MusiXTab - A MusiXTeX extension for guitar tablatures

MusiXTab is a small TeX file containing some useful macros for guitar tablature typesetting. It must be used together with the MusiXTeX core package and MusiXps:

\input musixtex
\input musixps
\input musixtab

MusiXTab offers macros for some common notations in guitar tablatures, including slides, half and full bends, hammer-on, pull-off and palm mute. Below, you can find a short introduction to MusiXTab.

It is recommended that you use a 6-line system (assuming a 6-string guitar) and increase the space between its staves, e.g.:

\setlines16
\setsize1\largevalue

Table of Contents

• Manual
  • Fret numbers
  • Clef symbol
  • Palm Mute
  • Hammer On, Pull Off, (Artificial) Harmonics
  • Bends
  • Slides
• MusiXTeX
• License

Manual

Fret numbers

Typesetting fret numbers onto the guitar strings is probably what you will do the most when writing guitar tablatures. For this, there are two commands defined: \str and \zstr. Both print a fret number onto a string, but only \str inserts horizontal space of one \noteskip afterwards. \zstr on the other hand typesets a zero-spacing note. This is similar to how e.g. MusixTeX's \qu and \zqu behave.

Usage:

\str{<string>}{<number>}
\zstr{<string>}{<number>}

where <string> is string number between 1 and 6, and <number> is any number (or other text) to put onto the string (usually a fret number between 0 and 24).

Clef symbol

If you want to display a special TAB clef for your tablature staves, use \tabclefsymbolsmall. It displays TAB vertically at the beginning of the instrument (looks best when the overall size is set to \smallmusicsize).

Setting this clef for e.g. the first (lowest) instrument looks like this:

\setclefsymbol1{\tabclefsymbolsmall}

Palm Mute

You can typeset a Palm Mute (P.M.) indicator starting at the current position. This will insert P.M. followed by a dashed line.

Usage:

\palmmute{<pitch>}{<length>}

where <pitch> is the vertical level at which the palm mute is placed and <length> is the length of the line in multiples of \noteskip.

The result will look similar to this:

P.M.-----------|

However, if <length> is sufficiently small, no line will be inserted, just

P.M.

Hammer On, Pull Off, (Artificial) Harmonics

For Hammer On, Pull Off, Natural Harmonics, and Artificial Harmonics, there are macros which insert the corresponding symbol at the current position.

Usage:

\hammeron{<pitch>}{<offset>}
\pulloff{<pitch>}{<offset>}
\harmonics{<pitch>}{<offset>}
\aharmonics{<pitch>}{<offset>}

where <pitch> is the vertical level at which the symbol is placed and <offset> is the horizontal offset from the current position in note head widths.

The symbols are: H for Hammer On, P for Pull Off Harm. for Natural Harmonics, and A.H. for Artificial Harmonics (aka. Pinch Harmonics).

Bends

Bends in MusiXTab are indicated by a curved line going up. Both Half and Full Bends are supported. The command should be placed right in front of the note that should be bended.

Usage:

\bendhalf{<pitch>}{<textpitch>}{<offset>}
\bendfull{<pitch>}{<textpitch>}{<offset>}

where <pitch> is the vertical level at which the lower end of the bend curve is placed, <textpitch> is the vertical level at which the text is placed and <offset> is the horizontal offset from the current position in note head widths.

\bendhalf uses the text 1/2, while \bendfull uses Full.

There are additional commands like \Bendhalf, \Bendfull, and \Bend, which allow full control over the curve parameters, text etc. However, they should rarely be necessary.

Slides

Slides are a bit more complicated than the other macros, even though they just produce a straight line with some text. The slide macro should be placed right in front of the note where the slide begins. There are a few variants available which allow for fine-grained control over placement and optionally typeset the text sl. above or below the slide line.

Usage:

\gslide{<pitch>}{<length>}{<slope>}
\gslidet{<pitch>}{<length>}{<slope>}{<textpitch>}{<textoffset>}
\gSlide{<pitch>}{<voffset>}{<length>}{<slope>}
\gSlidet{<pitch>}{<voffset>}{<length>}{<slope>}{<textpitch>}{<textoffset>}

where <pitch> is the vertical level at which the beginning of the line is placed, <voffset> is additional vertical offset (for fine-tuning the line position), <length> is the length of the line (values smaller than 2 may cause weird behavior), <slope> is the slope of the line (should be in [-20,20] range), <textpitch> is the vertical level at which the text is placed, and <textoffset> is the horizontal offset of the text from the current position in note head widths.

As you may have guessed, only the commands ending on t produce any text. The others insert just a line. This allows scenarios where two notes are slided at the same time, but you only want to insert the sl. text once.

MusiXTeX

For more information on MusiXTeX, check out the official documentation here.

License

MusiXTab is licensed under the GNU General Public License v3. For more information, see the LICENSE.md file.