Hi, Jon, I have abctab2ps and have tried it out but haven't really done anything serious with it yet. I like the fact that one specifies each string and fret rather than simply recording the notes and letting the program translate that into a specific string and fret. To me, the point of tablature is so musicians can record and share certain techniques that might not be obvious by just reading the notes. I don't need to have a computer tell me where a note may be found on the fingerboard. I think I may be inclined more toward LilyPond for ease of expressing tablature.

I haven't been following the development of the the ABC 2.0 standard very closely; though, on your suggestion, I subscribed to the ABC Users List and read through the comments. I see there is now a BNF grammar available for ABC 2.0. This will make it easier to develop tools to support it.

What I'd really like to see is a Java-based application that includes ABC 2.0 functionality and the ability to work along side textual content like the Mudcat forum. It would continue to scan the text in any window designated by the user and pick up ABC, MIDItext, chord fingerings, tablature, etc., display them in graphical form and optionally play them as MIDI content.

I want it Java-based so it's platform independent from the start and I don't want it too tightly integrated with a particular Web site. It would also have the ability to create the textual representation for making ABC files and inserting examples into papers and discussions. It should also support two way conversion to a suitable XML representation so music can be easily moved between software without loss of detail.

The various tools currently available work well for publishing music in various forms but none of them really supports people trying to discuss musical techniques in a forum such as this.

I keep thinking I'll make time to work on development of such a tool but, of course, I never actually get a round tuit.

      - Mark