Using electric guitar tabs to learn new material is not a piece of cake. You need to have some idea of the note values and a basic understanding of time signatures and tempo of the song you are learning. Many musicians regard tabs as a low-grade manner of writing down music. Tablature evolved in medieval times from a necessity for more adaptability in symbols as music became more difficult. Electric Guitar Tabs have been a great help to the many people who have taken up the electric guitar and who required to get down to the issue of playing instantly.

Here's an excerpt from an article by Gyorgy Huba on playing this rock classic:

"Here’s a playing tip: everybody says that Ritchie Blackmore played the riff using his fingers instead of a pick. Remember to say that to people when you play it, and if anyone says “I knew that” it means they are probably cool but far too old to have sex with.

There are other classic songs you could learn to impress people like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and “Stairway To Heaven” but “Smoke On The Water” is the one that will get the crowd’s attention which makes it the one to learn how to play."

The full article is at How To Play Smoke On The Water On Guitar

Tablature allows the guitarist to get to know the musical work in his own way, and use his musical intuition and flair for improvisation to deliver a work which will be as much his own as that of the original composer. Electric guitar tabs are a boon to the electric guitar player who does not want to just produce a clone of someone else's work.

As for the electric guitar player who wants to broaden his musical knowledge, tablature also allows the guitarist to learn new chords, scales or modes very quickly.

You can find electric guitar tabs in music stores along with conventional written music, but the quickest and best place to look for electric guitar tabs is on the internet. Even though there's a legal dogfight going on about tab publishers infringing the rights of the original composer, many tabs are still available for free. However you need to use your discernment when making use of tablature produced by amateur guitarists. You might need to change things around a little if they don't sound right.