Players learning a song
No tab online for that B-side or that live version? Run the recording through the guitar tab generator and learn from a draft instead of from nothing.
Free AI Guitar Tab Generator: Turn Any Recording into Playable Tabs
To turn a song into guitar tabs, drop a recording on the guitar tab generator below or record a riff with your microphone. Spotify's open-source Basic Pitch model hears the notes right in your browser, and ToMIDI writes them as a playable tab: a string and a fret for every note in your tuning, with a capo if you want one, under standard notation. Play it back with a sampled guitar, fix any note, then save ASCII tab, MusicXML, MIDI or a printed PDF. Free, no sign-up, nothing uploaded.
- Audio to Tab in Your Browser
- Tunings, Capo, Ukulele
- Free, No Sign-up
- ASCII, MusicXML, PDF
Free · runs in your browser
Drop a guitar recording to get the tab
MP3 · WAV · M4A · FLAC · OGG · AAC · MP4 · WEBMup to 300 MB, first 10 minutes analysed
Drop a file anywhere on this card. Conversion starts right away.U uploadR recordS sample
Try a real recording
Opens this engine's real output instantly, ready to play and edit.
What comes out well
- Best · One guitar, clean tone, single notes or fingerpicking
- Usable · Riffs with light drive, simple chord parts
- Rough · Strummed chords, heavy distortion, full band mixes
Runs in your browserFree to convertNo sign-up to listenPreview · first 30 s
Only convert audio you have the right to use. Your file stays on this device.
What a Guitar Tab Generator Does with a Recording
A guitar tab generator has two jobs. First it listens: which notes sound, when each one starts and how long it rings. Then it decides where your hand goes, because on a guitar the same note sits on up to five strings. ToMIDI does the first job with Basic Pitch, a note model that runs in your browser, and the second with a fingering pass that plans the whole phrase so a riff stays in one position instead of jumping around the neck. Most free tab makers and online tab creators hand you blank lines to fill in; here, with AI, song to tabs takes a minute, not an evening with the rewind button.
- The same note sits on up to five strings, so the pitches alone do not say where to play.
- Six strings ring together, and their overtones sound like extra notes.
- Bends, slides and vibrato blur where one note ends and the next begins.
- Drop D, Eb tuning or a capo changes every fret number in the tab.
Why Guitarists Pick ToMIDI as Their Guitar Tab Maker
A free guitar tab maker from audio that thinks about the fretboard, not just the notes: an online guitar tab maker with nothing to install.
AI that runs on your device
Basic Pitch finds the notes in your browser tab, so this AI tablature generator never needs your file on a server. The model runs once, so every setting after that, from tuning to sensitivity, redraws the tab instantly.
Fingering for the whole phrase
Each note and chord gets the shape that costs the least stretch and the least hand movement across the passage, so runs stay in position. Prefer another string? Move the note, type a new fret or pick one on the fretboard.
Tunings, capo and hand position
Standard, Drop D, DADGAD, open tunings and more, plus 7-string guitar and ukulele: a guitar tablature maker for whatever you play. Set a capo or press Suggest, pick a hand position and cap the stretch at 4, 5 or 6 frets.
Single notes or with chords
Tab a riff or a solo as one clean line, or keep the chords of a fingerpicked part. The guitar tab creator tells you when a take is chord-heavy and the tab will be rough.
Hear it before you learn it
Play the tab with a sampled steel-string, nylon, clean or overdriven guitar, or put it next to the original recording, while a fretboard shows each note. Loop a bar and slow it to half speed to learn it.
Exports that open anywhere
Copy ASCII tab into a forum post, open MusicXML with a tab staff in Guitar Pro, MuseScore or TuxGuitar, save a .mid, or print a PDF.
How to Make Guitar Tabs from Audio in Four Steps
No account, no upload queue: use the guitar tab creator online and make guitar tabs online in the time it takes to hear the riff twice. MP3 to tablature, start to finish:
MP3 to tab starts here: drop an MP3, WAV, M4A, FLAC or other audio file (or a video) up to 300 MB on the guitar tab generator, record a take of up to 60 seconds, or open the guitar solo sample.
Choose the instrument in the tab creator: guitar, 7-string or ukulele, then the tuning the song is in. Add a capo, or press Suggest and let the tab maker find the easiest one.
Keep one line for a riff or a solo, or tab the chords of a fingerpicked part. Set the hand position and the widest stretch, and fix the tempo if the bars look off.
Listen with a sampled guitar or against the original, correct any note, then download ASCII tab, MusicXML or MIDI, or choose Print / Save as PDF.
Step 1 · Upload or record
Inside the AI Guitar Tab Creator
What happens between a waveform and the fret numbers on your screen.
Audio to tab: the notes first
Basic Pitch, the open-source note model from Spotify, reads the audio frame by frame and marks the pitch, start and length of every note. The Guitar preset keeps its ears on the guitar range, opens lower for Drop D or a 7-string, and filters out overtones and ringing strings picked up as new notes. Raise the sensitivity to catch soft notes, hide the ones the model was unsure about, or shift everything by an octave. Nothing is sent to a server: this is an AI tab generator from audio that keeps your recording on your device.
Try It on a RiffFingering that keeps your hand in position
For every note and chord the guitar tab maker lists each playable shape, scores it for stretch, height on the neck, open strings and skipped strings, then picks the cheapest path through the whole part, charging more for a shift when the notes come fast. That is why a run tends to stay in one box instead of zigzagging between the lowest frets. Set a hand position (open, V, VII and up) to move the whole tab, or cap the stretch for smaller hands.
See the FingeringTunings and a capo that suggests itself
Pick Standard, Eb Standard, Drop D, Drop C, D Standard, DADGAD, Open G, Open D or Open E, Standard B or Drop A on a 7-string, and every fret is worked out again for the new open strings. Press Suggest and the tab creator tries capo 0 to 7 on your notes and keeps the one that makes the part clearly easier. Songs in Eb or Ab often fall under the fingers with a capo on 1 or 3.
Find the CapoRiffs, solos or chords
Single notes keeps one clear line, the strongest note at each moment, which is what you want for a riff, a solo or a melody. With chords keeps up to one note per string, so a fingerpicked pattern comes out as shapes you can hold. A sixteenth or eighth grid, the time signature and a bar shift line the rhythm up with the song.
Switch the StyleTab, notation and a sampled guitar
The tab sits under a notation staff, so you read the rhythm and the fret together. Press play and a sampled guitar plays it while the notes light up on a fretboard with the chord name, the hand position and suggested finger numbers. Switch between the tab, the original recording and both at once: it is the quickest way to hear whether the guitar tab generator got a note wrong. Then loop a bar, slow it to half speed and add the metronome to learn it.
Play a TabASCII, MusicXML, MIDI or PDF
Plain ASCII tab pastes into a forum, a chat or a text file, with the tuning and capo in the header. MusicXML carries the notes with a tab staff into Guitar Pro, MuseScore or TuxGuitar for editing. MIDI comes on the beat grid or exactly as played for any DAW, and Print / Save as PDF gives a paged copy of the tab, with or without notation.
Export a TabGuitar Tab Generator Example: A Real Solo, Tabbed
Live, not a screenshot. These are the notes Basic Pitch found in the guitar solo sample (a CC0 recording by Leechfoot), laid out in your browser by the same tab code the generator uses.
Guitar solo · guitar-solo.mp3
First 10 seconds · 120 BPM · CC0 recording by Leechfoot
No capo
Standard · E A D G B ENo capo58 notes · 5 bars
What you are looking at
Switch between single notes and chords, change the tuning or add a capo and watch the frets move while the sound stays the same. Press play to hear the tab, or switch to ASCII to see the exact text export. Open the sample in the guitar tablature creator above to fix notes, change the sound and print it.
How Accurate Is an AI Guitar Tab Generator?
Honest answer about guitar tab AI: it depends on what you feed it, and we publish no accuracy percentages until we have measured real recordings. Like any guitar tab generator, AI transcription is strongest on clear single notes and weakest where notes pile up. Treat the result as a fast first draft you check by ear, the way you would check a tab from a friend.
- Strummed chords are approximate: six strings start milliseconds apart, so notes go missing or double.
- A full band mix adds bass, drums and vocals, so expect extra notes unless the guitar is isolated.
- Heavy distortion adds harmonics that read as false notes.
- Bends, slides, hammer-ons, vibrato and palm mutes are not detected; you mark them yourself.
Tips for Cleaner Tabs from the Tab Maker
Five minutes of setup saves you most of the fixing.
Record clean or DI
Plug into an interface and record the dry signal. Drive and delay can go on later; the tab maker wants plain notes.
Tune up first
A guitar a few cents flat pulls notes toward the wrong fret. Check every string with the online tuner before you record.
Play to a click
A steady tempo from the metronome gives straight bar lines. For a recorded song, read the tempo with the BPM finder.
Match the real tuning
If the song is in Drop D or Eb, pick that tuning before you judge the tab, so low notes land on open strings.
Guitar Tab Generator Tools Compared
As of November 2026, from each product's own pages: tools ChatGPT often suggests for audio to tab. Desktop music tab software like AnthemScore suits long sessions; free guitar tab software in the browser suits a quick riff.
| This siteToMIDI | Note2Tabs | NoteNav | AnthemScore | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where it runs | In your browser, audio never uploaded | Online web app | Online web app, optional desktop app | Desktop app (Windows, macOS, Linux) |
| Free use | Free, no sign-up | 10 credits a month, clips up to 60 seconds | First 90 seconds of each song | Trial: first 30 seconds of each song |
| Paid | Nothing to buy | From $5.99 a month | 10 credits per full song | One-time licence, $29 to $99 |
| What you give it | Audio file or a microphone take | MP3, WAV, M4A or a public YouTube link | Audio file up to 5:55 or a public video link | Audio file |
| Tunings and fingering | Tunings, capo with Suggest, position and stretch | Fingering optimizer | 36 tunings, capo on either guitar | Sheet music or tablature for your instrument |
| Exports | ASCII tab, MusicXML, MIDI, PDF via print | Tab files (formats not listed) | Guitar Pro 7 (.gp) | PDF; MIDI and MusicXML in Professional |
What to Expect from Audio to Guitar Tab, by Recording
The same guitar tab generator, from MP3 or from a DI track, gives very different drafts depending on the source. Here is where to start.
| What you get | Best next step | |
|---|---|---|
| Clean riff or solo (DI or close mic) | A clean single-note tab | Single notes, then try a capo or position |
| Fingerpicked part | Shapes you can hold, a few notes to fix | With chords, stretch on Auto |
| Strummed chords | Approximate notes, smeared timing | Name the chords with the chord finder |
| Distorted lead | Extra notes from the harmonics | Lower the sensitivity, hide unsure notes |
| MP3 of a full band | Bass, drums and vocals mixed into the tab | Use an isolated guitar track if you have one |
| Bass line | Better on four or five strings | Use the bass tab generator |
Who Uses a Free Guitar Tab Creator
Anyone who has the sound of a part and wants to know where the fingers go.
Songwriters
Record the riff on your phone the moment you find it, skip having to write tabs by hand, and keep it with the tuning and capo written down for next month.
Teachers
Use it as a quick tab writer: guitar lessons need handouts, and this guitar tab writer listens, so you can create tabs from a recorded lick, with notation, in a minute.
Transcribers
Let AI transcribe audio to tabs for the first pass of a solo, then correct it by ear. Fixing a draft is faster than any tablature writer where you type every fret.
Ukulele players
Pick ukulele in the tab creator. Ukulele tunings gCEA, low G and baritone are built in, so it doubles as a ukulele tab generator and uke tab maker.
Producers
Hand a session player a tab of the guitar part from your demo and take the MIDI into your DAW from the same screen. For a piano roll and note editing, use guitar to MIDI.
Guitar Tab Generator FAQ
Straight answers, including what AI tabs cannot do yet.
How do I turn a song into guitar tabs?
Drop the recording on the guitar tab generator at the top of this page, or record it with your microphone. Pick your tuning and capo, choose single notes or chords, play the tab back to check it, then download ASCII tab, MusicXML or MIDI, or print a PDF.
Is the guitar tab generator free?
Yes. It is an AI guitar tab generator, free to use with no sign-up, and we can keep the guitar tab creator free for everyone because the work happens on your device, not on our servers. There is no queue, no monthly limit and no guitar tab program, free trial or account to set up. Files can be up to 300 MB with the first 10 minutes analysed, and every export is the full tab; the text and PDF files carry a one-line ToMIDI credit.
How is this different from a regular tab maker online?
A typical online tab maker or free tab creator is a blank grid: you type every fret, which works when you already know the part. A guitar tab generator listens to a recording and writes the draft for you, so it is closer to an AI tab maker than a music tab maker. Use both: generate the draft here, then polish the MusicXML in the guitar tablature program you like.
Which guitar tabs are the most accurate?
Tabs checked against the recording: official transcriptions in published songbooks, carefully checked community tabs, and tabs you verify by ear yourself. AI tabs from any AI guitar tab maker, this one included, are a first draft. Clean single-note parts come out close; strummed chords and full mixes need more fixing.
Does MP3 to guitar tab work on a full song?
Yes. As an MP3 to guitar tab converter online, free and without uploading, it reads any song file, but in a full mix the bass, drums and vocals add notes that are not on the guitar. An isolated guitar track, a DI recording or your own take gives a much cleaner tab.
Can it tab strummed chords?
Approximately. A strum puts six notes down a few milliseconds apart, so expect missing notes, octave doubles and smeared timing; the generator warns you when a take is chord-heavy. Fingerpicked parts and single notes come out far better. To name the chords instead, use the chord finder.
Which tunings are supported? Can I use a capo?
Guitar: Standard, Eb Standard, Drop D, Drop C, D Standard, DADGAD, Open G, Open D and Open E. 7-string: Standard (B) and Drop A. Ukulele: gCEA, low G and baritone. Set a capo by hand or press Suggest, which tries frets 0 to 7 and keeps the easiest fingering.
Does the tab show bends, slides or hammer-ons?
Not by themselves. The model hears pitches and timing, not technique, so a bend comes out as the notes it passes through and a slide as separate notes. You can mark a hammer-on, pull-off, slide, bend, vibrato, palm mute, dead note or harmonic on any note yourself, and the marks appear in the ASCII tab.
Are guitar tabs legal? Is it legal to create guitar tabs?
Working out a song by ear and writing a tab for your own practice is something guitarists have always done, and this tool only speeds that up. Sharing, publishing or selling a tab of a copyrighted song is different: the music belongs to its writers and publishers, which is why licensed tab sites pay for the rights. This is general information, not legal advice; check the rules where you live before you share a tab of a song you did not write.
Where can I get guitar tabs for free?
Licensed tab sites and library songbooks cover popular songs, and public domain music such as traditional songs and classical pieces is free to tab and share. For a song with no tab online, or your own song, create your own guitar tabs: record or upload the audio here and the guitar tab generator writes a draft for free.
Can I open the tab in Guitar Pro or MuseScore?
Yes. Download MusicXML: it carries the notes with a tab staff, and Guitar Pro, MuseScore and TuxGuitar can open it for editing. There is no direct .gp file export.
Can I print the tab or save it as a PDF?
Yes. Choose Print / Save as PDF, with or without the notation staff, then pick Save as PDF in your browser's print dialog. There is no separate PDF download; the print route works on any computer or phone.
Is my recording uploaded?
No. Decoding, note detection, fingering, playback and export all run in your browser tab. Only the note model and the guitar sounds download, the first time you use them.
Can I convert sheet music to tablature?
Not on this page, which listens to audio. Looking for a sheet music to tab converter online, free? Two of our tools make a sheet music to guitar tab converter: turn the score into MIDI with MusicXML to MIDI, or PDF to MIDI for a printed page, then open the file in MIDI to guitar tab, which lays it out on the neck. Guitar sheet music to tab works best when the score is a single guitar part.
Does it make bass, ukulele or drum tabs?
Ukulele, yes: pick it as the instrument and it works as a ukulele tab creator with ukulele strings and frets. For bass, the bass tab generator uses four or five strings and a bass sound. It is not a drum tab maker: drums have hits, not pitches.
What is tablature, and how do I read it?
Tablature shows a fretboard on its side: one line per string, the thinnest string on top, and each number is the fret to press, with 0 for an open string. Numbers stacked in a column are played together. Tab leaves out rhythm, so ToMIDI puts standard notation above it. To create tablature for a whole song by hand you need an online tablature maker or a desktop editor; to get a draft from a recording, use this one.
More Ways to Get Tabs, Notes and MIDI
Starting from a MIDI file, a score or a song you want as MIDI? Pick the matching tool.
Tools Guitarists Use Next to the Tab Creator
Keep a tab maker, guitar tuner, chord finder and metronome one click apart.
- Online TunerTune guitar, bass, ukulele or violin.
- Chord FinderName any chord from notes or audio.
- Song Key FinderFind the key and Camelot code of a song.
- Online MetronomeA steady click with accents and tap tempo.
- Song Key ChangerShift a song up or down by semitones.
- BPM ChangerSpeed a song up or slow it down.
Ready to Try the Online Guitar Tab Generator?
Drop a recording on the free guitar tab generator above and create guitar tabs online in a minute: in your browser, nothing uploaded. Want the notes as MIDI instead? Use the audio to MIDI converter.