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How To Read Tab For 3 String Cigar Box Guitar

This is a basic tutorial on reading tabs made by me for 3 string instruments. For a guitarist, tabs are a simple way to learn songs without having to read musical notes, and tabs can also show many of the same things as musical notation such as timing and special effects like hammer-ons and vibrato, but rather than generically telling you what note to play, it tells you which string and fret. After learning the basics, most guitarists find tabs more intuitive than musical notation, and many go no further than learning to read tabs. OK, on to the tutorial!


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This is a basic example of how I write out tabs. There is a lot of information in this little bit, and I hope that this tutorial will help you to understand it.

You will see that under the song title, I tell you the tuning. While 6 string guitars have a standard tuning:
E A D G B E (yes, there are exceptions), CBG's are tuned in a number of different ways, so I always specify what type of tuning in Roman numerals, though rarely in which key. This example is of a popular tuning for slide guitar, the open power chord, and is featured in Keni Lee Burgess' video CD#4 "How To Play 3 String Cigar Box Guitar- 1930 Depression Era Bottleneck Slide Guitar". I typically tune to the key of G, which would be G-D-G, in A it would be A-E-A and so forth; what is important is the string pitch relationship and not the exact note name.

Once you have determined the tuning, look at the tab grid. The lines represent the 3 strings of your guitar. From top to bottom on the grid are strings 1, 2 and 3. On your guitar it is opposite: string 1 is the one towards the floor (usually the highest pitched), string 2 is in the middle, and string 3 is at the top towards the sky. This is illustrated below:

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Next, look at the numbers on the tab grid. These are the fret number where you need to press down the string with your finger or slide. The first measure (measures will be described with time signature) would be read like this: 3rd string open, 1st string open, 3rd string open, 2nd string open. The second measure would be: 3rd string open, 2nd string open, 1st string pressed at the 4th fret, and then strumming the 3rd string open, 2nd string open and 1st string pressed at the 4th fret, all together..

Next, let's look at the right hand fingerings. These tell you which string to pluck with, and in this particular fingerstyle playing I use 3 fingers: T for thumb, I for index and M for middle. I don't always include fingerings in song tabs, but I often do in exercises.

The time signature tells you how many beats per measure in the top number, and the bottom number tells which note is a beat. This example is 4/4, also called common time, and means there are 4 beats to a measure and each beat is represented by a quarter note. Try tapping your foot to a regular beat: "one-two-three-four"; these would be your quarter notes and at four, you've arrived at the length of a measure. Now try: "one-and-two-and-three-and-four-and"; these are eighth notes, your foot taps on the number and the upbeat is represented by the "and". "four-and" marks the end of the measure.

Tab can also show much more, just like musical notation, but these are the basics to reading the tabs that I write out. Once you understand these basics, you should be able to learn new songs using this common system, as well as writing out your own tabs.

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Comment by Swamp Dawg Primal Music on January 27, 2013 at 8:53am: Paul, I play fretless, and I'm able to play everything on his CD with very few exceptions, and I'm hard at work on those. Fingering notes fretless is not easy at first, but comes in time with practice. Start with lesson 2 which includes scales and the song Nobody's Fault But Mine, and can be done 100% with either the slide or open strings. Once you can do the scales with the slide, try with your fingers, but be patient, you'll have to learn precise positioning and build calluses on your fingertips (hint, you use the very tip of your finger). Also, you'll have to dial in your nut and bridge for proper intonation.

Comment by Paul Lasicki on January 27, 2013 at 6:15am: Hi, I appreciate what a lot of people are doing to help and not taking anything away from anyone, but I got Keni Lee's CD 4 and to me it's not anything that I expected. I looked through the first 6 lessons or so and find that they are all geared toward a fretted guitar with hardly any slide . Am I missing something?

Comment by Swamp Dawg Primal Music on January 26, 2013 at 10:22am

"Comment by Redbelly: A number on string 1 and the same number directly in line with it on string 3 means to pllay the strings together like a pinch. Is that correct. Thanks for your help."

answer: Yes, Redbelly, you are correct.

Comment by Redbelly on January 26, 2013 at 8:16am: A number on string 1 and the same number directly in line with it on string 3 means to pllay the strings together like a pinch. Is that correct. Thanks for your help.