Being able to read guitar sheet music can be an invaluable asset in today's world. As we know, becoming a pro guitarist means entering a very competitive field. You will need every advantage you can muster, and then some. So before

we go any further let's first answer a basic question: isn't being able to read guitar tabs good enough? If you're looking to make a name for yourself or a living as a guitarist then the answer would be "no". By no means does this negate

the importance of tab, but in a world that is often oversaturated with guitar players, knowing how to read sheet music can make the difference between success and failure. Let us break things down so we can understand them.

1. Guitar Tabs

While tab or tablature seems to be a rather new invention that came along with the electric guitar, in truth it has been around for quite awhile. Even before the invention of the instrument we know today as "guitar", we see examples of

tablature being used especially with fretted instruments such as the lute. Examples of tab in the Western world today date as far back as the 1300's. In Asia tablature was used even before that.

In today's world guitar tab is made up of six lines that represent the six strings of the guitar (four in the case of a bass guitar) on which numbers are placed which correspond to the frets on the guitar. Most of the tab formats do not show

you the rhythm. The information which is presented gives you a good picture of what strings and frets should be played. The tab format does not give you information in regards to the notes (pitches) being played.

2. Guitar Sheet Music

The sheet music for guitar on the other hand provides you with rhythmic as well as pitch (note) information. It is important because it's like getting a detailed blueprint of a hotrod car. It allows you to see inside and understand exactly

how the parts work together. This is fantastic because you can use this information to fix your own hotrod if it breaks down, or build a new one. In pretty much the same way, knowing how to read sheet music allows you to understand

and break things down, analyze the Masters and use those techniques when building your own compositions.

Being able to "see" inside the music gives you a huge advantage by allowing you to control and direct the musical flow of your ideas in such a way as to get maximum impact. To put it in plain english, the ability to understand sheet

music will allow you to create and juggle musical ideas with skills far beyond what most other guitarists possess.

It can't all can be reduced to a question of guitar tablature versus notation though. Guitar sheet music does have its shortcomings when it comes to the problem of marking strings and frets to be used. Traditional notation for the guitar

does allow for the string to be identified. This, when used together with the indicated note gives you the fret number. However this tends to fill up the visual space making the notation much harder to read and follow. A combination of

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