---
title: "Printable guitar tab paper: free printable"
description: "Free printable guitar tablature paper: six-line staves, one line per string, with room between them for timing and chord names."
source: "https://www.oncebooks.com/journal/guitar-tab-paper"
---

1. [Home](https://www.oncebooks.com/)
2. [Journal pages](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal)
3. Guitar tab

Free printable

# Guitar tab paper to print

Tablature paper is six lines, one for each string, and the number on a line is the fret you hold. These staves are 3 mm apart, which is wide enough to write a two-digit fret without it touching the line above, and the gap under each stave takes chord names or strumming marks.

PageDesign

Paper size

US LetterA4

Page

Ruling

Page title

Line strength

Theme

ClassicBoldSoftShadedNavyIndigoSkyTealEmeraldForestPlumBerryCrimsonEmberAmberCocoa

**Customise colours**

Lines

Text

Accents

Page background

Print / save PDF

One page at the size you choose. The rules are 0.6 pt and mid grey, so they print clearly and sit behind your handwriting. The same engine draws every page of a bound journal in our studio.

## Want the whole book?

This makes one page. Sign up to turn it into a full journal or notebook for Amazon KDP: dozens of pages at any trim, as a print-ready PDF. We carry your page style into the studio.

[Build the full book](https://app.oncebooks.com/publisher-studio/journal/edit?from=journal&v=2&s=eyJ0aXRsZSI6Ikd1aXRhciB0YWIiLCJmb3JtIjoibm9uZSIsImZpbGwiOiJ0YWIiLCJ0aGVtZSI6InBsYWluIiwiY29sb3JUaGVtZSI6eyJ0aGVtZUlkIjoiY2xhc3NpYyIsIm92ZXJyaWRlcyI6e319fQ)

Free to build · pay once to export

Preview

The page as it prints. It redraws as you change a setting.

Hide the preview

- Page

Print / save PDF

## How to read and write guitar tab

Six lines, one for each string, where a number on a line is the fret to hold on that string. It says where to put your fingers rather than what the pitch is.

### Step by step

1. The top line is the thinnest string. Tab is drawn as if you are looking down at the fretboard, so the high E is the top line and the low E is the bottom one. This catches almost everybody once.
2. Numbers stacked in a column are played together. A chord is a column of numbers; a run of single numbers left to right is a melody. A zero means play the string open.
3. Write the timing underneath. Tab says which note, not how long, which is why the space under each stave matters. Strumming marks or counts written there turn a shape into a part.

**Why six lines and not five**

A musical stave has five lines because it maps pitch; tab has six because it maps strings. They look alike and read in completely different ways.

**Good for**

Learning songs by ear, writing riffs, and teaching someone who does not read music.

## Making a whole journal?

This page makes one sheet. To publish a journal, the [journal maker](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal-maker) binds up to 400 pages of this ruling at any trim, with the gutter sized for the page count, as a print-ready 300 DPI interior and a wraparound cover. Set it up once, export any size.

## More printable pages

- [Printable lined paper](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal/lined-paper)
- [College ruled paper](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal/college-ruled)
- [Wide ruled paper](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal/wide-ruled)
- [Dot grid paper](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal/dot-grid)
- [Printable graph paper](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal/graph-paper)
- [Printable manuscript paper](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal/manuscript-paper)

[See every printable journal page](https://www.oncebooks.com/journal)

## Questions

**Is this printable guitar tab paper free to print?**

Yes. Print the page above or save it as a PDF, at no cost and with no sign-up. It is free for classroom, home and personal use.

**What size does the printable guitar tab paper print at?**

US Letter, 8.5 by 11 inches, which also fits A4 at the printer’s fit-to-page setting. The rules are 0.6 pt in mid grey, so they print clearly on any printer.

**Can I make a whole journal to sell?**

Yes. The free tool makes one page. Publisher Studio binds up to 400 pages of the same ruling or guided page at any standard trim, with a title page and the gutter sized for the page count, as a print-ready 300 DPI interior and a wraparound cover.