How to Read Banjo Tablature
Tablature is a simple way of writing music for fretted instruments such as the banjo. It uses lines and numbers to indicate frets and strings. Banjo tablature is written on a 5-line staff with each line representing a string on the banjo. The bottom line corresponds to the high G string and continues through to the top line which represents the high D string. An example of the banjo tab staff is shown below with each string labeled:
Numbers are placed on the tablature staff to indicate frets. In the example below, the first number is a "5", indicating that the fifth fret on the fourth string (the low D string) should be played.
A zero indicates that the open string should be played. In the following example, the third string (G) is played open:
Stacked numbers mean that you should play all of the specified notes at the same time. For example, the tablature below is for a C major chord:
There are additional symbols used in banjo tablature. However, the information provided above is sufficient to read all of the tablature on this site.