โ Guitar ยท Single notes ยท about 25 min
Song sheets: sheet music and tab
Read the same song two ways, and play it with chords too.
How to read a song sheet
A song sheet shows the music in more than one way. The staff is the sheet music. The tab shows which string and fret to play. The chords show the harmony. They all say the same thing.
Guitar music is written one octave higher than it sounds. That keeps it easy to read. You don't have to do anything about it.
Ode to Joy
Beethoven's tune, on the top two strings. Press play to hear it, then play along.
e|-0--0--1--3--|--3--1--0-----|-----------0--|--0--------| B|-------------|-----------3--|--1--1--3-----|-----3--3--| G|-------------|--------------|--------------|-----------| D|-------------|--------------|--------------|-----------| A|-------------|--------------|--------------|-----------| E|-------------|--------------|--------------|-----------|
Press play to hear it, or turn the tempo down and play along.
Slide the staff and tab sideways on a small screen. This tune is in the public domain.
Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
A traditional tune in the public domain. It uses the top two strings, with one stretch up to the 5th fret.
e|-------3--3--|--5--5--3--|--1--1--0--0--|-----------|--3--3--1--1--|--0--0-----|--3--3--1--1--|--0--0-----|--------3--3--|--5--5--3--|--1--1--0--0--|-----------| B|-1--1--------|-----------|--------------|--3--3--1--|--------------|--------3--|--------------|--------3--|--1--1--------|-----------|--------------|--3--3--1--| G|-------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------| D|-------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------| A|-------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------| E|-------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|--------------|-----------|
Press play to hear it, or turn the tempo down and play along.
A chord chart
Chord sheets show the chord names instead of notes. Play each chord for one bar, then repeat. This is the progression from the earlier lesson.
Each box is one measure of 4 beats. Play the chord on each slash, then repeat the whole line. Strum: D, D U, U D U.