Guitar Tab Software
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Guitar tab is perhaps the single-most popular guitar related topic on the net. We've all used it at one point or another, in order to learn a guitar part to a song we enjoy, or to illustrate something to another guitarist who has a hard time reading music.
Anyone who has downloaded tab off the net knows what a nightmare it can be to read. The most glaring omission of most guitar tab is it's complete lack of rhythmic notation; unless you're really familiar with the song you're reading the tab to, trying to play it accurately with the tab would be next to impossible. Additionally, viewing and printing tab can be equally painful; characters regularly jumble and bleed onto additional pages, and the result is often an unreadable mess.
Several programmers have tackled these problems, with impressive results. There is now some very inexpensive software available that will take existing tablature, and present it in a much more pleasing fashion, with the ability to add rhythmic notation, and even play the tab through your computer's speakers. To find out what webmaster Paul Kucharski discovered in his analysis of some the most popular Low Cost Tab Software available for Windows-based systems.
What follows are links to the best guitar tab editing software available for Windows95/98/NT operating systems. All have freely downloadable demos, although in some cases features have been disabled until a small fee is paid by the user.
Bucket o' Tab
Shareware tab editor for Windows95/98. Features: import/export ASCII tab (import isn't perfected), ability to print files, alternate tuning options, supports tab creation for any 4-7 stringed instrument. The trial version is fully functional, except MIDI playback and file exporting are disabled.
Chord Pro Manager
Shareware program created for Windows95 that allows users to properly display the very popular ChordPro formatted tab files (these files can still be viewed without Chord Pro Manager; the layout is just much less pleasurable.) Chord Pro files include only chords; and do not contain any information on single-note playing, or solos. Paying the $40 registration fee allows users to access the save and print functions of the program.
EasyTab
Shareware tab editor for Windows95/98/NT users. Converts TAB notation to a fretboard diagram, plays tab notation via MIDI, allows tab editing via the clickable fretboard, provides a 1000+ chord library, playable scale library. Also includes playable interactive guitar lessons. Registration fee is $30.
Guitar Pro
Tablature editor for 4, 5 and 6 strings for Windows 95/98. Guitar Pro files support conversion to ASCII, multitrack scores, rhythmic notation, score playback with effects, high quality printing, MIDI import/export, and more. Site includes a large archive of Guitar Pro Tab which can only be viewed with the Guitar Pro software. Demo version has some functions disabled; full version is approximately $49.
Instab
Freeware ASCII tab editor for Windows95/NT. As it is an old program, it is somewhat limited in function. It doesn't function well as a tab viewer, but does a good job as a simple tab editor (no rhythmic notation possible).
MusEdit
Music notation editor for Windows95/98/NT, used to write standard treble and bass music notation, tab notation for 4, 5, and 6 string instruments, rhythm notation, lyrics, and to draw chord diagrams. MusEdit can also import MIDI files and turn them into notation, translate standard music notation to tab (or vice versa) and do transposition. Full version costs $79; a demo is available (file saving and MIDI import disabled).
TablEdit
Windows95/98 based program designed to allow users to create, edit, print and listen to tablature and standard notation for guitar and an assortment of other instruments. TablEdit can open/import music from a wide variety of file formats created by TablEdit or other programs. The full version of the program is $55 US, but a Tabledit demo is available for free (file saving has been disabled). Site also includes a large archive of tablature available to Tabledit users.
