Power Tab Editor is a graphical application for creating, viewing and editing guitar tablature. It provides a dedicated environment for musicians who prefer the familiar string-and-fret notation used in guitar and bass arrangements.
The project is a community-developed successor to the original Power Tab Editor. It was rewritten from scratch to provide a modern codebase and support across different operating systems, rather than relying on the original proprietary application.
Power Tab Editor can open tablature created with earlier Power Tab formats and several versions of Guitar Pro. This makes it useful for musicians with existing collections who want to inspect arrangements or continue editing them.
Its interface is organised around a tabbed document layout, allowing several compositions to remain open while working. Playback facilities provide a way to listen to arrangements, while keyboard shortcuts help streamline editing and navigation.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Creates and edits guitar and bass tablature using a graphical interface.
- Opens multiple compositions simultaneously in a tabbed workspace.
- Supports native Power Tab PT2 and legacy PTB files.
- Imports Guitar Pro GP3, GP4 and GP5 tablature files.
- Supports Guitar Pro GPX and GP file formats.
- Provides playback of supported musical arrangements.
- Includes a mixer for adjusting track volumes during playback.
- Allows keyboard shortcuts to be customised.
- Provides editing and navigation commands for working with tablature arrangements.
- Offers a layout designed for musicians working with existing tablature collections.
- Cross-platform support – runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows.
Website: github.com/powertab/powertabeditor
Support:
Developer: Power Tab Editor contributors
License: GNU General Public License v3.0
Power Tab Editor is written in C++. Learn C++ with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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