Video Game Tabs

What are Video Game Tabs?

Video game tabs are a specific form of notation for reading music that does not require you to understand traditional sheet music. Tabs, short for tabulature, display the song being played not as a series of notes, but in terms of how you would actually play it. The most popular video game tabs are those designed for an acoustic guitar, like the musical instrument pictured above. When you see these tabs, they will typically consist of six horizontal lines, each corresponding to an individual string on a standard guitar.

Similar systems are in place for other instruments, including the bass, ukulele, mandolin, banjo, and even free reed aerophones like the harmonica. The tablature system of music notation is a lot easier for beginners to pick up and understand because it directly corresponds to the instrument being played. The shortcoming is that video game tabs written for the guitar will not be understood by someone playing a harmonica. At the same time, music gurus will tell you that it is much the same with regular sheet music as well.

Pros and Cons of Video Game Tabs

On the one hand, video game tabs are relatively easy to read, so they're great for novices to use and enjoy, playing songs that they may not otherwise be able to try. One of the biggest shortcomings of video game tabs, however, is that the notation is not complete, forcing the musician to "play by ear" in terms of how long to hold a particular note or chord. The music tabulature system is a great starting point, but you may need to use full sheet music to get a truly accurate representation of any given song.

Where Can I Find Video Game Tabs?

• GameTabs.net: There are many sources to consider on the internet where you can freely get your hands on a wide range of video game tabs, but none are quite as large as this website. They've got all sorts of great music tabs for you to browse through, ranging from classic Mario themes right up to more recent titles across every video game system, including the PlayStation 2. A big plus is that the selection of tablature is categorized based on the system on which the video game can be found. They've got a bit of a focus on Nintendo consoles, but that could just be because Nintendo has been around the longest.

• Video Game Jam: Unlike most other websites that only offer video game guitar tabs, this destination expands on that and also gives you a series of tablature designed for the bass. Like GameTabs, Video Game Jam also organizes its library by system, ranging from Arcade to the Xbox. One caveat is that this site is a touch on the amateur side, but don't be turned off by its modest appearance.

• MoreTabs.com: Although the flashing advertisements can be a bit of a distraction, they're a relatively small price to pay for all the video game tabs that are available here. The site design is very simple and straight forward.

• Tab Crawler: The selection isn't huge, but you'll find a fair number of video game tabs here, most of which are from classic games like Doom, Final Fantasy 7, and the Legend of Zelda.