.TAB File Extension
Guitar ASCII Tablature File
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A TAB file may also be a guitar tablature file, which is a plain text file that contains guitar tabs and lyrics in the ASCII tab (TAB) format. Users can create, open, and edit TAB files with a text editor or import them into various guitar tablature applications.
More Information
Guitar tablature is a form of musical notation that includes the finger placement on a guitar for playing a piece. There are many guitar tablature formats, with TAB being one of the most human-readable formats.
TAB files typically include tablature and lyrics and may include symbols to denote various techniques. Some symbol examples include the following:
- / - Slide up
- \ - Slide down
- b - Bend string up
- v - Vibrato
- T - Tap
- S - Shift slide
- tr - Trill
NOTE: While humans can easily read the TAB format, it is also inconsistent since many people create TAB files by simply typing in tablature in a simple .TXT file. They then change the .txt file extension to .tab.
How to open a TAB file
You can open a TAB file with various guitar tablature applications, most notably, Arobas Music Guitar Pro (multiplatform). To open a TAB file with Guitar Pro, select .
You can also open TAB files with any text editor.
For example, you can open a TAB file with Microsoft Notepad or Microsoft WordPad in Windows. Both of these text editors come bundled with Windows. To open a TAB file with Notepad, select .
In macOS, you can open a TAB file with Apple TextEdit, which is included with the operating system. To open a TAB file with TextEdit, select .
How to convert a TAB file
Arobas Music Guitar Pro can convert TAB files to various file types, including the following formats: