Notation guide

A handful of symbols covers almost any chart. This page lists all of them, with an example of each. The same reference is in the editor under Help (F1).

Tip: with Pro, Template… › All features in the editor puts a complete example in your text. Change it and watch the print preview follow.

Contents: Header · Bars and barlines · Rhythm · Chord symbols · Colour · Annotations · Text boxes and layout · Lyrics · Text blocks · Tabs · Chord diagrams · A complete chart · Keyboard shortcuts

Header

Header lines go at the top of the text, one per line. Each one is optional.

Several songs in one file, for example a set list: start every song with its own header. Each @title: after the first one begins a new page; transposing moves the key of every song.

@title: First song
@key: F
| F | Bb | C7 | F |b

@title: Second song
@author: Someone
@key: G
| G | C | D7 | G |b

Bars and barlines

A row of bars is one line of text. Bars are separated by |; a row usually holds four bars.

Rhythm

Write the rhythm of a bar between { }, after the chords. It is drawn as notes below the chords, in the time signature of that bar (@time:, 4/4 by default). Separate the values with spaces (or +).

| C {4 4 4 4} | C {88 88 88 88} | C {4. 8 2} | C {3(888) 4 2} |b

Chord symbols

Type chords the way you would write them. The editor prints them in jazz style or as text, depending on the setting Chord notation (⚙ Settings).

Colour

Give a chord, a rehearsal mark or a label its own colour with !g (green), !r (red), !b (blue) or !z (black), right after it. The default colour of all chords is a setting.

Annotations

Annotations go inside a bar, before the chords.

Text boxes and layout

Lyrics

The font and size of the lyrics are settings. Songs with the chords above the lyrics, as on Ultimate Guitar, can be converted with File › Import from Ultimate Guitar… (Pro).

@lyrics: Verse 1
[C]Morning light upon [G]the water,
[Am]every street is [F]waking slow
@endlyrics

Text blocks

For text without chords, such as the words of a song, notes for the band or an explanation, use a text block. It is printed exactly as you type it, in Inter 14px.

@textblock: Notes
Intro: drums alone for 4 bars, then everyone.
Last chorus twice, end on the downbeat.
@endtextblock

File › Import from Ultimate Guitar… (Pro) can make text blocks too: choose Lyrics only, without chords. All chords are removed and every section (Intro, Verse, Chorus …) becomes a text block with its name as the title.

Tabs

@tab
e|-----------------|-----------------|
B|-----------------|-----------------|
G|-----------------|-----------------|
D|-----2--------2--|-----------------|
A|-----2-----5--2--|--0--------------|
E|--0-----3--------|-----3--5--------|
@endtab

With a Pro account, Edit tab in the toolbar opens the @tab block at the cursor in a visual tab editor.

Chord diagrams

A row of guitar chord diagrams (standard tuning), with the chord name above each one. The row wraps onto a next line when it is longer than the page:

@diagrams: C Am7 F@8 D7@10 Bb(x-13-15-15-15-13)

Chords with a diagram

Every root (C, C# / Db … B) with these chord types has one or more shapes in the chord database. Write them as in the chart; the examples are in C:

A barre in your own fingering is found by itself: the lowest sounding string is on the lowest fret, at least one other string is on that fret, and no string in between is open or muted. Transposing moves the diagrams along. A chord that is not in the chord database and has no fingering gets an empty frame with a question mark and a note in the error list.

A complete chart

Header, sections, a repeat with endings, a text box and lyrics together:

@title: Jazz Blues in F
@subtitle: 12 bars, with II-V turns
@author: Rick Spaan
@style: Medium Swing
@key: F

4|@mrk:*Head* @time:4/4 F7 | Bb7 | F7 | Cm7 F7 |b
| Bb7 | Bdim7 | F7 | Am7b5 D7b9 |b
| Gm7 | C7 | F7 D7 | Gm7 C7 5|bb

@box: [Form] head 2x, solos over the same chart, then head 2x

|@mrk:*Ending* Gm7 | C7 | F6 , , @txtR:*/fermata* 3| @empty |bb

@lyrics: Verse
[F7]Walking down the avenue, [Bb7]nothing on my mind
@endlyrics

More complete charts are on the examples page.

Keyboard shortcuts

The shortcuts of the practice player are on the help page.