If you’re not able to read music in manuscript form, Guitar tab is a great way to know which strings are frets to play for a certain piece of music.
Cigar box guitar tab (short for tablature) is a way of showing which notes to play using 3 (or 4) lines to represent the strings, and numbers to represent the frets. The numbers are written across the strings, rather than sitting in the spaces between the lines.
A Simple Example Of Cigar Box Guitar Tab
Here is a very simple example of a 3 string tab for a well-known song :
The number 4s at the beginning of the tab show that there are 4 crotchet beats per bar. This means that we count 4 steady beats per bar.
Notice that for a time signature, we write these numbers in the spaces between the lines.
The fret numbers are written across the string lines.
It’s difficult to show the length of notes in tab unless you put lines in to show things like crochets and quavers. Sometimes tab writers show the actual manuscript above the tab to help players see the note lengths more easily. I like to at least put note lengths in using common manuscript conventons.
It’s best to think of tabs as more of a guide to what to play than an accurate version made possible using music manuscript. However, good tab writing is very helpful if you can’t read music, especially if you know, by ear, how the music sounds.
Comparing Cigar Box Guitar Tab And Chord Diagrams
Cigar Box Guitar Tab shows the strings horizontally whereas chord diagrams show the strings vertically.
It’s common for chord Diagrams( and also chord names) to usually only be put above the words when a chord change takes place, not for every beat. That’s not always the case though, especially for beginner music .
Cigar Box Guitar Tab shows each note that is played, with a fret number indicated written across a line to indicate which string is being played.
Chord diagrams will sometimes have a number written to the left of the lowest fret. This is to show that the shape is moved up from the first fret and is a way that’s used to stop chord diagrams being too tall.
How Do We Write Chords In Cigar Box Guitar Tab?
Notes stacked vertically over each other are played at the same time. For a 3 note chord, 3 numbers will appear together.
They will be stacked on top of each other, one number written across each line. A wavy line just before this means that the chord is to be strummed rather than picked.
For actual chord shape diagrams, see here for simple chord shapes in G D G and for here for simple chord shapes in E B E tuning
Annotations Commonly Used In Cigar Box Guitar Tab
There are a few different ways of travelling from one note to another and these need their own way of making it clear on the Tab. These include:
- Slide
- Hammer-on
- Pull-Off
- Strummed chord
A slide is usually shown by the letter “s” between 2 notes. Some people prefer to use “-s-” with the dashes showing which notes are involved a little more clearly. Others use / for slide up and \ for slide down.
A hammer on is usually shown by the letter “h” between 2 notes. Again, some people prefer to use “-h-” with the dashes showing which notes are involved a little more clearly.
A pull-off is usually shown by the letter “p” or “-p-” between 2 notes.
A strummed chord is usually written with a wavy line to left of notes stacked on top of each other.
To show that a note should be bent, a “b” is often used.
Writing Your Own Cigar Box Guitar Tab
You will need 3 lines to represent the three strings. You can either draw this yourself or use ready printed paper or music writing software that will let you write Tab.
To draw it yourself, use a ruler and pen or pencil, making sure that you keep the lines parallel and far enough apart to write clear numbers across each line.
For a printed version, I have provided a link to download a pdf version which I have prepared for you.
It’s useful to be able to jot down a riff when you are really happy with how it sounds. I don’t know about you, but I can work something out one day, practise a few times and think I’ve got it in my head. I come back the next day and I’ve completely forgotten what I was doing.
Of course, you can always audio record yourself, but I find that it doesn’t always remind me of how I actually played something.
Can I Play 6 String Guitar Tab On My Cigar Box Guitar?
You can convert tab using all 6 strings to 3 string tab. However, you’ll probably find that some music will work better than others. It’s not that easy if all 6 strings are being used.
This is because guitar music often makes full use of the octaves on a 6-string. We will need to work out how to play in a slightly different way.
The lowest note on a standard 6 string guitar is E and the highest note is over 3 octaves higher. On your 3 string guitar, you will probably have just over 2 octaves difference. This means that we may need to make some compromises including the fact that some notes will need to be played in a different octave.
Tips For Converting 6 String Guitar Tab To Cigar Box Guitar Tab
I’ve made a quick table to help you convert music written for the top 3 strings of a 6-string guitar into 3 string tab for a guitar in G D G tuning:
| string | fret number on 6 string guitar | fret number on 3 string guitar for octave down | fret number on 3 string guitar for same pitch |
| 3rd- G | fret position on G string | same as 6 string | move up 12 frets |
| 2nd | fret position on B string | move down 3 frets | move up 9 frets |
| top | fret position on E string | move down 3 frets | move up 9 frets |
As you can see, it’s more straightforward to use the 3rd column for frets on the 3- string. But it’s important to bear in mind that it will sound an octave lower on your 3 string. You can use the 4th column to play everything up 12 frets if you want the pitch to be the same as the original.