The VexTab Tutorial

tabstave takes keyword arguments. For example, the string tabstave notation=true renders a standard notation stave above the tab stave. Try this on the tab stave below.

Try editing the notation below. Notice how the notes are justified in the stave. Notes can be suffixed by the following accidentals: #, ##, @, @@, and n signifying sharp, double-sharp, flat, double-flat, and natural, respectively.

tabstave takes keyword arguments that can be combined.

• tabstave notation=true renders a standard notation stave above the tab stave.
• tabstave notation=true tablature=false only renders the notation stave.
• tabstave notation=true clef=alto changes the clef to alto.
• tabstave notation=true clef=bass key=C# time=C| would create two staves (one notation, one tab), bass clef in the key of C# and half common time

The | character places a bar-line between the notes. You can add as many bars as you want to a stave.

=||   Double Bar
=|:  Repeat Begin
=:|  Repeat End
=::  Double Repeat
=|=  End Bar

If you separate three frets with a bend, and the first fret is the same as the last fret, a bend-and-release is displayed. E.g., 10b12b10.

Adding a v to the end of a note signifies a vibrato. A capital v (V) signifies a harsh vibrato. You can also add a vibrato to a bend.

You can also add a u or a d to designate upstrokes or downstrokes respectively.

For tablature, you can bend, slide, etc. individual notes in a chord just like you would for single notes.

You can also hammer-on, pull-off, tap, and slide between chords.

For example, :w specifies a whole note. The currently available durations are: w h q 8 16 32, for whole, half, quarter, eighth, sixteenth, and thirty-second note durations. Suffixing a 'd' to the duration indicates a dotted note. For example, :qd.

You can indicate tuplets by enclosing a tuplet number (3, 5, 7, etc.) within caret signs (^). VexTab will create a tuplet out of the preceding notes. For example, :8 4-5-6/4 ^3^ will create a triplet out of three notes.

Here's another example rendered with durations and standard notation. Notice how you can set the duration in the middle of slides, bends, or other types of ties by prefixing the fret with :duration:.

Annotations can be positioned above or below the stave using the $.top.$ or $.bottom.$ commands. Here's an example:

The current preset styles are big, medium, and italic.

For custom styles you can specify the font face, size, and style by prefixing your annotation with .face.size.style within the dollar signs. E.g., $.Times-14-italic.Blah$ will render "Blah" in 14pt Italic Times Roman. Here are some examples of preset and custom styles.

Articulations have different codes, e.g., a. for staccato, a@a for up-fermata, etc. They can be positioned on top or on the bottom.

Below is a list of all the available articulations.

In the example below I've created two text spans, "G Minor" and "A Major", each with a duration of a half-note. Notice that the duration syntax is the same (except that spans are separated by commas.) Also notice how I set the default font size in the options line.

Here's an example:

Also, you can use the ++ command in your span to create a new text line on the same stave. Here's an example of these features:

You can also use the u or d suffixes to designate upstrokes or downstrokes, respectively.

Here's a list of the current options, followed by some examples.