Note Properties

The properties defined on note level result in a variety of effects and annotations shown in the music sheet. Historically these properties are heavily abbreviated to reduce the text that needs to be written to apply them.

In future alphaTab will likely change to a more verbose, but clearer alternative.

nh, ah, th, ph, sh, fh

Syntax

nh
ah value
th value
ph value
sh value
fh value

Description: Applies a harmonic effect to the note (for fretted instruments).

• nh for a Natural Harmonic
• ah for a Artificial Harmonic
• th for a Tapped Harmonic
• ph for a Pinch Harmonic
• sh for a Semi Harmonic
• fh for a Feedback Harmonic

Values:

Name	Description	Type	Required
value	The harmonic value	number	no

The harmonic value determines a relative fret-offset changing the note pitch when played. For natural harmonics the played fret determines the harmonic value. The rules are a bit special but mostly are aligned with the frequency adjustments happening when harmonics are played at respective frets:

• 2.4 adds 36 frets
• 2.7 adds 34 frets
• < 3 adds 0 frets
• <= 3.5 adds 31 frets
• <= 4 adds 28 frets
• <= 5 adds 34 frets
• <= 7 adds 19 frets
• <= 8.5 adds 36 frets
• <= 9 adds 28 frets
• <= 10 adds 34 frets
• <= 11 adds 0 frets
• <= 12 adds 12 frets
• < 14 adds 0 frets
• <= 15 adds 34 frets
• <= 16 adds 28 frets
• <= 17 adds 36 frets
• <= 18 adds 0 frets
• <= 19 adds 19 frets
• <= 21 adds 0 frets
• <= 22 adds 36 frets
• <= 24 adds 24 frets
• other: adds 0 frets

Example

:8 3.3{nh} 3.3{ah} 3.3{ph} 3.3{th} 3.3{sh}

:8 3.3{nh} 3.3{ah} 3.3{ph} 3.3{th} 3.3{sh}

v

Syntax

v

Description: Applies a slight vibrato effect to the note.

Values: None

Example

3.3{v}

3.3{v}

vw

Syntax

vw

Description: Applies a wide vibrato effect to the note.

Values: None

Example

3.3{vw}

3.3{vw}

sl, ss, sib, sia, sou, sod, psu, psd

Syntax

sl
ss
sib
sia
sou
sod
psd
psu

Description: Applies a slide effect to the note.

• sl for a legato slide
• ss for a shift slide
• sib for a slide into from below
• sia for a slide into from above
• sou for a slide out upwards
• sod for a slide out downwards
• psu for a pick slide upwards
• psd for a pick slide downwards

Values: None

Example

3.3{sl} 4.3 3.3{ss} 4.3 | 3.3{sib} 3.3{sia} 3.3{sou} 3.3{sod} | 3.3{sib sou} 3.3{sib sod} 3.3{sia sod} 3.3{sia sou} | x.3{psd} 3.3 | x.3{psu} 3.3 |

3.3{sl} 4.3 3.3{ss} 4.3 |
3.3{sib} 3.3{sia} 3.3{sou} 3.3{sod} |
3.3{sib sou} 3.3{sib sod} 3.3{sia sod} 3.3{sia sou} |
x.3{psd} 3.3 |
x.3{psu} 3.3 |

h

Syntax

h

Description: Applies a hammer on / pull-off effect to the note.

The fret of the following note on the same string defines whether it is a hammer-on or pull-of

Values: None

Example

3.3{h} 4.3 4.3{h} 3.3 | 3.3{h} 4.3{h} 3.3{h} 4.3

3.3{h} 4.3 4.3{h} 3.3 | 3.3{h} 4.3{h} 3.3{h} 4.3

lht

Syntax

lht

Description: Applies a left-hand-tapped annotation to the note.

Values: None

Example

:16 15.1{h} 13.1{h} 12.1{h} 15.2{lht}

:16 15.1{h} 13.1{h} 12.1{h} 15.2{lht}

g

Syntax

g

Description: Marks the note as a ghost note.

Values: None

Example

3.3{g}

3.3{g}

ac, hac, ten

Syntax

ac
hac
ten

Description: Applies an accentuation to the note.

• ac for a simple accentuation

• hac for a heavy accentuation

• ten for a tenuto accentuation

Values: None

Example

3.3{ac} 3.3{hac} 3.3{ten}

3.3{ac} 3.3{hac} 3.3{ten}

tr

Syntax

tr fret
tr (fret duration)

Description: Applies a trill effect to the note.

Values:

Name	Description	Type	Required
fret	The fret on which to trill	number	yes
duration	The duration/speed of the trills	16 (default), 32 or 64	no

Example

:4 3.3{tr 4} 3.3{tr 4 16} 3.3{tr 5 32} 3.3{tr 6 64}

:4 3.3{tr 4} 3.3{tr 4 16} 3.3{tr 5 32} 3.3{tr 6 64}

pm

Syntax

pm

Description: Applies a palm mute effect to the note.

Values: None

Example

3.3{pm} 3.3{pm} 3.3{pm} 3.3{pm}

3.3{pm} 3.3{pm} 3.3{pm} 3.3{pm}

st

Syntax

st

Description: Applies a staccato effect to the note.

Values: None

Example

3.3{st}

3.3{st}

lr

Syntax

lr

Description: Applies a LetRing effect to the note.

Values: None

Example

3.4{lr} 3.3{lr} 3.2{lr} 3.1{lr}

3.4{lr} 3.3{lr} 3.2{lr} 3.1{lr}

x

Syntax

x

Description: Marks the note as a dead note.

This is an alternative syntax to directly specifying the fret as x.

Values: None

Example

x.3 3.3{x}

x.3 3.3{x}

t, -

Syntax

t
-

Description: Marks the note as a tied note.

This is an alternative syntax to directly specifying the fret as -.

For non stringed instrument it can be a bit more tricky as we cannot use the string to identify which note to tie. There are multiple ways to work around this problem. AlphaTab will try to find the start note for the tie via several rules, if this does not match the desired behavior, you can specify the note value as alternative and indicate the tie via a note effect.

Values: None

Example

3.3 -.3 | (1.1 3.2 2.3 0.4) (-.1 -.4)

3.3 -.3 | (1.1 3.2 2.3 0.4) (-.1 -.4)

\tuning piano . // If there is a single note on the previous beat, we tie to this one // Then a simple - is enough for a tie :2 a4 - | // Alternatively you can specify a '-' or 't' as note effect to indicate a tie :2 a4 a4{-} | :2 a4 a4{t} | // This also works for chords using correct note ordering :2 (a4 a3) (- a3) | :2 (a4 a3) (a4 -) | // If nothing helps, always the explicit note value and tie effect should allow // specifying the correct behavior :2 (a4 a3) (a4{t} a3) | :4 (a4 a3) (b2 b3) a4{t} a3{-} |

\tuning piano
.
// If there is a single note on the previous beat, we tie to this one
// Then a simple - is enough for a tie
:2 a4 - |
// Alternatively you can specify a '-' or 't' as note effect to indicate a tie
:2 a4 a4{-} |
:2 a4 a4{t} |
// This also works for chords using correct note ordering
:2 (a4 a3) (- a3) |
:2 (a4 a3) (a4 -) |
// If nothing helps, always the explicit note value and tie effect should allow
// specifying the correct behavior
:2 (a4 a3) (a4{t} a3) |
:4 (a4 a3) (b2 b3) a4{t} a3{-} |

turn

Syntax

turn

Description: Applies a turn ornament to the note.

Values: None

Example

:1 C4{turn} |

:1 C4{turn} |

iturn

Syntax

iturn

Description: Applies an inverted turn ornament to the note.

Values: None

Example

:1 C4{iturn} |

:1 C4{iturn} |

umordent

Syntax

umordent

Description: Applies an upper mordent ornament to the note.

Values: None

Example

:1 C4{umordent} |

:1 C4{umordent} |

lmordent

Syntax

lmordent

Description: Applies a lower mordent ornament to the note.

Values: None

Example

:1 C4{lmordent} |

:1 C4{lmordent} |

string

Syntax

string

Description: Adds an annotation showing the string number of the note above the staff.

Values: None

Example

3.3{string} 3.4{string} 3.5{string}

3.3{string} 3.4{string} 3.5{string}

hide

Syntax

hide

Description: Hides the note from being displayed in the music sheet..

Values: None

Example

:8 3.3 (4.4{hide} 5.5)

:8 3.3 (4.4{hide} 5.5)

b, be

Syntax

b (type style value1 value2 value3...)
be (type style offset1 value1 offset2 value2 offset3 value3...)

Description: Adds a bend effect to the note.

• The b variant automatically spreads the values across the duration of the beat.
• The be (exact) variant allows specifying exactly at which offset a value is placed.

Values:

Name	Description	Type	Required
type	The type of bend (affects the display).	custom, bend, release, bendRelease, hold, prebend, prebendbend, prebendrelease	no
style	The style of the bend play style.	default, gradual, `fast``	no
offset	The offset at which the value becomes valid	number (0-60)	yes (if tbe)
value	The value of the whammy in quarter-tones relative to the original note, decimals supported	number	yes

It is recommended to rely on the auto-detection of the type and only specify the type explicitly if something is wrong:

• custom - use this for non standard custom bends with multiple points
• bend - use this for a simple bend up to a higher note.
• release - use this for a releases of bends down to a lower note.
• bendRelease - use this for a bends directly followed by a release.
• hold - use this when bends are held (e.g. on tied notes).
• prebend - use this when a bent to a higher note is performed before the note is played.
• prebendbend - use this when a bent to a higher note is performed before the note is played and then during playing the note is bent further.
• prebendrelease - use this when a bent to a higher note is performed before the note is played and then during playing the note is released.

The style can be one of these values:

• default - No additional text is shown, the bend offsets and values are respected as specified.
• gradual - Will show an additional "grad." on the whammy line. The audio is generated according to the type spread evenly across the play duration.
• fast - No additional text is shown. The audio is generated according to the type spread evenly across the fixed duration set via settings.player.songBookBendDuration.

Example

3.3{b (0 4)} | 3.3{b (0 4 0 8)} |

3.3{b (0 4)} |
3.3{b (0 4 0 8)} |

To specify a bend with exact positions (not evenly distributed) you can use be (offset1 value1 offset2 value2). The offset is ranging from 0 to 60.

:1 3.3 {be (0 0 5 2 30 4)}

:1 3.3 {be (0 0 5 2 30 4)}

lf, rf

Syntax

lf finger
rf finger

Description: Adds a fingering annotation to the note.

• lf for the left-hand finger
• rf for the right-hand finger

Values:

Name	Description	Type	Required
finger	The finger to specify.	number	yes

• 1 for the thumb
• 2 for the index finger
• 3 for the middle finger
• 4 for the annual finger
• 5 for the little finger

Example

:8 3.3{lf 1} 3.3{lf 2} 3.3{lf 3} 3.3{lf 4} 3.3{lf 5} (2.2{lf 4} 2.3{lf 3} 2.4{lf 2}) | :8 3.3{rf 1} 3.3{rf 2} 3.3{rf 3} 3.3{rf 4} 3.3{lf 5}

:8 3.3{lf 1} 3.3{lf 2} 3.3{lf 3} 3.3{lf 4} 3.3{lf 5} (2.2{lf 4} 2.3{lf 3} 2.4{lf 2}) |
:8 3.3{rf 1} 3.3{rf 2} 3.3{rf 3} 3.3{rf 4} 3.3{lf 5}

acc

Syntax

acc mode

Description: Changes the mode to determine the accidentals for this note.

Values:

Name	Description	Type	Required
mode	The accidental mode to use.	identifier	yes

• d or default for the default mode (auto-detect the accidentals)
• forceNone or - to force no accidental
• forceNatural or n to force a naturalize accidental
• forceSharp or # to force a sharp accidental
• forceDoubleSharp, ## or x to force a double-sharp accidental
• forceFlat, b to force a flat accidental
• forceDoubleFlat, bb to force a double flat accidental

Keep in mind that not all combinations of note heights and accidental modes can be valid. alphaTab will attempt to adjust the note height and place the requested accidental which could, in some situations lead to notes being placed at the wrong line.

Example

\ks Db 3.5 5.5 {acc x} 4.5 {acc #} 2.5 {acc b}

\ks Db
3.5 5.5 {acc x} 4.5 {acc #} 2.5 {acc b}

slur

Syntax

slur id

Description: Marks the start or end of a slur for the note.

Values:

Name	Description	Type	Required
id	A unique ID to mark the start and end of the slur.	string or identifier	yes

(3.3 {slur s1} 4.4).4 7.3.8 8.3.8 10.3 {slur s1} .8

(3.3 {slur s1} 4.4).4 7.3.8 8.3.8 10.3 {slur s1} .8