Basic Guitar Tablature (Part Two)

The first song on this page is written in two different ways; the first being an easy version that is entirely on one string. If this one seems easy, move on to the second line, where the musical figure is written exactly as it was originally played by the artist. Notice how it moves across different strings, rather than running up and down only one string like previous exercises. The two vertical dots at the end of each line is a common musical symbol called a repeat sign. This indicates that the written line, or multiple lines, is to be played more than once.

Try using the following assigned fingering for Sunshine of Your Love:

• Index/pointer finger – use for 10th fret

• Middle finger – use for 11th fret

• Ring finger – use for 12th fret

• Little/pinky finger – use for 13th fret

When played with these assigned fingers, you are using your hand most efficiently to play the notes. Thinking back to our previous exercises when sliding up and down one string, this was actually not an efficient use of our left hand.

Instead, we want to stay in one position as much as possible without having to slide up and down the neck. These two different versions of Sunshine of Your Love demonstrate these two techniques while using the exact same notes.

A neck position is simply thinking of a group of frets aligned with the four fingers of your left hand (thumb not included of course). For example, Sunshine of Your Love is in tenth position, because the first finger is aligned with the tenth fret, and the other three fingers follow.