Question about guitar tabs/chords?

Question

Okay, so I've been teaching myself how to play guitar for the last 2 months or so, and I am so confused. First, about tabs that have chords in them as well. Like this one, for instance:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/b/beatles/eleanor_rigby_ver3_tab.htm

I know how to play the chords and everything, I'm just confused on how I'msupposed to know how to play the song off of that. Like, am I supposed to play the chord once, where it says to? If not, how am I supposed to know how many times to play it? AGH.

And second; with the actuall tabs, like this one:

http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/tabs/b/beatles/all_my_loving_ver3_tab.htm

How the heck am I supposed to play all of those at once?!?

I'm sorry. x) This ended up sounding incredibly confusing. But for any of you who understand it, and can help, you're amazing. THANKS!

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

1st Question - Thats just marking roughly where you start to play that chord, you can listen to the song and decide a strum pattern. Its just trying to give you a rough idea of when to change chords

2nd Question - That first chord is a bar chord. How you make those shapes (and it will take practice) is press down on all the strings with your index finger. So for that first chord do press on every string on the 2nd fret. Thatd give you this:

E 2
B 2
G 2
D 2
A 2
E 2

Now put your ring finger on the 4th fret of the A-string

E 2
B 2
G 2
D 2
A 4
E 2

And pinky on 4th fret of the D-string

E 2
B 2
G 2
D 4
A 4
E 2

There is your first chord on that tab, F# minor. That is how you go about making bar chords

There will be slight variations along the same lines though. For example the second chord, B, is this

E 2
B 4
G 4
D 4
A 2
E 

Here you would bar the 2nd fret with your index finger, but not the low E-string. Here you would press D G and B string down ton the 4th fret with your ring finger, but lift it over the high E-string. Don't worry too much about the high E though, as long as you hold the A D G and B strings

Finally you may see this

E 2
B 2
G 3
D 4
A 4
E 2

This is F# major. Make the same shape as F# minor, but place middle finger on the third fret of the G-string.

Sorry its a lot to look at but this is how you do it! Hope I was thorough and helpful

Anonymous · Answer

Above the Tab line there should be a line of 'proper' notation, so you would have to either play that or transcribe it. You could also try playing the root note of the chord instead of the actual chord, e.g. play A where it says A major.

questions12345 · Answer

that confuses me to. i am teaching myself to play guitar too. follow my blog. http://teenguitarists.blogspot.com/

Question about guitar tabs/chords?

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