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Note Effects

Just like beat effects, there are also effects for single notes like harmonics, bends, accentuations etc. The syntax is Fret.String{NoteEffects}.

Simple Effects​

Please find the list of supported effects in the examples below.

Harmonics​

Natural nh, artificial ah, pinch ph, tap th and semi sh.

: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}

Trill​

tr <fret> <duration>

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

Vibrato​

3.3{v}
3.3{v}

Slide​

Legato sl, shift ss, into-from-below sib, into-from-above sia, out-up sou, out-down sod, pick-slide-down psd and pick-slide-up psu.

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 |

Hammer-On / Pull-Off​

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

Left Hand Tapping​

: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}

Ghost Note​

3.3{g}
3.3{g}

Dead Notes​

Dead Notes are notated by using x as fret, or with the note effect x.

x.3 3.3{x}
x.3 3.3{x}

Accentuations​

Normal ac and heavy hac.

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

Staccato​

3.3{st}
3.3{st}

Palm Mute​

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

Let Ring​

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

Fingering​

Left hand lf and right hand rf where the fingers are:

1 for Thumb, 2 for Index, 3 for Middle, 4 for Annual, 5 for Little.

: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}

Bends​

The bend effect works like the tremolo/whammy bar effect. You can specify a number of non-negative values which are evenly distributed over the time when the note is played with the format b (value1 value2 ...). The values indicate the number of quarter notes increased bend up while playing.

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

Tied Notes​

There are multiple ways to indicate tied notes depending on whether the instrument is stringed or not stringed. For stringed instruments the fret simply can be set to - and the note will be tied to the note of the same string.

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)

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.

\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{-} | // 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{-} |
// 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{-} |