Tablature may seem like a relatively new notational practice, but its use predates the modern guitar. Standard (staff) notation is global and can be read by any trained musician tablature, while indeed a form of notation, is instrument-specific. Notation and tablature-in which fret numbers are indicated on horizontal lines that represent strings-are synonymous to some guitarists, but this is not quite accurate. Here you’ll learn how guitar notation evolved into the sophisticated tool it is today, how it’s prepared for publications like AG, and most important, how you can use it to learn new music, whatever your style, more quickly and efficiently. These peculiarities of the guitar have created the need for specialized notation, such as chord diagrams and tablature, that offer us visual representations of exactly where to place our fingers on the fretboard.

The situation amplifies when using a capo, and especially a partial capo. That middle C is in the same place as in standard tuning on strings 4 and 5, but on strings 2 and 3, it’s been relocated (to frets 3 and 6, respectively), and on string 6 it falls past the fretboard on most acoustic guitars. Get into an alternating tuning like open D (D A D F # A D), which shares only two of the open strings of standard tuning, and the fretboard is disrupted. On an instrument like the piano or flute, there’s only one middle C, but on a standard-tuned six-string guitar, you can choose to play that same pitch at any of five different locations, each with a distinct timbral color and performance opportunity. The fretboard is quite a tricky place, with a labyrinth of possibilities. From the August 2018 issue of Acoustic Guitar | BY ADAM PERLMUTTER

Music notation software with tablature