This is the one I use,
efm, and if I remember correctly it costs about $20, so it won't break the bank.
Guitar tabs are actually really easy to read once someone shows you how (I know, they look like they're written in Chinese or something. Heh.) I'll try to explain -- the six lines on a tab represent the six strings of the guitar. The top line is the high-e string. The next one down is the b-string, and so forth. Set your guitar on your lap and look down at it. That's what the lines represent, in that order:
e -------------------------------
b -------------------------------
g -------------------------------
d -------------------------------
a -------------------------------
E -------------------------------
The numbers represent which fret you would press each string down in. An E-chord, in tablature, looks like this:
e -------------0------------------
b -------------0------------------
g -------------1------------------
d -------------2------------------
a -------------2------------------
E -------------0------------------
A 0 means you leave the string open, and an X means that you mute the string. So an A-minor would look like this:
e --------------0-----------------
b --------------1-----------------
g --------------2-----------------
d --------------2-----------------
a --------------0-----------------
E --------------x-----------------
If you're just playing chords, then you really don't need to learn how to read a tab, but for lead parts it's really helpful. Like, the easiest lead part ever is the intro to Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters," which would look like this:
e -----------0-----------------0-----------------0--------------
b --------0-----0-----------0-----0-----------0-----0-----------
g -----0-----------0-----0-----------0-----0-----------0--------
d ---------------------------------------------------------------
a ---------------------------------------------------------------
E --0-----------------0-----------------0------------------0-----
The only thing you have to get used to is that your brain looks at the top line and wants to interpret that as "top string," but it's actually backwards. Does that help?
ETA: I just checked out the tab for "Can't Stay Away," and it looks correct. Unfortunately for me I'm even worse at power chords than I am at barre chords. Heh.
Edited again because the d- and g-strings are not the same.
If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit.
) Thanks for the tip, though!
