๐Ÿ“„ GUITALELE_TAB_READING_GUIDE.md
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# Guitalele Tab Viewer โ€“ Quick Start Guide

Welcome!
This site helps you learn fingerpicked songs and melodies on the guitalele using TAB, notation, and built-in playback.

If you already know a few basic chords, you're ready to start playing these arrangements right away.

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## What You're Looking At

Each line of music is shown in three parts:

### Standard Notation (Top)

Traditional sheet music showing the notes and rhythm.

If you don't read standard notation yet, don't worryโ€”the TAB directly underneath contains everything you need to play the song.

### Guitalele TAB (Middle)

The TAB tells you exactly where to place your fingers.

The six lines represent the six strings of your guitalele:

String 1 (highest pitch)  โ”€ Top line
String 6 (lowest pitch)   โ”€ Bottom line

The number tells you which fret to press.

Examples:

0 = Open string
2 = Second fret
4 = Fourth fret

Read TAB from left to right.

### Rhythm Lane (Bottom)

The Rhythm Lane gives you a quick way to see note lengths at a glance.

`=`  Sixteenth note (ยผ beat)

`+`  Eighth note (ยฝ beat)
  
`:` Quarter note (1 beat)

`.` Half note (2 beats)

`o` Whole note (4 beats)

A dot after a symbol makes the note 50% longer.

Examples:

`+.` = Dotted eightth note

`:.` = Dotted quarter note

`..` = Dotted half note

`o.` = Dotted whole note

Rests begin with "r":

`r=` = Sixteenth rest

`r:` = Quarter rest

`r+` = Eighth rest

If you're already comfortable counting beats, the rhythm lane is usually all you'll need.

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## Do The TAB And The Notes Match?

Yes. The notation and TAB represent the same notes. The notation shows the music, while the TAB shows exactly where to play it on the guitalele.

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## Playing A Song

### Play

Press โ–ถ to start playback.

The viewer highlights the notes currently being played so you can follow along.

### Pause

Press || to stop at your current position.

Use this when practicing difficult passages.

### Stop

Press โ–  to stop playback and return to the beginning.

### Metronome

The built-in basic metronome helps you stay in time while practicing.

The first beat of each measure is highlighted and accented differently from the remaining beats, making it easier to hear and follow the rhythm.

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## Adjusting Practice Speed

Use the BPM slider to control tempo.

Lower BPM = slower playback

Higher BPM = faster playback

A good practice approach is:

1. Start slowly.
2. Play cleanly.
3. Increase speed gradually.

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## Following The Music

As the song plays:

* The current notes are highlighted.
* The viewer automatically scrolls to keep the active measure visible.
* You can focus on your instrument instead of manually scrolling.

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## Note Information

Click or hover over a note to see additional details.

The information panel shows:

* Measure number
* Note duration
* Note names
* String and fret positions

This is especially useful when learning unfamiliar passages.

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## Suggested Practice Method

1. Listen to the song once.
2. Reduce the BPM if necessary.
3. Follow the TAB while listening.
4. Play one measure at a time.
5. Gradually connect measures together.
6. Increase tempo only after you can play the passage cleanly.

Remember: accuracy first, speed second.

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## Advanced Feature

### Multiple Voices (V1 / V2)

Some arrangements contain separate melody and bass lines that are played simultaneously.

Voice 1 typically contains the melody.

Voice 2 typically contains the bass or accompaniment.

When both are present, they are played at the same time.

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## Example

Attached is a simple nursery rhymes for you to get started.

Follow the TAB, listen to the playback, and practice one measure at a time.

Enjoy playing!