Tablator is a webapp that converts a sequence of notes or midi file into a guitar tab.

App link: http://tablator.herokuapp.com

When playing a passage, for every note, a guitarist must choose which finger to use to fret the string and, unless the note only can be played on one string, which string to play the note on. This choice greatly impacts the playability of the passage: a better fingering means an easier time playing. This program uses a dynamic programming algorithm to find the three best possible fingering sequences for a sequence of notes.

All possible fingering paths can be represented as a series of columns of nodes, where each column represents a note and every node represents a fingering for that note. Each fingering has three properties: which finger was used, which string was used, and which fret was pressed. Each path follows the series from left to right, using exactly one node per column.

The cost function for the transition between two notes is calculated using the difference between the displacement in frets and the displacement in finger used (assuming all four fingers can comfortably cover exactly one fret). Higher frets also produce higher cost.

Currently, the program will only work on monophonic data. For any polyphonic beats (if two consecutive notes have the exact same note-on time), the program uses one of the notes. Any notes outside the range of the chosen instrument will be octave-shifted in.

• compose a line using a virtual keyboard and view its best tabs
• import a midi file and view its best tabs
• set a capo or adjust the cost settings
• make tabs for bass or alternate tunings
• play the midi file out loud
• download the tab as a txt file

Tablator requires Node.js and Python to run locally.

Starting the frontend (React) server:

cd frontend
npm i
npm start

Starting the backend (python) server:

pip3 install -r requirements.txt
python3 base.py

• time representation between notes can be improved
• get chords working
• display note fingerings alongside note
• display as score using Lilypond
• option to octave shift
• add option to not prioritize open strings or lower frets
• option to download composed midi
• capo
• fix negative difficulty values when prioritizing higher
• add custom tunings
• option to ignore fret height
• piano input
• leave out similar tabs
• add bass tabs
• add loading throbber
• double-digit frets being cut in half at wrap
• add sample midi
• download buttons for tabs
• display cost for tab
• notes after a long pause being cut off
• have tab length change based on screen width
• all three buttons showing with fewer than three versions available
• remainder notes not showing