Good Afternoon,
I am new to guitar and am on Beginner grade 1 module 3. I am still trying to figure tabs out. I downloaded the first noel from another site and am curious about the tabs. If I am reading it correctly, there aren’t any chords except right at the end. My question is do you strum all strings when it shows the second string as open then it shows the 3rd string 2nd fret. It goes like this till near the end when it shows 1 st string open and 5th st string 3rd fret for I am assuming a bar. Then it shows second string 3 fret and 5th string 2 nd fret. No where does it show x’s so not to play.
I serched for a chord that is 1st string 3rd fret and 5th string 3rd fret but couldn’t find any. If I am reading this correct, I would be stumming all six strings all thime?
If this kind of question isn’t permitted here, Please delete it.
Thank You,
Jack Hardman
Hi @Jack255, there is no strumming in this tab. You are playing the melody, one note at a time, except for a few places where you play 2 notes at the same time. The two notes played together are a partial chord, either a C chord (when the low note is 5th string 3rd fret or 4th string open) or a G chord (when the low note is 6th string 3rd fret, or 5th string 2nd fret).
You only play the notes that are indicated on the tab. This tab is intended to be played with the fingers, I would say.
For chords, you could try ultimate guitar (they do chord sheets and tabs)
The B Minor may be a bit tricky at this stage, sometimes you can use the transpose option and use a capo, or click on the chord shape and it gives you alternative fingerings.
Being early grade one you may want to play a easier strumming version. Warming in the key of C it has an F chord. So your going to need to know the F chord.
Try this version
As others explained, this tab looks like it’s intended for fingerstyle playing, playing one note at a time.
The standard notation above the tab also indicates one note at a time, mostly. Parts like this require you to play the bass note with your thumb at the same time as playing the higher melody note:
Mind you, these are not chords as you play only the 2 notes indicated; the other strings are not supposed to ring out.
A chord progression including open chords would look something like this (it’s a C - Am - F - G progression):
The “empty” spaces mean that the string should not ring out when playing the chord. This can also be marked with an x. Also, in standard notation, the notes are stacked “on top” of each other, suggesting that they are to be played in unison, at the same time.
