Curse

Weezer_Blue · Mar 07, 2005, 10:32 PM // 22:32

Anyone out there play guitar? Anyone want to learn? Well I'll post a couple chords and the easiest tab I know (besides smoke on water... hate that one)

Reading tab is easy. It's so easy infact that I never learned normal music (i'm too lazy... I can read it but not for guitar (trombone))

This is the easiest song that I can bear to write tab for: Come As You Are, by Nirvana:

e-|-----||----------------------------------------------||
b-|-----||----------------------------------------------||
g-|-----||----------------------------------------------||
D-|-----||----------------------------------------------||
A-|-----||----------0-----0--------------2----------2---||
E-|---0-||-0--1--2-----2-----2--1--0--0----0--0--------||

in tab, the number represents which fret you hold down and the line it is on represents the string. the lowest line on a guitar tab represents E - which is the thickest string on your guitar. 0's in tab mean that you do not hold down any fret while strumming the note. a 1 or 2 means that you hold down the 1st or second fret and so on. if you stare at this for an hour and don't understand, then it's time to sell your guitar

. The strings on a guitar are E, A, D, G, B, and high E.
In my notation for this tab, the lines at the end and after the first not represent a repeat... and this song is repetitive. here is a list of other comon notations:

/ ...this means to slide from the note before the / up to the note after the /
\ ...Same as above except it is a downward slide
h ...You will commonly see this in tabs from the internet. It is a hammer-on which means to slam your finger onto the fret after the "h" without strumming it as an individual note.
p ...this is the opposite of a hammer-on. it means to pull your finger off of the fret before the "p" quickly without strumming
b ...this means to do a bend. a bend means to pull the string to the left or right as you play it. this tightens the string and makes it sound differently. if you see a number after the "b", it usually means to bend up to that note (if you see 4b5, it means to play a 4, and then bend it until it sounds like 5 ... this may also be represented as a number representing the number of steps you should raise it... but that's in book music)

Basic Chords: Here are the basic Chords in tab notation:

[COLOR=Wheat]--[/COLOR]A[COLOR=Wheat]---[/COLOR]Aminor[COLOR=Wheat]---[/COLOR]C[COLOR=Wheat]----[/COLOR]D[COLOR=Wheat]---[/COLOR]E[COLOR=Wheat]-----[/COLOR]F[COLOR=Wheat]----[/COLOR]G[COLOR=Wheat]---[/COLOR]AlsoG[COLOR=Wheat]----[/COLOR]"Rock"G[COLOR=Wheat]-----[/COLOR]B
--0----0-------0----2----0----1-----3-----3--------3---------2-----
--2----1-------1----3----0----1-----3-----0--------0---------4-----
--2----2-------0----2----1----2-----0-----0--------0---------4-----
--2----2-------2----0----2----3-----0-----0--------0---------4-----
--0----0-------3----0----2----3-----2-----2--------0---------2-----
--0----0-------0----0----0----1-----3-----3--------3---------2-----

If you can master the basic chords (including F and B which are barre chords), then you can play most guitar music. this is because even in songs that have only 1 note at a time and are not strummed as entire chords, you can usually play it by holding down a chord and playing the propper strings. here is an example...

My Name is Jonas (Weezer):
Starts with C ....Then a random thing.... Then A minor... Same Random
---------------------------0------------------------------------------0----
----1-------1-------0--------0----------1-------1--------0--------0-------
-------0---------------0-------------------2-----------------0-------------
----------2--------------0--------------------2-----------------0----------
--3---------------2-------------------0----------------2-------------------
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well... that's the intro. If you want the rest you can look it up at http://guitartabs.cc/ ... watch out though... there are some idiots on that site that submit tabs that are wrong or just suck.

by the way... that one's finger picked which means that you don't use a pick and you can play each note with a different fingure. you're supposed to use your thumb for the lowest three, and then your index for 'g', your middle for 'b', and your ring finger for 'e'... but i don't usually pay attention to that "rule".

Spooky · Mar 07, 2005, 11:13 PM // 23:13

Here are some of the guitars that I have. From left to right, they are:
1) A fairly standard Strat styled Washburn Lyon. Nothing spectacular, but I like to have another guitar on hand to keep in different tunings (such as Esus.)
2) My 1960's Audition Semi-body. It's hard to come by vintage guitars like this anymore, so it's got a special place in my collection. The body, the weight, the action I get off of the fretboard all feels so very, very right. I'm going to do a little restoration on this one, as the faceplates were done in chrome - not the kind of metal that holds up well over a few decades. Aside from that, it's still in immaculate condition.
3) Hohner ST-59 Professional. The sentimental favorite, this was the first guitar I ever went out and bought for myself.. that was about 8 years ago, now. It's the one I learned to play on, it's the one I bled all over while my fingers developed callouses, and most of the songs i've written have come from that guitar.
4) Hondo Bass. It's big, it's red, and it's mean. I used to play this for the band. Bass is a wonderful instrument for guitarists to learn how to play, and play properly, because it emphasizes the importance of structure and the layering of sound. Too many people have disillusions of picking up a guitar and being Eric Clapton, or wailing on it like Hendrix .. and get an unjustified ego because of it, heh.
5) Spencer Acoustic. Acoustic guitars are great.. I wouldn't recommend learning how to play on one for beginners, because the heavy gauge of the strings would be murder unless you started on electric lights, or even nylons first. But they're really enjoyable for lazy music .. sitting around and playing chord based songs. Sing along songs! Also a very nice sound for classical guitar (though that is perhaps better suited to nylon.)

You can also see a bit of my digital piano in that picture, that's a Casio AP-10. Ones that aren't featured are my Vantage (it's a Gibson SG body) and my .. Mandolin. Because yes, i've honestly got one of those too.

Weezer_Blue · Mar 07, 2005, 11:13 PM // 23:13

i'll edit that first post and add a bit more... i had to go do something.

the major downfall in Tab is that it doesn't tell you the rythem. you need to listen to the song to know how to play it. that Tab just tells you what notes to play and possibly what chords they corrospond with.

Awesome guitars. I would buy guitars until I couldn't fit anymore in my room if I had the money... But I don't. I have 2 guitars, and my brother has 3. My two are a Fender: Fat Strat (mexican because there isn't really a difference in mexican vs american. the parts are made in California and then sent to Mexico to be assembled for cheaper), and my other one is a Hohner acoustic-electric that I found in a pawn-shop near the university my brother goes to. I have crappy old 30 watt amp but it suites my purposes (hey! it still busts lightbulbs instantly) because I can hook it up to my DigiTech rp300a pre-amp and that seems to make it 6 times louder than normal. (and i can hook up 2 amps at once with it). my brother has an acoustic that if he bought it from the shop now it would probably cost him over 3,000 dollars. it was his first guitar and has really nice wood on it. he's got a crappy squire (it was his girlfriend's) and an acoustic electric he got from the same pawn shop as mine... but it's nicer and easier to play.

BlackArrow · Mar 08, 2005, 02:16 AM // 02:16

I think your E chord is off Weezer. I think it should like this:

0
0
1
2
2
0

And the rock G is just a G note on the high E string? I'm a little confused about that.

Anyways, I have 2 guitars of my own. A Simon & Patrick Acoustic Electric. Beautiful sound for a good price. If you live in Canada (not sure if they are availbel in the US) and can't afford a Taylor or Takamine (or any other top name, high price guitar brands) definitely check out Simon & Patrick. My seconds is an el Degas bass I bought used from a friend. It's a no name bass, but I like the sound and it's treated me well for the last 8 years or so.

Weezer_Blue · Mar 08, 2005, 02:30 AM // 02:30

hehe... oops. i screwed up both of those ... haha... i'm out of it... and usually when i write tab i'm playing guitar and this time i wasn't *smacks forehead*

i've been looking at Ibanez acoustic-electrics. i found one at a music store that's really nice. it's like blue sunburst on flame maple on the top... it's got a great sound and the wood on the back is so solid there aren't any struts. unfortunatly, i don't have 450 bucks to throw around right now.