Tablature
Tablature (TAB) is a diagramatic notation system where each string has its own horizontal line. A 6 string guitar has six lines just as a 4 string bass guitar would have four.
Numbers are used to shows which frets to put your fingers on. The number 0 means that a string is open.
TAB looks the same for both right and left-handed players as the notes are read from left to right unlike chord diagrams which depict notes using dots.
The following TAB is a good illustration of how single notes and chords are written using TAB and standard notation. (Chords are when the notes are written above eachother as those notes are played at the same time).
Unlike this example, many TABs don't indicate the rhythm of the music as they are just a series of numbers but there is nothing to stop you from adding rhythmic information by using note stems. Other symbols used in TAB such as ties are explained in the standard notation section as both systems share the same symbols.
There are literally millions of free TABs on the Internet. Just include the word TAB in your search and you will probably find something although many of these are not very accurate. Some people think TAB is a recent development for lazy people who don't want to read music but it has actually been around for centuries.
The following photo shows a TAB written in 1536 courtesy of the British Museum.
