Tabs vs. chord charts - post a sticky?

I notice a lot of confusion here between the terms "tabs" and "chord charts." It's hard to tell when someone asks for "tabs" if they want actual tablature with the melody line, or just a chord chart.

Maybe a sticky in the Song Help forum would be a helpful addition? I've noticed that a lot of times people are looking for actual tablature, but they get a ton of responses with links to chord charts, and that is not what they want.

Thanks for considering my suggestion!

The topic of tabs vs chord/lyrics have been discussed before and it will continue to be confusing mainly because it's more often misused. Usually, when someone asks for "tabs" they really mean "chords. IMO, the best way to get chords is to use a search engine like Google which will yield better results. Just use the ones at the top of the list. If the chords doesn't suit your vocal range, you can always transpose, for example, if the song is in the key of C transpose it to F (up 5 semitones).

Tablature on the other hand is a musical notation showing finger placement. It's also helpful to know the song when using a tab. There are only a handful of tab only sites. Please check the Ukulele Resources thread and they are marked with an *. From my experience, the majority of players will figure out how to play a song and memorize it rather than commit them to paper. There are only a few who will take the time to annotate their arrangements and share them.

Kanaka916 said:

Usually, when someone asks for "tabs" they really mean "chords."

Click to expand...

Exactly - and that's the problem! In the interest of educating them, especially those new to the ukulele, I thought an explanation of the difference between the two would be helpful for those under the impression that tabs and chord charts are one and the same.

A tab is a four-line staff that graphically represents the ukulele fingerboard, with the top line indicating the A string followed by the E string and so forth. By placing a number on the appropriate line, the string and fret of any note can be indicated. The number 0 represents an open string. Simply explained, it is a musical notation to show what string is played and where to place your fingers.

Example 1


Example 2


A chord/lyric sheet shows the lyrics of the song as well as chord placement. The chords (either chord name or diagram) are placed above the lyrics indicating when changes are made. Chord Pro is another version where the chords are placed in brackets inline with the lyrics indicating where the chord changes appear.

Example 3

Example 4
[A] Day after day, [D] alone on a hill
the [A] man with a foolish grin
is keeping [D] perfectly still
But [Bm] nobody wants to [E7] know him
they can [A] see that he's just a [F#m] fool
And [Bm] he never gives an [E7] answer
but the [Am] fool [F] on the [Am] hill
sees the [F] sun going down
And the [G] eyes in his head
see the [Am] world spinning [A] round

This is perfect! Thanks Kanaka916.

Just to clarify - *I* wasn't looking for an explanation, but wanted to be able to point others to it when they ask the "Do you have tabs for...?" question. I'm bookmarking your comment for future reference

This is a broad and general statement and no offense to anyone, mostly new members will ask for tabs when chords are actually what they want. I recognize most of the members who have been here awhile and they pretty much ask exactly what they want be it a tab or chords. Tab requests for popular and newer songs aren't readily available and I don't doubt they exist. Someone has or will figure it out, just a matter of committing it to paper and sharing it with uke players worldwide.

Another point, I'd like to reiterate are Stickys. They do provide valuable info but unfortunately aren't viewed as much (check out the viewed by numbers). I would highly recommend noobs to take the time to view them and if one is not satisfied with the explanation, then by all means, post the question. All we ask is to check them out.