Estimated reading time 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Why Color Code Guitar Tab for LD Achievement?
Does tab confuse you? Teachers: have you ever had a student who could not tell one string from another when reading tab? Tab creates a picture of the guitar neck. However, many ADHD, LD and autistic students become confused by tab despite its visual appearance. Read more to learn how to color code guitar tab.
The Issue
LD students’ become dazzled by the shimmer created by the contrast of the black and white lines of the notation.
The Solution
Color coding the open strings helps reduce the confusion that students experience, assisting them to effectively read the score.
This post uses musical terms. See the Glossary at the end of the article for definitions.
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, tilt your screen 90o to the right.
How Tab Works
In the example above, the horizontal tab lines represent the six strings of the guitar:
- The line lowest on the TAB staff represents the fattest string.
- Conversely, the line highest on the TAB staff represents the thinnest string.
- The thinnest string is also the highest sounding string.
- This explains why the string closest to the floor on the guitar is the highest string represented on the TAB staff.
- Namely, the string with the highest sounding note sits at the highest position on the TAB staff.
The numbers represent the frets:
- The smaller the number the closer the fret is to the headstock of the guitar.
- The bigger the number the closer the fret is to the bridge of the guitar.
For an explanation of the color coded counting numbers:
Video: How Effective is the Color Coding?
How to Color Code the Guitar Tab's Strings
Color code the guitar tab’s strings using the same note colors used in:
How to Color Code Notes for Successful LD & Special Needs Distance Learning
- 1st (thinnest) string E = red
- 2nd string B = blue
- 3rd string G = green
- 4th string D = gray
- 5th string A = purple
- 6th (thickest) string E = red
How to Color Code the Guitar Tab's Frets
I first encountered the idea of coloring the frets in Sarah Fard’s 2019 ABLE Assembly presentation. The ABLE Assembly is a special needs arts conference, and Fard’s presentation was in the block before my presentation at the conference.
- It makes sense that LD students could get confused by notation represented by numbers and that color would help. Basically, Fard color codes the guitar tab’s three lowest frets. Click here to access the site that explains Fard’s methods.
- Nevertheless, color coding the frets can take different forms.
- The student in the picture below struggled to play the main riff to the song Smoke on the Water. Mostly, the main riff plays doubles stops on frets five, eight, and ten on strings four and five.
- Once in each cycle of the riff, the student plays fret eleven. At this point, my student would usually play the wrong fret even though I’d shown him the riff countless times.
- My solution: I color coded the guitar tab’s easy frets (five, eight, and ten) all the same color: blue. The fret he struggled with, I colored red to make it stand out. It made the riff much easier for him to play.
Just for fun, I’ve included a Smoke on the Water video below.
Video: Learn the Smoke on the Water Riff
Final Thoughts to How to Color Code the Guitar Tab
Despite tab’s visual appearance, it can still confuse some students.
- Multisensory teaching helps reduce the confusion that happens when ADD, LD, ASD, and special needs students read tablature.
- That is, color coding guitar tab empowers them to achieve success.
© 2020 Geoffrey Keith
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