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Transpose ABC notation and convert it to tab

Paste ABC notation, get tablature for tenor banjo, mandolin, bouzouki, octave mandola or guitar.

Editing guide ↓
Press play, or click any note to play from there. Slow it down to learn it.
Transpose and metronome
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ABC editing guide

Make the tune your own

Hear an ornament, copy its ABC, then try it in your tune.

Back to your ABC ↑

Copy a bar, then adapt it. These examples use GDAE tab in D major, with M:6/8 and L:1/8.

Replace the notes between two bar lines in your ABC. Keep your tune’s header and check the bar still adds up.

Triplets

Three quick notes in place of one

Start with EBE AFD

(3E/E/E/BE AFD

Pick the first E three times, then carry on with B and E.

Start with (3. Each / halves a note, so these three Es fit into one quaver. No closing bracket.

Plays the extra notes.

Triplet timing & common mistakes

(3EBE without the slashes lasts two quavers. A normal group of three quavers in a jig needs no triplet mark. |3 starts a third ending.

Hammer-ons

Pick once, fret the next note

Start with DEF AFD

"^H"(DE)F AFD

Pick the open D string, then hammer onto fret 2 for E.

(DE) joins the notes with a slur. "^H" puts an H above them as a playing instruction.

Plays D and E. The H is a visual label.

A note on this marking

Keep both notes on the same string. An unquoted H means a pause mark in ABC, so keep the quotes and the caret.

Pull-offs

Pick once, release to a lower note

Start with EDD AFD

"^P"(ED)D AFD

Pick E at fret 2 on the D string, then pull off to the open string.

(ED) adds the slur. "^P" puts a P above it. The note lengths stay the same.

Plays E and D. The P is a visual label.

A note on this marking

Keep the quotes and caret here too: a bare P is a different ornament in ABC. Playback does not imitate the fretting-hand attack.

More ways to play it

Open an ornament to hear it and see its ABC and tab.

Grace notes and cutsA quick note before the melody note
{F}E2D AFD

Play a very short F sharp before E. In this D-major example, F is already sharp.

Put the little note in braces: {F}E. A lower grace note, such as {D}E, can mark a tap from below.

Plays the grace note before E.

Grace notes borrow time in playback; you do not add their lengths to the bar. Use {/F}E for a slashed grace note. The written grace note does not specify how to pick or fret it.

RollsMark a note for ornamenting
!roll!E3 AFD

The roll mark sits over the long E. Choose the ornament that suits your instrument and setting.

Write !roll! before the note. The shorter form ~E3 also works.

Playback is an approximation of a roll.

TradTab plays repeated Es for this mark. For a roll with specific upper and lower notes, write those notes or grace notes into the ABC.

Trills, mordents and turnsDecorate a held note
!trill!A3 AFD

A trill alternates the marked note with a higher note. Here it ornaments the long A.

Put !trill! before the note. Try !mordent! for a short lower ornament or !turn! for a turn.

Plays an ornament pattern.

These marks have generic playback patterns. Write the ornament as notes when its exact pitches and rhythm matter.

SlidesMove along the same string
"^slide"(EF)D AFD

On the D string, slide from fret 2 to fret 4, from E to F sharp.

"^slide" adds a text label; (EF) adds a slur between the notes.

The slide label is visual.

This is a playing instruction. Playback plays the two separate pitches, without a continuous slide between them.

SlursJoin a phrase smoothly
(DEF) AFD

Play D, E and F sharp as a connected phrase.

Wrap the notes in parentheses: (DEF). Use a closing parenthesis for a slur.

Plays each note with connected phrasing.

A slur keeps every note and its length. It can suggest phrasing or a fretting technique; add an H or P label if that is what you mean.

TiesHold one pitch across two notes
D-D2 AFD

Hold D for three quavers without picking it again.

A hyphen joins matching pitches: D-D2. Ties can also cross a bar line.

Plays one sustained D.

Use a tie to sustain one pitch. A slur joins a phrase containing separate notes.

Accents and staccatoEmphasise a note or play it short
!accent!D.EF AFD

Give D a stronger attack, then play E short. Keep the pulse steady.

!accent!D accents D. A dot before a note, .E, makes it staccato.

Changes the attack and note separation.

Staccato shortens the sounding note, leaving a gap. It does not change how much of the bar that note occupies.

Reading ABC notation

With L:1/8, each plain letter is a quaver. A 6/8 bar holds six.

D
One quaver
D2
Two quavers
D/
Half a quaver
z
One-quaver rest
D>E
Long D, short E
d
D an octave higher
Keys, accidentals & repeats
^F _B =F
F sharp, B flat, F natural. The key signature applies unless you change it.
G, g'
A comma lowers a note an octave; an apostrophe raises it.
|: DEF AFD :|
Repeat the music between these bar lines.
The header at the top of a tune
X:1
Tune reference number
T:My setting
Title
R:jig
Tune type
M:6/8
Six quavers in each bar
L:1/8
Default note length: a quaver
K:D
Key of D major. Music starts below this line.

Transpose ABC to any key

Open Transpose and metronome under the player. Move the transpose slider one semitone at a time.

G → A +2D → G +5

The staff and frets change together. Your source ABC stays as you typed it.

If a note will not fit

Transposing down can put notes below your instrument’s lowest string. Move the tune up, or raise that phrase an octave in the ABC.

Learn how to read the tab, or look up more symbols in the ABC notation standard.

FAQ

Questions about ABC and tab

  • Paste the ABC, choose your instrument and press Render. Standard notation appears above the tablature. Each number is a fret; 0 means an open string. The top line is your instrument’s highest-pitched string.

  • Tenor banjo, mandolin and octave mandola in GDAE; bouzouki in GDAD; guitar in standard EADGBE or DADGAD. Banjo and mandolin share the same fret positions, with the tenor banjo sounding an octave lower.

  • Open Transpose and metronome under the player. Move the transpose slider by semitone: +2 moves G to A, for example. Both the staff and tab update. Your source ABC stays unchanged.

  • Yes. Press Print for the notation and tab, without the controls or help sections. Choose Save as PDF in your print dialog to keep a copy.

  • Lower the playback speed, or open Transpose and metronome to set a steady practice pulse. Starting the metronome pauses tune playback, and playing the tune stops the metronome.

  • Conversion runs in your browser. Recent conversions are stored on this device. When you sign in, new conversions are also sent to your account for My tabs. Keep a separate copy of edits you want to preserve. Nothing enters the public library unless you submit it and it is approved.

  • Browse the tune library. Each tune page includes its ABC. Start with a setting you know, change one bar and listen back.

Now that you have tab

Read it, get in tune, then go find the next one.

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How to read tab

Each number is a fret and each line is a string. The full system, explained on one page.

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2,700 tunes with tab

O’Neill’s and Kerr’s collections, every tune on its own page with ABC, tab and playback.

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