Sheet music to guitar tab

Guitar · Standard
  1                 2                 3                 4                 
e|-0---0---1---3---|-3---1---0-------|-------------0---|-0---------------|
B|-----------------|-------------3---|-1---1---3-------|-------3-3-------|
G|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
D|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
A|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|

What goes in and what comes out

How it works

1. Choose your file above. The workspace opens with it and with Staff and TAB chosen, after sign-in if needed.
2. Press Create score. Sheet music and score files use no credits.
3. The score opens with TAB under the staff. Press TAB again for TAB alone, or Staff to turn it off.
4. In Score settings, under Guitar TAB, set the tuning, the capo and how strings are chosen.
5. Download the PDF, or TAB as text under More formats.

Your tuning, your capo, your strings

• StandardE A D G B E
• Drop DD A D G B E
• Half step downE♭ A♭ D♭ G♭ B♭ E♭
• Whole step downD G C F A D
• Drop CC G C F A D
• DADGADD A D G A D
• Open GD G D G B D
• Open DD A D F♯ A D
• Open EE B E G♯ B E
• 7-stringB E A D G B E
• BassE A D G, drop D, 5 and 6 strings
• UkuleleG C E A, baritone D G B E

• A capo up to the 12th fret. The frets count from the capo, and “Capo 2” is printed over the first bar.
• Lowest frets writes each note as notation apps do. Fewest hand shifts keeps your hand in one position until the music leaves it. How guitar TAB chooses strings and frets shows both.
• Select a note to move it to another string at the same pitch, or type a fret. Alt (Option on a Mac) and Shift with the up or down arrow moves it a string.

Which music makes good TAB

A melody, a lead sheet or a part written for guitar, bass or ukulele. A piano’s two hands rarely fit six strings: the notes that can’t be played as written turn red, so you can choose which to keep.

Good to know

• The playing never changes when you show TAB, choose a tuning or move a note to another string; a typed fret changes the note’s pitch.
• Phone photos and handwriting read poorly; a clean PDF from notation software reads best.
• Bends, slides, hammer-ons, rhythm slashes and chord diagrams are not written, and the tuning and capo stay the same for the whole piece.
• MuseScore opens our MusicXML with every string and fret but leaves out a capo; the frets then read from the nut.