Guitar Tab Symbols Explained: Hammer-Ons, Bends, Slides & More

Once you understand the numbers in guitar tab, there’s still a whole layer of symbols that tells you how to actually play the notes – the H’s, slashes, squiggles, and brackets. In this lesson I’ll walk you through the most common ones so you can read almost any tab you find online. If you’re brand new to tab, I’d start with the basics first, then come back here.

Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs

A hammer-on looks like 5h7 – you pick the fifth fret and hammer onto the seventh without picking again. A pull-off (P) is the reverse (like 7p5). The most common mistake is picking both notes, so remember: you only pick the first one. String several of these together and you get legato, a smoother, less “”picky”” sound.

Slides

Slides show up as a slash mark – one direction slides up, the other slides down. You pick the starting note and slide into the next without picking it again. You can also slide in from a general area, almost like an airplane coming in for a landing, or slide out as a kind of sound effect.

Bends and Releases

With a bend you pick a note and push the string until it matches a higher pitch – a half bend raises it one fret, a whole bend two frets, and a quarter bend is a subtle in-between. Add an R for a release, where you bend up and then return to the original note.

Vibrato

Vibrato is marked with a wavy tilde, which is a perfect picture of what your hand is doing. You can use finger vibrato or a stronger wrist vibrato – either way, in tab it simply means add that gentle wave to the note.

Muting

An X means a muted stroke – you lightly touch the strings to get a percussive, pitchless sound. You’ll also see PM with dashes for palm muting, which tells you how long to rest the edge of your palm on the strings to dampen them.

Harmonics and Let Ring

A note inside angle brackets is a harmonic – lightly touch the string directly over the fret wire (not behind it) and pluck. Regular brackets, or the words “”let ring,”” tell you to hold a note so it keeps sustaining while you play others.

Final Thoughts

Tab has been around for centuries – musicians were writing tablature for fretted instruments long before modern notation – and it endures because it shows you exactly where to put your fingers. Just remember that tab isn’t the full picture: you still need to listen to the song to know how it goes.

If you want a step-by-step path from reading tab to truly making music, my all-access pass comes with a 10-day free trial, including my full beginner course, song play-alongs, worksheets, and the ability to ask me questions directly through Ask James.

Have a fun time practicing and I’ll see you soon!

-James