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Tablature notation
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<H1>
TABLATURE NOTATION
</H1>
<P>
Mup can print tablature staffs. Tablature notation is commonly used for
guitar and several other instruments. Mup supports tablature for 1 to 9
strings.
</P>
<P>
Mup will automatically create a normal 5-line staff above each tablature
staff, giving the equivalant music on that staff.
This staff will be referred to as the "tabnote
staff." Normally, you will input music just for the tablature staff, and
the tabnote staff will be derived from that. However, for any given measure,
you can explicitly input music for a tabnote staff,
which will turn off the automatic
translation for that measure. If you only want either the tab or tabnote
staff to be printed, you can mark the other one as invisible
<A HREF="param.html#visible">(see the "visible" parameter).</A>
You should specify the appropriate
<A HREF="param.html#clef">clef</A>
and
<A HREF="param.html#key">key signature</A>
for the tabnote staff, so that Mup can make the best derivation.
</P>
<H2>
Specifying a tablature staff
</H2>
<P>
To set up a tablature staff, you use the
<A HREF="param.html#stlines">stafflines parameter.</A>
To get a standard 6-line guitar tablature staff, you can just say
<BR><PRE>
score
staffs=2
staff 2
stafflines = tab
</PRE><BR>
There are 2 staffs, because there is both the tablature staff and the
automatically generated tabnote staff. The tablature staff is always
immediately below the corresponding tabnote staff.
Setting the
<A HREF="param.html#stlines">stafflines parameter</A>
to "tab" marks staff 2 as a tablature staff.
</P>
<P>
If you want tablature for an instrument other than a 6-string guitar with
standard tuning, you specify
the pitches of the strings from top to bottom
within parentheses after the "tab." For example:
<BR><PRE>
stafflines = tab (e a d& g)
</PRE><BR>
would define some instrument that had 4 strings, with the string on the
top line of tablature staff being an e string, the next a, the next d flat,
and the bottom g.
As shown in the example, pitches can include a # or & if necessary.
Strings are assumed to be in octave 4 unless otherwise marked.
You can specify a different octave by specifying an
<A HREF="chordinp.html#oct">octave number</A>
after the
string's pitch (using either an absolute octave number or pluses or minuses).
If the instrument
has more than one string with the same pitch
(even if they are in different octaves),
they must be distinguished by adding one or more ' marks after the
pitch. The tablature definition for standard guitar is
<BR><PRE>
stafflines = tab (e5 b g d a3 e'3)
</PRE><BR>
This specifies that the top string on the staff is e in octave 5.
The next three strings
are in the default octave of 4, and the last two strings are in octave 3.
Since there are two different strings with pitch letter of e, the lower e is
marked as e'. Note that the octaves given are how they
should be printed on the tabnote staff. A standard guitar actually sounds
an octave lower than written. If you just use "stafflines = tab" without
specifying any strings, Mup not only assumes the standard guitar layout,
and prints in the appropriate octave,
<A NAME="autotran">but it also automatically</A>
<A HREF="trnspose.html">transposes</A>
the
<A HREF="midi.html">MIDI output</A>
to the actual pitches an octave lower. If you specify
strings explicitly, you will have to specify the octaves and any
desired MIDI transposition values yourself. Stated another way,
<BR><PRE>
score
staffs = 2
staff 2
stafflines = tab
</PRE><BR>
is equivalent to
<BR><PRE>
score
staffs=2
staff 2
stafflines = tab (e5 b g d a3 e'3)
staff 1
ifdef MIDI transpose = down perfect 8 endif
</PRE><BR>
Note from this last example that MIDI is taken from the tabnote staff,
not the tablature staff, so MIDI directives should be placed with the
tabnote staff.
</P>
<P>
Mup should be able to handle almost any instrument with up to 9 strings.
Several strings can have the same pitch; you just need to distinguish
them with ' marks.
The strings must be listed in whatever order the strings are to appear
on the tablature staff.
As another example,
<BR><PRE>
stafflines = tab (g3 d3 a2 e2)
</PRE><BR>
would define a standard bass guitar. Note that a bass guitar also sounds
an octave lower than written, so it should be transposed for MIDI purposes.
</P>
<H2>
Music input on tablature staffs
</H2>
<P>
Input of tablature is similar to that on regular staffs. Each note in a
chord is specified by a string and a
fret.
So fret 3 on the g string
is designated by g3 or fret 0 on the e' string is designated by e'0.
If your open string pitch includes an accidental, that would be included
as well, so if you had an instrument with an f# string and wanted to
play the 6th fret on that string, it would be f#6.
Fret numbers can range from 0 to 99.
If you want fret numbers to be placed inside parentheses,
put parentheses
around them in the input.
You can also put both the string and fret within a set of parentheses,
in which case, the note generated on the tabnote staff will have parentheses
around it.
Here are some examples of chords:
<BR><PRE>
2: d4; d5a3; b0 d(5); e2(b3)g2;
bar
</PRE><BR>
<IMG SRC="mugex55.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR>
</P>
<P>
<A HREF="chordinp.html#duration">Time values</A>
are specified just like on non-tablature staffs: a number
optionally followed by one or more dots (like 4 or 8..),
or a list of such numbers added together (like 2+8),
preceding the chord pitches. Tablature staffs follow the same
rules as non-tablature staffs for using time values from the previous
chord if no time value is specified on the current chord. Similarly,
if no notes are specified for a chord, the same notes used in the previous
chord are reused. As an example:
<BR><PRE>
2: 4.e5; ;8;b2;
bar
</PRE><BR>
<IMG SRC="mugex56.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR>
Since nothing is specified for the second chord, both time value (dotted
quarter) and note (e string fret 5) are copied from the first chord.
The third chord in the measure has only a time value
(an eighth note) so the note (string/fret) is repeated.
The final chord has only a note,
so the previous time value is used.
</P>
<P>
Rests and spaces can be specified with r and s, just like on non-tablature
staffs. They result in nothing being printed on the tablature staff, and
rest or space being printed on the tabnote staff.
</P>
<H2>
Chord attributes
</H2>
<P>
Any chord on a tablature staff can be preceded by a list of
<A HREF="chrdattr.html#chstyle">chord attributes</A>
in brackets, just like with non-tablature staffs. If you want a chord to be
printed with X (for a muffled string) rather than a fret number,
use [xnote].
In this case, the fret number will be used only to determine where to put
the X on the tabnote staff, and what note to use for
<A HREF="midi.html">MIDI.</A>
Using [diam]
will have no affect on the tablature staff, but will cause
diamond notes to be used on the tabnote staff.
Using [grace] or [cue] will cause the fret numbers to printed in a smaller
size, and the corresponding notes on the tabnote staff to be printed
in a smaller size. Using [slash <I>N</I>]
will cause <I>N</I> slashes to be printed below the chord on the tablature
staff, as well as
<A HREF="chrdattr.html#slashes">slashes</A>
on the corresponding chord on the tabnote staff.
You can use the other chord attributes (with, pad, and =tag) just
like on a non-tablature staff.
</P>
<H2>
Ties
</H2>
<P>
From an input point of view,
<A HREF="noteattr.html#ntie">ties</A>
work much the same on tablature staffs as on other staffs.
On output, tie marks on tablature staffs are normally not printed,
and the frets are not printed on the tied-to chord. If a tie goes across
to a new score, the frets are printed, but in parentheses, to indicate the
chord is really just the continuation of a tie.
</P>
<H2>
Slides
</H2>
<P>
In Mup input,
slides are shown with <>, rather like
<A HREF="noteattr.html#nslur">slurs</A>
on non-tablature staffs.
There is a special variation used for slides that come from nowhere in
particular or go to nowhere in particular.
These are shown with <\n>, </n>, <n\>, or <n/>.
A slide is indicated on output on tablature staffs
as a slanted line between 2 fret numbers on a string.
On tabnote staffs, they as drawn as a slanted line between 2 notes.
See the examples below:
<BR><PRE>
2: a5<>; a6; d3<>; d2;
bar
2: b4</n>; e3<\n>; a2<n/>; e'5<n\>;
bar
</PRE><BR>
<IMG SRC="mugex57.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR>
</P>
<H2>
Bends
</H2>
<P>
A bend (stretching a string to make it sound higher than normal)
is specified on tablature staffs
by putting a text string after the string. The
text string can be the word "full" or a number and/or fraction.
Some examples:
<BR><PRE>
2: e4 "full"; e "1/2"; 2e "1 1/2";
bar
</PRE><BR>
<IMG SRC="mugex58.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR>
</P>
<P>
If you want to bend back down to having no bend (a release),
the text string specifying
the bend is just an empty string of "".
Note that if both a fret and bend other than "" are specified,
<A NAME="prebend">this indicates a prebend,</A>
whereas if only a bend is specified, this indicates a normal bend.
</P>
<P>
Bends need not be a whole number of half steps, but if you specify a bend
that falls between half steps, when it is used on the tabnote
staff, the bend is rounded to the nearest half step, or rounded downward
if it is exactly in the middle of a half step.
When possible, bends of 1/4 step or less are shown on the tabnote staff
by a small curve rather than by a separate note.
</P>
<P>
You can specify bends on more than one string at once, but a continuation
bend (bending to a new distance without replucking the string) is only
allowed on a single string at a time. Here are some examples:
<BR><PRE>
2: g0b2e'0; e' "1/2" g "full" b "3/4"; e' ""; a2;
bar
2: a "1/2"; a "full"; a "1/2"; a "";
bar
</PRE><BR>
<IMG SRC="mugex59.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR>
</P>
<P>
If you have more than one voice on a tablature staff,
bends on other than the top voice may collide with other voices in some
cases, and if there are bends from more than one voice simultaneously,
they may collide.
</P>
<P>
On non-tablature staffs, bends are specified with a ^ symbol followed
by the note to bend to. The note to bend to is specified by letter and
optional octave (accidentals are not specified). If you want just a small
bend (1/4 step), this is specified by ^/. For example:
<BR><PRE>
1: e ^f; f; b ^c5; c#5;
bar
1: d+^e+ g^a; e+a; g ^/; c ^/ c+^/;
bar
</PRE><BR>
<IMG SRC="mugex60.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR>
</P>
<H2>
Miscellaneous
</H2>
<P>
Note attributes of ~ for tie, ? for a small note, and = for a tag work the
same on tablatures staffs as on non-tablature staffs.
</P>
<P>
If bm, ebm, or esbm are given on tablature staffs they are
transferred to the tabnote staff and used for
<A HREF="ichdattr.html#custbeam">custom beaming</A>
there.
<A HREF="chrdattr.html#withlist">Items in "with" lists inside [ ]</A>
are also copied to the tabnote staff.
In general, unless otherwise specified here,
if you want items such as
<A HREF="stuff.html">tempo and dynamic marks</A>
to appear on both tablature and tabnote staff, you
have to specify them for both staffs.
</P>
<P>
The
<A HREF="ichdattr.html#alt">"alt" inter-chord attribute</A>
is not allowed on tablature staffs.
</P>
<P>
When there is a tablature staff, the
<A HREF="midi.html">MIDI</A>
is actually generated from the
tabnote staff. There are some limitations.
Currently, no MIDI pitch bends are generated; slides and
bends are instantaneous rather than gradual.
</P>
<P>
If a
capo is being used, it probably better to declare a
<A HREF="trnspose.html">transposition</A>
of the tabnote staff rather than declaring the strings to be different
notes. This is because most people would rather think of the original
string letters when entering the tab staff information; and if you decide to
put the capo on a different fret later,
you only have to change the "transpose" line.
<A HREF="tabstaff.html#autotran">The automatic MIDI octave tranposition for standard guitar</A>
will also then still apply, on top of your transposition.
</P>
<P>
If you specify an
<A HREF="octave.html">octave mark</A>
(discussed in a later section)
on a tabnote staff, the derived music will be printed with the notes
raised or lowered the appropriate number of octaves to correspond to the given
octave mark interval.
</P>
<P>
Since ties are not printed on tablature staff, and input notation for
tablature slides is like what is used for slurs on ordinary staffs, if
you want a curved line like a tie or slur on a tablature or tabnote staff,
you have to use a phrase mark. See the section on
<A HREF="phrase.html">phrase marks</A>
for more details.
</P>
<P>
The chord-at-a-time input style can also be used for tablature.
The staffs being mapped to from a single input line must either be
all tablature or all non-tablature, however.
<BR><PRE>
score
staffs=4
brace=1-2, 3-4
tabwhitebox=y
staff 2
stafflines=tab
staff 4
stafflines=tab
music
// The first two notes in each chord go to staff 2,
// and the last two go to staff 4.
[ 2; 2; 4; 4] : a2d0 g0b3; e'0a2 g0e0; 2 e'0d2 b0e3;
bar
</PRE><BR>
<IMG SRC="mugex61.gif" ALT="Picture of Mup output"><BR>
</P>
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