Reference Guide

1099
Tablature
Notation and lyrics
Quick TAB
SONAR quickly creates a tablature based on standard fingering patterns. After you try the quick
version, you can customize the tablature to your liking.
To create a quick TAB
1. Open a file that contains a MIDI guitar track.
2. In the Track view, select the track number of the track you want to display tablature for.
3. Select Views > Staff View.
The Staff view appears, displaying a fretboard and the notation of your MIDI track. To see
everything, you may need to resize the Staff view by dragging the top border upward a few
inches.
4. Click the Staff view Edit menu and choose Quick TAB.
A tablature grid appears, displaying the fret numbers for all the notes in the track.
5. From the File menu, choose Save. Saving your file saves TAB settings for each track you
generated TABs for.
Press the SPACEBAR to play your file. Notice that the Fretboard displays the name of each note
above the string and fret you would play it on as the note plays.
Regenerate TAB
The Regenerate TAB command works on selected regions in a track to modify the fingering
according to the method you choose. The TAB display by default uses the Floating algorithm which
allows the notes to spread over the entire fretboard. By choosing the Fixed algorithm instead, you
can designate a specific finger span and lowest fret which causes the TAB of a selected region to be
displayed within this range. This usually creates a more compact fingering system.
The Regenerate TAB command gives you a third choice for displaying tablature MIDI channel. This
uses the event's MIDI channel to determine which string the note should be displayed on. When
MIDI Channel is selected, the user chooses which series of MIDI Channels should be considered.
This is useful for MIDI guitarists that record parts in MONO mode, where each string transmits on a
different MIDI channel.
To regenerate TAB
1. Select the Select tool in the Control Bar and drag a rectangle around the notes or TAB numbers
you want to change.
2. Click the Staff view Edit menu and choose Regenerate TAB to open the Regenerate Tablature
dialog box.
3. Select Fixed from the Method field and fill in values for Finger Span (usually 4), Lowest Fret,
and Number of Frets (usually 21).
4. Click OK.
SONAR regenerates a TAB based on your specifications. If notes are out of the range you specified,
SONAR displays them as close to that range as possible.