Stupid newbie tab question

I've looked at several "how to read tablature" articles but can't find one that explains how to read/play this, the intro to Twenty Flight Rock:

A / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / / 5

Can anyone provide a simple explanation? Grazie mille.

Hi, this is the tab of 20 flight Rock-Intro.
A means the song is in the key of A,
left side you see the strings,
from the top
E is the thin e-string, and than B and so on.
the number 5 means you have to push the thick E-string at the fifth fret on your guitar.
So start to on the E-string at the fifth fret 1 time, than A String at the 3rd fret and 4th fret, again 5th fret on E-string, etc. etc.

Intro
A
e|---------------------|
B|---------------------|
G|---------------------|
D|--------2-----2------|
A|---3-4---3-4--3-4---|
E|-5-----5-----5--- -5-|

this is now thr right intro, forgot the D-string.

Hope you`ll get what i try to explain..i but i think here are a lot of cool guys who could explain it in a better english.
My personal tip this morning, try to learn the notes on your guitar.
For example the 5th fret on the E-string is the same note like the A-string alone, an A.
So for 20FR it is easier to play: A-string alone, 3rd fret, 4th fret, A String alone.

Cheers

Thanks for that Brett! When I play it, it sounds wrong to me, but I'll work on it

I wonder what the other notation I found means? A / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / / 5

If anyone is interested, this is where I found lyrics and chords for several songs, including 20 Flight Rock:
http://membres.multimania.fr/rockbox/menu.htm (unfortunately some of the pages are missing and some of the lyrics are wrong, but hey! Better than nothin'!)


EDIT: Prepare for auto-loading audio on that site...

I play it like this:
When the Chord Chart says A on that page you linked

e|---------------------|
B|---------------------|
G|---------------------|
D|--------------2-----|
A|--0----2/4----------|
E|---------------------|

When it says D7

e|---------------------|
B|---------------------|
G|--------------2------|
D|---0---2/4----------|
A|---------------------|
E|---------------------|

and when it says E7 i play

e|---------------------|
B|---------------------|
G|---------------------|
D|---------------------|
A|---------------2-----|
E|---0----2/4---------|

When it says 2/4 I sometimes use my ring finger to slide from the 2nd to 4th bar.
But you can also press the string down on bar 2 with your index finger and then hammer your ring finger or pinky onto bar 4.
Whatever you wanna do is good for you =)

You just have to get into the rythm, should be achievable for a beginner.
As far with

A / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / / 5

I can't help you either.
If you want I can sort of tab the whole song for you.
It's a very good song for beginners.


Greets from Munich
Chris

I do not play the guitar whatsoever, but I think I understand the concept of tabs fairly well. Not being a player, I can't vouch for the accuracy of the following, but at least it seems better explained than that initial website you visited:

During the verses the riff goes like this:

A D A E7 A
e|-----------------------------------------------------|
B|-----------------------------------------------------|
G|-----------------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------3-4---3-4-----5-6---5-6---|
A|---3-4---3-4---3-4---3-4-5-----5-------7-----7-------|
E|-5-----5-----5-----5-----------------5-------------5-|

--------------------------------------------------------

A
So I walk one, two flight, three flight, four
D
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more

At 12th I'm startin' to sag
A
15th floor I'm ready to drag
E7 D A
Get to the top, I'm too tired to rock

--------------------------------------------------------

The chorus (above) is played with these power chords:

A = A5 - 57XXXX
D = D5 - X57XXX
E7 = E5 - X79XXX

--------------------------------------------------------

She called me up on the telephone
Said: "Come over, baby. I'm all alone."
I said: "Sorry, baby. You're mighty sweet,
but I'm in bed achin' feet."
This went for a couple of days
But I could not stay away

---------------------------------------------------------

So I walk one, two flight, three flight, four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more
At 12th I'm startin' to sag
15th floor I'm ready to drag
Get to te top, I'm too tired to rock

---------------------------------------------------------

A A A A D D A A E7 D A A

---------------------------------------------------------

They sent it to Chicago for repairs
'Til it's fixed I'm usin' the stairs
I have to get there before it's to late
My baby couldn't bear much to wait
All this climbin' is gettin' me down
You'll find my corpse draped over a rail

---------------------------------------------------------

But I fly one, two flight, three flight four
Five, six, seven flight, eight flight more
At 12th I'm startin' to sag
15th floor I'm ready to drag
Get to the top, I'm too tired to rock

---------------------------------------------------------


If you add guitar playin' to your considerable skill set, watch out!

Fandi-billy

For this notation: A / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / / 5

My guess would be denoting the number of bars (measures) of music for the chord. In other words sort of how you count measures (1-2-3-4, 2-2-3-4, 3-2-3-4, 4-2-3-4 etc. of the A-chord). I've never seen it before myself, but then again, I don't really utilize TAB sites that much. Also, are you playing the original Eddie Cochran version, not any of the Setzer versions? I ask because in playing the Setzer version (off of Rumble in Brixton) I play that line sort of like Guitarmaniac's post, but instead of sliding, I bend the minor 3rd note (C for A-chord) of each chord up to the major 3rd (C# for A-chord) note.

As for the song, it's a 12-bar blues in the key of A. So for a basic 12-bar blues for this song (not getting into any alterations/substitutions) the form is:

Bars 1-4: I chord (in this case A)

Bars 5-6: IV chord (in this case D)

Bars 7-8: I chord (in this case A)

Bars 9-10: V chord or V chord followed by IV chord (in this case E, D)

Bars 11-12: I chord (in this case A)


Setzer's version follows the same progression/pattern but he enhances it with rhythm boogie patterns, 9th chords, and in my opinion the best solo from that album (RIB).

Hope that helps ye out.

Capt. Jones

Davy Jones wrote:

For this notation: A / / / 2 / / / 3 / / / 4 / / / 5

) I play that line sort of like Guitarmaniac's post, but instead of sliding,

Capt. Jones

i agree all, only one thing isn´t clear for me.
I play the riff like this:
A-C/C#-E
In guitarmaniacs version he play A-B-C#-E.
This is right? No...it`s a slide from C to C#, isn`t it?

Quote :

i agree all, only one thing isn´t clear for me.
I play the riff like this:
A-C/C#-E
In guitarmaniacs version he play A-B-C#-E.
This is right? No...it`s a slide from C to C#, isn`t it?

I play it C-C#, but I bend the string instead of sliding. Either way is acceptable though.

I have SO much to learn.



(Thank you all for getting me started!!)

Davy Jones wrote:

Quote :

i agree all, only one thing isn´t clear for me.
I play the riff like this:
A-C/C#-E
In guitarmaniacs version he play A-B-C#-E.
This is right? No...it`s a slide from C to C#, isn`t it?

I play it C-C#, but I bend the string instead of sliding. Either way is acceptable though.

yep, i read it again in your first post.
Sorry, i didn`t get it the first time. But that´s the way i play it also.

Thanks

andi wrote:

I have SO much to learn.



(Thank you all for getting me started!!)

ask 5 guitarplayer, get 10 answers...

Brett wrote:

andi wrote:

I have SO much to learn.



(Thank you all for getting me started!!)

ask 5 guitarplayer, get 10 answers...

thats why this site rules!! ssshhh tell no one.