Add option to display tablature numbers as note names (i.e. "Alpha Tab")

• Dec 20, 2018 - 12:53
Reported version
3.0
Priority
P2 - Medium
Type
Functional
Frequency
Once
Severity
S5 - Suggestion
Reproducibility
Always
Status
active
Regression
No
Workaround
No
Project

While traditionally the purpose of tablature is to show fret positioning, displaying note names instead of fret numbers in tablature can be a useful pedagogical tool as is displaying note names as note heads in standard notation. Please consider adding an "Alpha tab" (see below) option of displaying note names in tablature. "Alpha tab", or whatever you want to call it, encourages learning note names on the fretboard, and on standard notation staff if both staff types are presented together, while still specifying the plucking hand position, what string to play. Adding an Alpha tab feature would help Musescore stand out from the crowd as other notation programs don't offer this (think of the glory).

From https://www.studybass.com/lessons/reading-music/alpha-tab/
"One of my biggest issues with bass tab has always been that notes are represented by fret numbers. Nothing could have less musical value to a developing musician than giving him or her arbitrary fret numbers to play. It would be like a painter trying to learn about using color and being instructed to use the 3rd paint can from the left. Other musicians all speak in the language of notes. If you say, "Did you want me to play a C# under that chord?", musicians will know what you're talking about. But if you say, "Did you want me to play the 4th fret?" only another bassist or guitarist will understand. I still think reading standard notation is the way to go, but I don't think bass tab is useless.

Alpha Tab works the same way as regular bass tab. All that is changed is the fret number becomes the note name. To distinguish between the same note name above the 12th fret, you simply use lower case.

Here is regular bass tab:

G ----------------------------------------------------
D --------------------5--------------------------17--
A --------2----5-----------------14-----17----------
E ---3----------------------15-----------------------

Translated into Alpha Tab:

G --------------------------------------------------
D --------------------G-------------------------g--
A --------B----D-----------------b-----d----------
E ---G----------------------g----------------------

Thanks, Sam


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