Help a newbee

[Daverules]

All,

Just found this site and it's the best! I have two questions about interpreting the tabs on the site. First I notice many of the tabs have an additional number below the low E string. An example is "When the World Ends" it lists the number 3 below the 7 on the low E. What does that mean?

My second question is regarding an "x" on a string. I'm trying to play Stay and for the intro the A and E string have "x"s on them. I assume that means not to play them, but in the verse there is one part that has x's on the G, D, A, and E and nothing else, so I'm confused. Also many songs have the x in between to strings with numbers. When the World Ends, as an example ,has the G - 6, D - X, A - 4, and the E - 7. Am I supposed to play the D? I can't imagine how you don't play a string in between two strings you are supposed to play, unless you are picking.

Sorry, these are probably a stupid questions, but I just can't get it to sound right.

[markTR]

The additional number below the E is indicating which finger Dave uses to play the certain note. Your pointer finger is 1, middle 2, ring 3, and pinky 4. So for example, the verse to When The World Ends:

Code: Select all

Verse
E:-----------------------------------
B:-----------------------------------
G:---7-----6-------12------11----9--
D:---x-----x-------x-------7-----5---
A:---5-----4-------10------9-----7---
E:-7-7---5-5---/12-12---10-10----8---
   3     2     (3)      3        3

The first 7 is played with the ring finger (number 3). This should be apparent if you have your fingers set right to play the next Dave chord, as your ring finger will stay on the low E to play the chord.

To answer your other question, the "x" that you see is called a mute. Dave is a very percussive guitar player, and in the Dave chords, the muted strings are almost as important as the ones that are being heard. There are many ways to mute a string, however let me direct you to Kanter's Dave style lessons on the main page. He describes how to mute and how to play Dave chords better then I ever could. Hopefully that can help you not only with WTWE, but with songs like Two Step, Grey Street, Tripping Billies etc. where a lot of muting is done.

Here's the link: http://www.dmbtabs.com/lessons.php?id=1

Oh yeah, DMBTabs, welcome to it.

[Daverules]

Thanks, that is very helpful. I appreciate the fast response!

[markTR]

No problem man

[littlefriend]

Another helpful suggestion pertaining to the boards is to make liberal use of the search function. Chances are that many questions you may have have already been addressed in the past. This will make things quicker and easier for you and won't give other people a chance to yell at you for not searching.

And...

Oh yeah, DMBTabs, welcome to it.

Can't say it enough.