Whats the relation between Tabs and Chords

Discussion in 'Beginner's Q&A Forum' started by RBJ, Jan 9, 2004.

  1. RBJ

    RBJ New Member

    Hey guys,
    First of all Thanks to all senior members. I started from Scratch about Guitar and within a month or so..I m now able to play Tabs for songs.

    But I am confused about the chords and tabs. Is there any relation between tabs and chords..? As I saw tabs as well as chords for the same song on www.hindisongnotes.com

    :confused:
     
  2. lord_neo

    lord_neo Guest

    Tabs = Tablature,

    Tablature includes chords and scales. I think they wanted to say scale instead used the word "tabs". "Playing Scales" is also commonly reffered to the word "tab & tabbing".
     
  3. RBJ

    RBJ New Member

    Thanks Neo,
    But my question was something about the relation between those two.

    Like in here most of the song notes are written in this pattern.

    E--------------------------------------- (1st string)
    B--------------------------------------- (2nd string)
    G--------------------------------------- (3rd)
    D--------------------------------------- (4th)
    A--------------------------------------- (5th string)
    E--------------------------------------- (6th/last string)


    and in Chords people write in different manner...like
    lets say "papa kahete hai.."(its just random chords not actual)


    A G# C
    papa kahete hai, bada naam karega




    Now how to related this two things..?
     
  4. prash_rocks

    prash_rocks Over the Hills & Far Away

    Oh... so you mean how to play chords?

    Each chord is defined to contain some specific notes it must contain to give it its distinctive character. That is, a chord is not just one single note but a collection of notes, at least 3 in number. That way a C chord is defined to contain the notes C, E and G and so whenever you're playing the C chord, you will play these notes across the strings. One way to do is [x,3,2,0,1,0] - play the indicated frets on the corresponding string. x=don't play the 6th (thickest), play the 5th on the 3rd fret, the 4th on the 2nd, 0=leave open the 3rd string, and so on...

    Refer to the several threads on chords in this forum in the 'Beginner's Q&A' and 'Tablature Discussion' sections.
     
  5. RBJ

    RBJ New Member

    sorry to keep bugging you guys, :eek:

    I have an idea about what you said and I know the chords and how to play chords. I learnt it from this section itself.

    but lets say Chord C = {X,3,2,0,1,0}
    whats the equivalent tab for single string.?

    that is the relationship I want to know. I hope you understand what am I trying to say.
     
  6. slash

    slash New Member

    sry i dont understand ur question:shock:
     
  7. hey wants to find an eqivalent of a chord in terms of a tab. hey when we play the c chord we how must we hit the strings i've tried and its sounds very bed. my guitar is well tuned so its surely i dont know how to do it can u plzzzzzzzz help thnx m8
     
  8. maverick8218

    maverick8218 New Member

    I don't know whether this will help ya, RBJ, but the notes of the song give the melody to the song and the chords just a background music that gives rythm to the song... as far as relating the two is concerned, I dont know whether there is any technical way of doing it... but i develop both independently by listening to the song... so if i want to play the lead for papa kehte hai, i'll just pick out the tune and get the notes. for the chords, I listen to the beats of the song to get the strum and try out diffrent chords until one fits in...
     
  9. maverick8218

    maverick8218 New Member

    @RBJ : and as far as getting the tab equivalent of C chord on a single string is concerned, I don't think there is such a thing. What I feel is that You cant derive the tune of a song by just knowing the chords and vice versa. correct me if i am wrong, guys.
     
  10. how do we play a chord do we have to strike all the strings n leave the ones wiz an X i've tried but it does not seem good plzzzzz help or at least give an advice thnx M8
     
  11. rabi_sultan

    rabi_sultan <Bulla Ki Jana>

    In tabs X means you play it as a muted note. try this by playing the strings with your left hand RESTING (not pressing) on the strings. thats playing X as it gives a percussive element to the sound. you leave a gap or - if you dont play it.

    chords have to be played together as the definition of a chord is a collection of notes. Depending on the selection of these notes is what makes the chord a major, minor, fifth, suspended 2nd/4th, minor/major 7th/9th/11th.

    The most commonly used references are the major, minor triads (where triad means three). For instance in C major scale the C chord is made of C E G (a major triad) but the A chord in the scale is made up of A C E (a minor triad).

    The form of these triads are determined by the selected note in the scale. For instance the notes in the scale of C major are:
    Code:
      1      2      3  4      5      6      7
      C  C#  D  D#  E  F  F#  G  G#  A  A#  B
    

    As you can see the major scale keeps certain gaps and notes that you don't play otherwise it ruins the purpose of the scale (a major scale is a happy one!). If your familiar with desi music this concept is the same as ragas.

    In any case to select a major triad the gaps between the notes must be from the starting note must be five to the second note and eight (from the start note) to the third note. Thus in the C major scale the chord for the note C is [C E G]. This is a major chord. However as you can see with A the major chord for A is [A C# E]. This does not work as the C major scale does not support C#. However it does support C, by adjusting the [A C# E] into [A C E] you have changed the gap to 1-4-8 and this is the gap for the minor triad. Thus in the C major scale this is why you play the chord A minor instead of A major.

    So to answer the question you can't tab out the chord into a single note its impossible since you need three notes. However a arpeggio are notes played singularly that make up a chord and these are harder to spot for many newer players, this is the only way to make a chord formation out of individual note plucking, but then its called arpeggios and not chords ;)


    Code:
       D major     |  G major
    E|-------2-----|-------3-----|
    B|-----3---3---|-----3---3---|
    G|---2-------2-|---0-------0-|
    D|-0-----------|-------------|
    A|-------------|-------------|
    E|-------------|-3-----------|
    


    Hope that helps!
     
  12. maverick8218

    maverick8218 New Member

    wow rabi, cool lesson.
     
  13. theripper

    theripper New Member

    Tabs and chords.

    heres a new way to define chords and tabs. hope this clears your doubts.

    each chord is a fixed set of notes. a chord will always consist of the same notes. they are also constructed on a fixed pattern. i dont suppose you wnat to go into that part of theory right now.

    the tabs tell the individual notes and they are played.

    lets say, the notes are alphabets and chords are the words that are constructed from them.

    When you play each note, that is tabs. lets say, when in the hindi songs they start with the raags, sa ni ni sa, ni pa sa.... and so on. they can be called as tabs. They form the lead, the solo and the riff parts of guitaring.

    Chords arent found in hindi classical. they are used to give a rhythm to the songs.
    to play them, you just put the fingers on the notes of the chord and strum away.

    for tabs, you have to pluck each notes individually.

    listen to the original aadat by jal. when the bloke is singing you would here guitaring.. chang chang chang, chang-chachang-chng. and it will go on. That are chords.

    And then you will hear a bit that will not have any structure, just various notes played, when singing is not taking place. thats tabs.


    AS you play more and LISTEN more, you'll come across many abnormalities and exceptions. But we'll deal with them when they arise. I dont want you to get confused right now.

    metal on
    Jinx
     
  14. amit82cse

    amit82cse Silent observeR

    I have described it in details in following article:

    [thread=19431]Tips :: Finding the scale of the song through melody/tabs[/thread]

    Article is mainly about playing a melody, finding its tabs, using these tabs fidn its scale and using scale find the chords.
     
  15. manoj2103

    manoj2103 New Member

    hi

    well! well! guys no need of detasil discrption.
    just a simple way out .......
    chords r made out of tabs i mean notations c d e f ...and so on

    so tabs and chords hav a strong and healthy relation
     
  16. UjSen

    UjSen *#!EVIL*!!

    hey RBJ ...........ur username inspired by bjr??:grin:
     
  17. zing

    zing Machine Head

    the chords section tells u the NAME of the chords - u r expected to know how to play it

    the tabs section show u how to play the song - whether notes or chords

    this is the tab for C chord
    Code:
    E |-----0------
    B |-----1------
    G |-----0------
    D |-----2------
    A |-----3------
    E |-----0------
    but u cant play a chord on a single string by definition

    yep u gotta strike all strings at one stroke - u can "damp" the X string (touch it lightly so that it does not ring)
    u may not b applying enough pressure on the string or u may be touching the fret which is why its not sounding good
     
  18. magicalaks

    magicalaks New Member

    ur rite manoj!!!!!!!!!!
     
  19. jayesh.c110

    jayesh.c110 New Member

    Problem in Reading Notes

    Hi Everyone,

    I am a beginner in Guitar learning.........
    I have attached one file with this post which shows the notation on the fretboard (This was provided to me by the Guy who used to teach me)
    But the problem is I am not able to find any Songs tab in this format.......
    Can any1 pls pls help me for this..........

    Regards;
    Jay
     

    Attached Files:

  20. swati.c.840

    swati.c.840 New Member

    is there any relation between chords and the bass?? like an E chord on the six string..will it be equivalent to an E on the bass?
     

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