The ability to read music (standard notation) may be a desired skill, but it is not a prerequisite for playing the guitar well.  Contemporary guitarists are fortunate to have an abundance of interesting material presented in a special notation system called "tablature."

Tablature is a centuries-old system of conveying musical information for stringed instruments with frets. It is a form of musical shorthand that graphically clarifies the exact position of each note on the fingerboard. Whereas standard notation uses a music staff with 5 lines and 4 spaces, in guitar tab, the 6 (staff) lines represent the strings and the numbers on them indicate the frets.

"Tab" effectively translates standard notation into guitar-specific language.

Personally, I prefer tablature and what I can hear from its corresponding recording (if available), for the obvious musicality, however, standard notation, with its accompanying theories and methodologies, has helped greatly in understanding how it all works.

FIGURE 1

The zero on each string indicates that no fret-hand finger is required (commonly referred to as the "open-string" note). Each line of the "tab" staff corresponds to a string on the guitar.

FIGURE 2

Observe where the "E" note can be found on the fret board.