Using Tabs To Play Worship Songs

What are Christian guitar tabs?" you may be asking yourself. It can be sort of confusing because people use the words 'tab' and 'chart' when they are referring to the same thing, which is a chord chart. I'll use Christian guitar tab in this article when referring to a chord chart, but let me explain what an actual guitar 'tab' is, because sometimes you with find 'tabs' on chord charts.

'Tab' is short for tablature. Tablature is a number-notation system created mainly for people who can't read music but more specifically for lead guitar players who want to learn how to play specific guitar lead lines in songs. Now, there aren't, or historically haven't be, I should say, complex lead lines in most Christian praise songs. But there are some simple hooky lines that are fun to learn when learning some of these songs.

Again, tablature is mostly beneficial for people like me as a kid-kids who love bands with intricate lead solos and like to sit for hours and learn all the complex lead lines from their favorite songs. The numbers represent frets, while the six line layout represents the six strings on the guitar. It's a very easy system that could be picked up by even the most beginner guitar player, which is exactly what I was back then.

Well, Christian guitar tabs are different. While some charts include actual tablature, usually just to show how to place your fingers to form the right chords, most just have letters A-G over particular words, representing the chord you are to play at that specific time of the song. It's pretty straight forward, really. The trick is just learning to play those chords, switching from one to another quickly and figuring out some basic strum patterns. With those things, and a handful of Christian guitar tabs, you'll be playing your favorite worship songs in no time.

The problem, though, with Christian guitar tabs online is that they are often inaccurate. While they will usually have the correct lyrics, the chords are often either wrong or wrongly placed on the chart, which is even more frustrating-not to mention time consuming to fix. With the right search, you can find ones that are accurate, but by that time you're ready to bang your head against the wall and shut your computer down. And often times the only accurate charts are the ones you have to pay for by the chart, which is fine, and I want to support musicians and worship leaders, but sometimes I just want to take a quick look at the chart to see if I'm playing the right chord, and then I can move on with my life.