Website or app for transcribing tabs?

kristenm · Feb 12, 2021

Hi. New here! I am looking for a site or app that would help me transcribe tabs. I have been using the OZBCOZ website for chord sheets which is great because you can find a song there and modify it, but I have been doing melody by hand on paper or, cumbersomely, on my computer by editing PDFs. I would love to find an app for it. Ideally it would have a place for the tab and also the lyrics and maybe even a built-in chord identifier. Any suggestions? Thanks! -Kristen

Arcy · Feb 12, 2021

MuseScore (https://musescore.org) is a free open source app for music engraving. You can enter notation or tab and it'll link and generate the other. You can add lyrics and chord identifiers (manually) so long as it's linked to a staff - it doesn't do pure lyric+chord sheets like you're getting from OZBCOZ's ChordPro sheets.

Here's a screenshot of a score I was working up in MuseScore a while ago. Tabs & Chords are for baritone

ripock · Feb 12, 2021

does it have to be an electronic resource?

pmorey · Feb 12, 2021

I use Soundslice. Relatively shallow learning curve but you have to move to a paid plan to be able to print natively. I suppose you could screenshot and print but that is a hassle.

clear · Feb 12, 2021

kristenm said:
Hi. New here! I am looking for a site or app that would help me transcribe tabs. I have been using the OZBCOZ website for chord sheets which is great because you can find a song there and modify it, but I have been doing melody by hand on paper or, cumbersomely, on my computer by editing PDFs. I would love to find an app for it. Ideally it would have a place for the tab and also the lyrics and maybe even a built-in chord identifier. Any suggestions? Thanks! -Kristen

If you are using a computer, then Musescore is pretty convenient; way, way, way better than editing PDFs. You can enter notation in TAB format (or staff format or just by playing it on a MIDI keyboard); it has a few virtual instruments to playback your score too. You can also copy-and-paste, which I use a lot to replicate motif/phrasing. If you compose on TAB, it is hard to see the harmony (for me anyway); so Musescore can translate TAB to staff and that's very useful.

I've never used Musescore app (I've only used it on a PC), so I don't know if the above features are available on its app version.

man0a · Feb 12, 2021

I like Musescore, too. You need to understand standard musical notation to use Musescore. If you don't already know standard musical notation, that is really worth learning to make your tabs more readable.

Musescore is free for PC, Macintosh, and Linux.

UkingViking · Feb 12, 2021

Musescore +1.

Free, reasonably easy to use, and makes nice looking results. I dont know what a chord identifier is, but you can add chord diagrams if you like.

What I like to do is type in melody line in staff notation, lyrics and chords as found in a "fake book", and let Musescore transpose it to my favorite key. Then, if I want tabs, I add a tabs line and copy paste the staff notation into the tabs line - and tabs appear. Naturally only for the melody line, but more notes can be added for a chord melody arrangement afterwards.

Arcy · Feb 12, 2021

UkingViking said:
Then, if I want tabs, I add a tabs line and copy paste the staff notation into the tabs line - and tabs appear.

If you set up the notation and tabs lines as linked staves then MuseScore will keep them in sync automatically - enter a note on the staff and it'll place a tab or enter a fret number on the tab and it will place the note on the staff.

Linked Staffs in Instruments | MuseScore

kristenm · Feb 12, 2021

Ok thanks for all the replies! Seems like MuseScore is the way to go. I downloaded it. Now just to figure it out. I did learn music notation back in high school, hoping that's enough...

Ms Bean · Feb 12, 2021

Here's a tutorial to get you started. I think that it might have been made by a UU member, but I might be mistaken.

kristenm · Feb 13, 2021

Oh that's fantastic. Thank you!

Website or app for transcribing tabs?

kristenm

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Arcy

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ripock

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pmorey

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clear

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man0a

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UkingViking

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Arcy

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kristenm

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Ms Bean

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