Convert TAB to MIDI

A notation program, DAW, keyboard, or sequencer may require MIDI when it cannot open the original tablature file. MIDI also allows the notes to be transposed, edited, assigned to virtual instruments, and shared with other music software.

What the TAB format is

In music composition, TAB usually means guitar or other string-instrument tablature, but .tab is not one standardized file format. It may be plain-text ASCII tablature or a file produced by Guitar Pro, Power Tab, TablEdit, or another notation program; the originating application determines how it can be opened.

Tablature can store string and fret positions, tuning, durations, tempo, repeats, bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and instrument settings. A text file containing lines such as e|--0--2--3--| may show fret positions without reliable timing, so software cannot always create accurate MIDI from it automatically.

What the MIDI format is

MIDI stores musical events rather than recorded sound. A Standard MIDI File can contain note numbers, durations, velocity, channels, program changes, controller data, tempo, and multiple tracks.

This makes MIDI suitable for editing in a DAW, notation editor, or sequencer, transposing, quantizing, isolating parts, and driving a synthesizer or hardware instrument. MIDI does not contain the original guitar recording and does not inherently preserve tablature, string choice, fingering, or every guitar articulation.

How to convert TAB to MIDI

First identify the source format. Open the file in the program that created it, check its file extension and version, or inspect a copy with a text editor. Do not rename an unrelated file to .tab; changing the extension does not convert its contents.

Guitar Pro:

1. Open the score with the Guitar Pro version that supports its file format through File → Open. Guitar Pro files can use extensions such as .gp, .gpx, or older version-specific formats; a plain-text .tab may need to be entered or imported manually rather than opened as a native score.
2. Check tuning, time signature, tempo, measures, note durations, repeats, track assignments, and articulations. MIDI timing comes from the score's rhythmic values, not from the visual spacing of ASCII characters.
3. Export through File → Export → MIDI and save the result as .mid or .midi. Export selected tracks when only part of the score is required.

TuxGuitar:

1. Open the source through File → Open. TuxGuitar commonly reads established Guitar Pro and Power Tab formats, but compatibility depends on the file version and the installed release.
2. Compare the imported score with the original, especially tuning, rhythmic values, tuplets, repeats, bends, slides, and missing measures.
3. Use File → Export → MIDI and save the exported file. If the source is unsupported, open it in its original application and export MIDI or MusicXML first.

MuseScore or another notation editor: Import the supported Guitar Pro or Power Tab file, correct the notation and instrument settings, then use File → Export and select MIDI. These programs are useful when the source is a supported notation file but not when a plain-text TAB lacks rhythm information.

There is no dependable one-click converter for arbitrary ASCII TAB. Reconstruct the notes, tuning, meter, tempo, and durations in Guitar Pro, TuxGuitar, MuseScore, or another tablature editor before exporting. Online services such as Zamzar, Convertio, or CloudConvert can be tested only when their current format list explicitly recognizes the particular source file; they cannot reliably infer missing rhythm, tuning, or guitar techniques from unstructured text. Upload copies only when the score is not confidential.

Quality and compatibility limitations

Imported files may lose or alter bends, slides, tremolo, tuplets, alternate tunings, repeats, grace notes, and other guitar-specific instructions. Depending on the exporter, these details may be omitted, approximated with pitch-bend or controller events, or represented as additional notes.

Check the exported MIDI in the target program and verify tempo, measure alignment, note lengths, velocities, channels, program changes, and track count. Playback varies with the receiving device's sound set: a guitar track may initially use piano or another default instrument, and pitch bends require compatible range settings in the synthesizer or virtual instrument.

Keep the original TAB or native notation file. MIDI preserves playable event data but cannot reproduce the original fretboard layout, editing structure, or all notation details.