Ref: Reading Chord Charts, Scale Maps, and Strumming Notation
Chord charts and scale maps are non-temporal notation. Unlike tab, they are not describing something to be performed with rhythm or in-time. They represent a collection of notes for a group (or box) of adjacent frets, helpful to remember patterns or fingerings.
Contents
Chord Charts
Chord charts use the following symbols to indicate which fingers to use to make the chord:
| t | thumb |
|---|---|
| i | index |
| m | middle |
| r | ring |
| p | pinky |
| o | open |
Chord charts typically use double bars to represent the nut and single bars to represent the frets, with perpendicular single bars representing the strings. If the double bar is not present, there is a number indicating the first fret for a chord further up the fretboard, which may still use open strings. If neither the nut nor the fret number are shown, there must be no open strings - the shape is not tied to a particular note but merely a relationship between the given notes and can be played anywhere on the fretboard.
Tab Friendly Chord Charts
I prefer to use more tab-friendly chord charts. Everything is the same as in a traditional chart, but rotated 90° counter-clockwise. Frets numbers ascend from left to right. The bottom horizontal line is the thickest string and top line the thinnest. A double-bar on the left indicates the nut (open position).
Chord Name E E
1st String o|-|-|-| |i|-|-|
2nd String o|-|-|-| |)|-|r|
3rd String ||i|-|-| |)|-|r|
4th String ||-|r|-| |)|-|r|
5th String ||-|m|-| |i|-|-|
6th String o|-|-|-| o|-|-|-|
^ ^ ^ ^ 7
| \|/ ^
Nut Frets Position
Above Examples as tab: E-------------0-----------7------ B-------------0-----------9------ G-------------1-----------9------ D-------------2-----------9------ A-------------2-----------7------ E-------------0-----------0------
Traditional Chord Charts
Traditional chord charts use a horizontal double bar to indicate the nut, with single horizontal bars representing the frets. The lower the bar in the chart, the higher the fret number. The vertical bars are the strings, going from left to right as the thickest to the thinnest strings.
E Major chords in traditional chord chart o oo o ====== ++++++ |||i|| 7|i___i ++++++ ++++++ |mr||| |||||| ++++++ ++++++ |||||| ||rrr| ++++++ ++++++
or more condensed:
o===oo o +++i++ 7 +i---i -i+++i +mr+++ ++++++ ------ ++++++ ++rrr+ --rrr-
Scale Maps
A scale map represents a fingering pattern for a scale and can be moved to any position for different keys. Root notes are indicated with x 's and other notes with o 's. The first fret may have a number underneath to indicate a particular scale (E Major vs. any Major).
1st String |o|x|-|o|
2nd String |-|o|-|o|
3rd String |o|-|o|o|
4th String |o|-|o|x|
5th String |o|o|-|o|
6th String |o|x|-|o|
^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Frets, low -> high
Above Example as tab in 7th position, playing each note from low to high E-----------------------------------7-8-10-- B------------------------------8-10--------- G-----------------------7-9-10-------------- D----------------7-9-10--------------------- A---------7-8-10---------------------------- E--7-8-10-----------------------------------
Some patterns will have doubled notes between a pair of strings. I use an "*" to mark the doubled note that is typically omitted; however, it is often helpful to know it is there:
|o|o|-|o|-|
This note -> |o|x|-|o|-|
|o|-|o|-|*| <- is preferred over this note
|o|-|o|o|-|
|o|-|o|x|-|
|o|o|-|o|-|
Occasionally, a scale map may use numbers instead of x's and o's to indicate the scale degree of the note. This is particularly helpful for arpeggios.
|7|1|-|-| |-|5|-|-| |-|-|3|-| |-|-|7|1| |3|-|-|5| |7|1|-|-|
- R/1 - Root or Octave
- 2/9 - Second or Ninth
- 3 - Third
- 4/11 - Fourth or Eleventh
- 5 - Fifth
- 6/13 - Sixth or Thirteenth
- 7 - Seventh
Strumming Notation
Strumming notation is a concise way to indicate rhythmic patterns for strummed chords.
| Tab Name |
Note | In Terms of Quarter Note |
|---|---|---|
| w | Whole | 1 = 4 Quarter Notes |
| h | Half | 1 = 2 Quarter Notes |
| q | Quarter | 1 = 1 Quarter Note |
| e | Eighth | 2 = 1 Quarter Note |
| s | Sixteenth | 4 = 1 Quarter Note |
| t | Thirty Second | 8 = 1 Quarter Note |
| * | Sixty Fourth | 16 = 1 Quarter Note |
*so rare I don't really have a marking for it
I believe this is the best we can do with text-based tab. In professional tablature, strumming notation resides the same way, except uses markings that resemble note markings - ovals, open or filled-in, with or without stems. However, since we know the chord voicing and there's not really a pitch to the strummed "note", all strums reside at an equal horizontal orientation. There is no staff. The markings do not indicate pitch, only rhythm.
The best part of the professional notation is that it can easily mark a muted strum, by writing a strike-through line through the stem of the note.
Internet-based tab may also resort to using slashes as such:
C / / X G / / X C / / XXF//// /
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4n1n2n3 4 q q q q q q q q q q q eeeeeeq q
What the first example is supposed to represent is based on the spacing, as well as the common practice of playing a new chord on the down beat of a measure. We are also assuming 4/4 time. Then you have the note values written simply by their spacing. The /'s are strums of the last named chord. The name of each chord also indicates to strum. And the X's represent muted strums.
This may be a bit too ambiguous for my tastes, but in many cases it gets the job done, especially if it's just a simple quarter/eighth note strumming pattern. However, when placed over tab for a melody, lead, or fill guitar, then often spacing has to be altered to accommodate the variety of spaces needed to play the given notes. For instance, one measure may be a simple sustained whole note, while the next measure is an insane tapping, legato, bending lick with vibrato, that takes up quite some space to notate properly. It'd be nice if we didn't have to make that 1st plain measure giant size to indicate its temporal equivalence to the extremely busy 2nd measure.
I like to use:
C x G x C xxF q q q q q q q q q q q eeeeeeq q
It takes up 2 lines vs. 1 but it's perfectly clear what is being indicated.