Tablature
Tab Mode
Double-click (Mac) or double-tap (iPad) on a tablature staff to enter Tab Mode. A blue cursor appears, showing where your next note will go.
Entering Fret Numbers
Type 0–9 on your keyboard to enter fret numbers. For frets 10 and above, type the digits quickly in sequence (e.g., 1 then 2 for fret 12).
Navigation
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| Left / Right | Move between beats |
| Up / Down | Move between strings |
| Tab | Advance to next beat (creates one if needed) |
| Delete | Remove the note under the cursor |
When you move the cursor past the last measure, a new measure is added automatically.
Note Duration
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| + / - | Increase / decrease duration |
| . (dot) | Toggle dotted note |
Durations range from whole notes down to sixty-fourth notes. The tablature and standard notation staves stay synchronized — changing a fret number updates the pitch on the standard staff, and vice versa.
The Note Popup
When the cursor is on a note, a capsule appears in the top-right corner showing the current note name and fret number. Tap or click it to expand the note popup, which gives quick access to note properties — tied, dead, ghost, grace, accidentals, and dynamics — without opening the tools palette.
The Tools Palette
When Tab Mode is active, a floating tools palette appears with two rows:
- Row 1 — Notation tools: note effects (dynamics, articulations, bends, tremolo, tuplets, beaming) and note toggles (grace, dead, tied, dot, slur, ghost, system break, simile)
- Row 2 — Score operations: beat operations (add, insert, split), bar operations (add, insert, duplicate, delete), and dialogs (chord name, chord diagram, tempo, text, section marker, repeat, time signature, key signature, clef)
On iOS, the palette scrolls horizontally when it doesn’t fit the screen width.
The toolbar at the top shows the voice selector and note duration buttons. On iOS, the toolbar also includes export, view mode toggle, clipboard operations, and undo/redo.