ASCII tab is a text file format used for writing
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
,
bass guitar
The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...
and
drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...
tabulatures (a form of
musical notation
Musical notation is any system used to visually represent music. Systems of notation generally represent the elements of a piece of music that are considered important for its performance in the context of a given musical tradition. The proce ...
) that uses plain
ASCII
ASCII ( ), an acronym for American Standard Code for Information Interchange, is a character encoding standard for representing a particular set of 95 (English language focused) printable character, printable and 33 control character, control c ...
numbers, letters and symbols. It is the only widespread file format for representing tabulature, and is extensively used for disseminating tabulature via the Internet.
ASCII tab is intended to be a
human-readable
In computing, a human-readable medium or human-readable format is any encoding of data or information that can be naturally read by humans, resulting in human-readable data. It is often encoded as ASCII or Unicode text, rather than as binary da ...
format rather than
machine-readable
In communications and computing, a machine-readable medium (or computer-readable medium) is a medium capable of storing data in a format easily readable by a digital computer or a sensor.
It contrasts with ''human-readable'' medium and data.
T ...
, and hence is not strictly defined. Though some standards are used by all ASCII tab files, such as hyphens to represent string lines and digits to represent frets, other things such as barlines, rhythms, bends, chord symbols etc. may be present, absent or represented in a variety of ways. Additionally, ASCII tab files frequently contain lyrics and freeform text in unpredictable places.
There are
various computer programs for creating guitar tabulature which can save ASCII tab files, but due to the unpredictability of the format, only a few (e.g.
G7) can read arbitrary ASCII tab files created by humans.
ASCII tab files usually have the
file extension
File or filing may refer to:
Mechanical tools and processes
* File (tool), a tool used to remove fine amounts of material from a workpiece.
** Filing (metalworking), a material removal process in manufacturing
** Nail file, a tool used to gen ...
.tab, .btab (for bass guitar) or .txt.
The tabulature for a C major
chord on six-string guitar with
standard tuning
In music, standard tuning refers to the typical tuning of a string instrument. This notion is contrary to that of scordatura, i.e. an alternate tuning designated to modify either the timbre or technical capabilities of the desired instrument.
Vio ...
typically looks something like this:
C
e , -----0------,
B , -----1------,
G , -----0------,
D , -----2------,
A , -----3------,
E , ------------,
The string tunings at the left-hand side are often omitted. When notating entire songs, usually a note near the beginning of the tabulature tells the reader what tuning the instrument should be in. The number on each line refers to the fret as in
guitar tab
Tablature (or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering or the location of the played notes rather than musical pitches.
Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuela ...
. Sometimes an 'x' means that the string should be played, but muted with either the left-hand fingers or the right-hand palm. The chord symbol C is written above - again this may or may not be included.
Other techniques, such as
hammer-on
A hammer-on is a playing technique performed on a stringed instrument (especially on a fretted string instrument, such as a guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on to the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. Thi ...
s, string pulls (or
pull-offs),
slide
Slide or Slides may refer to:
Places
* Slide, California, former name of Fortuna, California
Arts, entertainment, and media Music Albums
* ''Slide'' (Lisa Germano album), 1998
* ''Slide'' (George Clanton album), 2018
*''Slide'', by Patrick Glee ...
s, and
bends may also be shown. Hammer-ons are usually shown with an "h" in between the fret to strike and the fret to hammer on. String pulls are shown with a "p". "
Tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
" by
Tenacious D
Tenacious D is an American comedy rock duo formed in Los Angeles in 1994 by the actors Jack Black and Kyle Gass. Their music showcases Black's theatrical vocal delivery and Gass' acoustic guitar playing. Critics have described their fusion of ...
is one example of a song that uses both of these:
Am (A minor)
e , -------------0-0-0-0-0-0-----0-------0-0-0-0-0-,
B , -------------1-1-1-1-1-1-1h3p1p0h1---1-1-1-1-1-,
G , -----0h2-----2-2-2-2-2-2-----2-------2-2-2-2-2-,
D , -0h2-------2-2-2-2-2-2-2-----2-----2-2-2-2-2-2-,
A , ---------0---0-0-0-0-0-----------0---0-0-0-0-0-,
E , -----------------------------------------------,
A
trill
TRILL (Transparent Interconnection of Lots of Links) is a networking protocol for optimizing bandwidth and resilience in Ethernet networks, implemented by devices called TRILL switches. TRILL combines techniques from bridging and routing, and ...
is a combination of hammer-ons and pull-offs being performed in succession.
Slides are shown in the same format, but with a slash (/) or the letter S in between the fret to slide from and the fret to slide to. "ATWA" by
System of a Down is a song that uses these (in
Drop D tuning
Drop D tuning is an alternative form of guitar tuning in which the lowest (sixth) string is tuned down from the usual E of standard tuning by one whole step to D. Therefore, where the standard tuning is E2A2D3G3B3E4 (EADGBe), drop D is D2A2D3G3 ...
):
e , ----------------------------------------------------,
B , ----------------------------------------------------,
G , ----3-----2-----5-----7------8------7-----5-----3---,
D , ----------------------------------------------------,
A , ----------------------------------------------------,
D , --5---5/3---3/7---7/8---8/10---10/8---8/7---7/5---5-,
Bending is often shown by a letter b, but may also be indicated by an ^. A bend can show how far the string is to be bent, when the string is to be released (denoted by an r), or that it is a bend to an unspecific note. Examples:
e , ---------------------------------------,
B , ---------------------------------------,
G , --5b7--------5b7r5--------5b--------5br,
D , ---------------------------------------,
A , ---------------------------------------,
E , ---------------------------------------,
In the first example, a note played at the fifth fret on the G string (the note C) is bent up one full step so that it sounds like a note played at the seventh fret on the G string (the note D); secondly, the same note is played, but the bend is released so that the string again sounds a C note; thirdly, the string is bent to an undetermined note; fourthly, the string is bent to an undetermined note, and released back to the C note.
ASCII tab can also indicate rhythms above the staff; however this is rarely done. Barlines can be indicated using ', ' characters (pipes). Lyrics may be added above or below the staff, either aligned with the music or as a continuous text block. Freeform text (describing the song, composer, transcriber, notational conventions used, etc.) is also often included at the start or end of the file, or used for relevant comments about a certain part of the song.
ASCII tab can also use various lines, arrows, and other symbols to denote
bends,
hammer-on
A hammer-on is a playing technique performed on a stringed instrument (especially on a fretted string instrument, such as a guitar) by sharply bringing a fretting-hand finger down on to the fingerboard behind a fret, causing a note to sound. Thi ...
s,
trills,
pull-offs,
slides, and so on. These are the symbols that represent various techniques, though these may vary:
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ascii Tab
Music notation file formats