attention to how different they sound. You can then also pull off your third finger, pulling down toward the floor a little bit to make sure the D note sounds:
fig 4
E -----------------
B -----------------
G ------9p7------
D -----------------
A -----------------
E -----------------
Again, strive to make the second note sound as loud as the first note. Also be careful not to hit the surrounding strings as you pull your finger away.A final technique you'll often come across, even in beginner guitar tab, is tapping. Tapping refers to the practice of fretting a note with a finger (usually either the pointer or index finger) of the picking hand. Fret a note with your left hand, pick it, and then hammer down on the same string at a higher fret with your pick hand. This is an advanced technique that can take a lot of time to learn, but you should at least know what the tab looks like:
fig 5
E ------------------
B ---5--t9---------
G ------------------
D ------------------
A ------------------
E ------------------
In online tab the tapped note is indicated with a 't', while tab in magazines usually circles the tapped note. You'll often see long lines that combine bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and tapping:
fig 6
E ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
B ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
G --2-h4-b5-4-2-4-5-4-5-h7-p-5-h7-t9-7-t10-7-t12-7-t14-12-10-12-17-14---
D ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
E ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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