Reading guitar tabs upside-down may seem intimidating at first, but it doesn’t have to be hard. All it requires is some patience and practice.
Each line on a tab represents one string, from highest (high E) to lowest (low E), with numbers denoting where to place your finger.
Scales
Scales are the building blocks of key, so knowing them will enable you to construct musically pleasing chord progressions. Furthermore, most chord progressions use scale notes, so understanding scales will also help you learn songs you want to play!
There are various fretboard diagrams and guitar tabs online which will show you scale patterns, fingering techniques, and how they apply to particular songs. You may want to try experimenting with various scales while listening to one of your favorite songs to see how each works with that chord progression.
Scale patterns are designed to be moveable across string sets, making them accessible from any note. For example, the major scale features several variations that can create bluesy, minor or Lydian sounds depending on your musical taste. On electric guitars with 24 frets (twelve fret has double inlay indicating it’s one octave higher).
Chords
Chords are an essential building block of music and essential for anyone learning the guitar. Chords consist of multiple notes played simultaneously to create harmony and melody, as well as being broken down into various types based on intervals – for instance a basic major chord is composed of its root note in any key scale being used (called its root), third note (known as third root note) and fifth note.
Each chord possesses its own distinct sound, lending itself to use in various genres of music. A chord’s quality can be determined by how many notes it contains as well as where its position in the scale lies.
Certain chords may contain a seventh note, and this can be indicated by adding a plus sign or an o to their name (for instance G7+). These symbols indicate that this chord should be played open rather than fretted on its seventh string.
Fingerings
A chord is made up of multiple notes played together. When learning guitar chords upside down, however, fingerings must also be considered. Because fret markers on an upside down guitar will be inverted, hand position must also be adjusted accordingly – with your index finger placed on the second fret of the fifth string and middle finger placed on third fret of sixth string forming G5 chord. You may add extra resonance by adding fourth finger. This is how bar chords are created.
Some chords require your fingers to stretch significantly, which may involve shifting their thumb and elbow positions or practicing them on an electric rather than an acoustic guitar so as to decrease pressure on your wrists.
Tabs are a form of notation used to visualize all six strings on a guitar from left to right (EADGBE). The top line represents the high E string while the bottom one indicates its low counterpart.
Tuning
Keep a few things in mind when learning guitar chords upside down, including that the fret markers on your guitar may be reversed and may take time to adapt to. Regular practice sessions are important so as to facilitate this transition and help build your proficiency in learning guitar chords in this fashion.
Keep in mind that string notes are numbered from thinnest to thickest; thus starting with E (for high E), then A, D and finally G strings.
Eric Gales of Memphis, Tennessee is best known for playing guitar upside-down. A blues musician by trade, Eric began performing as soon as he could pick up the instrument from his brother Eugene at age 4, teaching himself by himself before going on to collaborate with incredible musicians such as Doug Pinnick from Kings X and Mitch Mitchell of Aerosmith.