Guitar All-in-One For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 4

Deciphering Music Notation and Tablature

IN THIS CHAPTER

Reading standard music notation

Applying the symbols to guitar playing

Decoding fingering indications and tablature

Let’s face it. Most guitarists can probably get by without reading music. However, being able to read music opens up opportunities and can increase your understanding of many kinds of music. You can more quickly absorb how to play music if you read music even a little, rather than not at all. And if you want to play classical guitar, reading music really is essential. This chapter, then, is written mainly with classical guitar in mind, although any guitar player can gain from the information in this chapter.

This chapter makes it quick and easy to learn the basics of music notation, as much as possible, and gives you more than one way to approach the written music examples that appear in this book. It gets you familiar with written symbols and notation practices — including tablature — so that you can better understand what you’re likely to see once you go out and start encountering printed music.

Knowing the Ropes of Standard Music Notation

Music written for traditional classical guitar uses standard ...