Numbers are then added to the tab to show where each note is to be played. Diagram 2 is a simple example.
1e|--3-------------------------------------
2b|-----0---------1------------------------
3g|---------------0------------------------
4d|---------------2------------------------
5a|---------------3------------------------
6E|----------------------------------------
To play this music, you would imagine a vertical bar across all six lines, and scrolling evenly left to right. As the bar reaches each note, you play it. So the first note you would play is the note on string 1. You would press down on that string at (just behind) the 3rd fret. This happens to be a G, but that’s the big advantage of guitar tab - if you don’t know which note on your guitar is G, you can still play it!
The second note is a B. It is marked with a zero on string 2. The zero means you pluck the 2nd string open (ie without fretting the string anywhere with your left hand).
The third note is a C chord. The column of numbers means that you play all four notes at the same time: string 2 at fret 1, string 3 open, and so on.
You may have wondered why the spacing between the notes is uneven. A big downside with guitar tab as compared with formal sheet music is that you don’t easily know how long each note is. This is dealt with in the next lesson.