Guitar tabulature question

[velomont]

Mods, please move this as you see fit. I am using Ultimate Guitar tabs for Jeff Beck’s “Too much to lose” and there is a symbol I’m not at all familiar with.

It looks like a reverse/backwards ‘3’ immediately preceding the fret number. It’s also very slightly lower than the fret number, almost like a subscript, except that the font seems to be the same size as the fret number. Something like ---------E10------8------ where the ‘E’ is like a reverse ‘3’.

Does anyone know what that is? Thank you very much.

[minlokwat]

It’s a quarter rest sign.

link

Not sure how it works in with your song but I’d venture whatever that segment of your tab should be played with more of a staccato feel.

[velomont]

@minlokwat

It’s a quarter rest sign.

link

Not sure how it works in with your song but I’d venture whatever that segment of your tab should be played with more of a staccato feel.

Ah, I wish it were so. Picture this, though the Ɛ is about a pixel lower than the 10. Is a typo possible?

---

-------Ɛ10-------

---

[zombywoof]

Are you sure it isn’t an “8”?

What do you HEAR there in the original recording? - IMO tabs should be considered a guide to help you work things out with your ears, not taken as gospel.

[engineer_comp_geek]

Moderator Action

@velomont

Mods, please move this as you see fit.

Cafe Society is our usual home for questions about music theory, so let’s move it to there (from GQ).

[Saintly_Loser]

@minlokwat

It’s a quarter rest sign.

link

Not sure how it works in with your song but I’d venture whatever that segment of your tab should be played with more of a staccato feel.

I don’t think you’d see a rest sign in tab – usually tab indicates fingering, but not rhythm, at least not with that kind of precision.

Could it be a very small 8 (as in eight)? Indicating a grace note, or hammer-on, or something?

Like 810

[Acsenray]

@velomont

Mods, please move this as you see fit. I am using Ultimate Guitar tabs for Jeff Beck’s “Too much to lose” and there is a symbol I’m not at all familiar with.

It looks like a reverse/backwards ‘3’ immediately preceding the fret number. It’s also very slightly lower than the fret number, almost like a subscript, except that the font seems to be the same size as the fret number. Something like ---------E10------8------ where the ‘E’ is like a reverse ‘3’.

Does anyone know what that is? Thank you very much.

Can you link to the tab?

[Kzbre5m]

Looking at the 16th measure of this, it looks like a small 8 like Saintly Loser indicates. A very blurry 8, none the less, when I enlarge the screen.

[aceplace57]

I agree you have to isolate those measures and slow them down. Use a program like Transcribe! or ASD (Amazing Slow Downer).

I use the ASD App on my phone. Set it to loop and play a few seconds of the music. Slow it down to 70%.

Then you can study the Tab and see for sure what they are notating in the 16th bar.

That’s a pretty difficult tab. A lot of slides and bends. I’d start with the 1st measure and verify that the tab is reasonably accurate.

[aceplace57]

I suspect the 8 10 is a slide to that note. They forgot the curve line.

Compare to measure 5.

7 9 with a curve line. A slide.

[Acsenray]

@Kzbre5m

Looking at the 16th measure of this, it looks like a small 8 like Saintly Loser indicates. A very blurry 8, none the less, when I enlarge the screen.

I would read that as a hammer on

[velomont]

Hi all, I just looked at the actual source document online and it is indeed what Saintly Loser said.

Thanks everybody!