Free ABC Notation Previewer
Write or paste ABC notation to see it as sheet music, transpose a tune and its chords, or check a tune book for errors.
What is an ABC Notation Previewer?
ABC is a plain-text way of writing music, devised by Chris Walshaw in 1991 for folk and traditional tunes. A few header lines give the title, meter and key, and letters give the notes. This previewer draws ABC as sheet music and transposes it in one step.
It uses abcjs, the open-source library that also powers many tune sites, to parse and draw each tune. Transposing moves the key signature, every note and every chord symbol together, and the info and check views summarise each tune in a book and list abcjs’s warnings with line and column.
Key Features
Sheet Music
Each tune drawn as notation with its title, meter, key and chord symbols.
Transpose
Move a tune up or down by semitones, chords and key signature included.
Tune Books
Every tune in a file, each from its X: line, summarised in the info view.
Parse Check
Missing titles, stray characters and unknown values, with line and column.
Plain Text
Tunes stay as text you can paste into a forum post or an email.
Perfect for everyone
- Folk and traditional musicians
- Session players
- Music teachers and arrangers
How to Use the ABC Notation Previewer
Write a tune, paste one from a tune site, or open an .abc file. The score, info and check all read the same text, and a transposition you type applies to every view, including the ABC you download at the end.
Write or Paste
Start with X:, T:, M:, L: and K:, then the notes.
Read the Score
See the notation drawn as you type.
Transpose
Type +2 or -3 to move the tune into another key.
Check and Save
Fix any warnings, then download the ABC.
ABC Tunes, Read and Transposed
Each row is ABC as musicians share it, from a session jig with chords to a draft with mistakes. Rows with a transposition give the semitones after the dashes. Each answer is this tool’s info, check or transposed ABC.
“X:1 T:The Kesh R:jig C:Traditional M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=116 K:G |:"G"GAG GAB|"D"ABA ABd|"Em"edd gdd|"D"edB dBA| "G"GAG GAB|"D"ABA ABd|"Em"edd gdB|"D"AGF "G"G3:| |:"G"BAB dBd|"Em"ege dBA|"G"BAB dBG|"D"ABA AGA| "G"BAB dBd|"Em"ege dBd|"C"gfg "D"aga|"G"bgf g3:| ”
“%abc-2.1 X:1 T:Morning Waltz C:N. Ferries M:3/4 L:1/4 K:D "D"A2 F|"G"B2 G|"D"A F D|"A"E3|"D"A2 F|"G"B2 d|"A"c B A|"D"d3|] X:2 T:Slip Away R:slip jig M:9/8 L:1/8 K:Ador "Am"A2B c2B AGE|"G"G2A B2A GED|"Am"A2B c2d e2d|"G"cBA "Em"GED "Am"EAA|] ”
“X:1 T:The Kesh R:jig C:Traditional M:6/8 L:1/8 Q:3/8=116 K:G |:"G"GAG GAB|"D"ABA ABd|"Em"edd gdd|"D"edB dBA| "G"GAG GAB|"D"ABA ABd|"Em"edd gdB|"D"AGF "G"G3:| |:"G"BAB dBd|"Em"ege dBA|"G"BAB dBG|"D"ABA AGA| "G"BAB dBd|"Em"ege dBd|"C"gfg "D"aga|"G"bgf g3:| --- +2”
“X:1 T:Morning Waltz M:3/4 L:1/4 K:D "D"A2 F|"G"B2 G|"D"A F D|"A"E3| --- -5”
“X:1 M:4/4 L:1/8 K:G GABc dedB|$$ dcAG FDEF| ”
“X:1 T:Key Typo M:2/4 L:1/8 K:H AB cd|ef ga| ”
“X:1 T:Polka in A R:polka M:2/4 L:1/8 Q:1/4=130 K:A |:"A"A>B cA|"E"BA FE|"A"A>B cd|"E"e2 ec:| ”
“X:3 T:Hornpipe Sketch C:Workshop draft M:4/4 L:1/8 K:Bb (3BcB AG F2 D2|E2 G2 F4|] ”
“T:Lost Reference M:6/8 L:1/8 K:Em EFG B2E|dBA B3| ”
“X:1 T:Plain Text This line is just words with no key field. ”
ABC Header Fields
Every ABC tune opens with a few lines of one-letter fields. X: comes first and K: comes last, and everything between them describes the tune. These are the fields the info view reads and what each one sets.
X: Reference
The tune’s number in the file, and the line that starts a new tune.
“Which field comes first?”
T: Title
The tune’s name. A second T: line adds an alternative title.
“How do you add another title?”
C: Composer
Who wrote the tune, or Traditional.
“What is C: for?”
R: Rhythm
The tune type, such as jig, reel, hornpipe or waltz.
“What is R: for a reel?”
M: Meter
The time signature, such as 6/8. C means common time.
“What is M:C?”
L: Unit Note Length
The length of a plain letter, such as 1/8.
“With L:1/8, what is A2?”
Q: Tempo
Beats per minute, often with the beat’s length, as in 3/8=116.
“What does Q:1/4=120 mean?”
K: Key
The key and mode, and the last header line before the music.
“What does K:Ador mean?”
w: Lyrics
Words under the notes, one syllable per note.
“Where do lyrics go?”
Writing Notes in ABC
Once the header is done, the music is written with letters and a few symbols. The rules are short enough to learn in an evening, and they cover almost everything in a folk or traditional tune, from ornaments to second endings. Here are the ones you will use in nearly every tune you write or read.
Pitch
C to B is the octave from middle C; c to b is the octave above. A comma lowers and an apostrophe raises an octave.
Length
A2 is twice the unit length and A/2 is half. A dot-like > makes a dotted pair.
Accidentals
^ sharpens, _ flattens and = cancels, written before the note.
Bars and Repeats
| is a bar line, |: and :| mark repeats, and [1 and [2 mark endings.
Chords
Guitar chords go in double quotes before a note, as in "G"B.
Ornaments
~ is a roll, (3 starts a triplet and {g} adds a grace note.
Transposing ABC Tunes
Musicians transpose a tune to suit a singer, an instrument or a session that plays it in another key. abcjs changes the key signature, notes and chord symbols together, so the result stays consistent and readable. Type the change in semitones: twelve semitones make an octave, and two make a whole tone.
Common Moves
+2 takes G to A, -5 takes D to A, and +5 takes D to G.
Instrument Range
Check the lowest and highest notes still fit a whistle, fiddle or voice.
Modes Stay
A Dorian tune stays Dorian, only on a different note.
Chord Symbols
Chords in quotes move with the melody, so accompanists stay in step.
Accidentals
Explicit sharps and flats are respelled to suit the new key.
Tune Types and Their Meters
The R: field names a tune’s type, and each type in folk and traditional music has a typical meter and feel. Matching M: and L: to the type makes a tune read the way players expect, and makes errors in bar lengths easier to spot.
Jig
6/8, written with L:1/8 in groups of three eighth notes.
Reel
4/4 or cut time, running eighth notes in groups of four.
Hornpipe
4/4 with a dotted, swung feel, often written with > between notes.
Slip Jig
9/8, three groups of three eighth notes in each bar.
Polka
2/4, fast and bouncy, two beats to the bar.
Slide
12/8, four groups of three, common in the south-west of Ireland.
Waltz
3/4, usually written with L:1/4 for quarter-note beats.
Where ABC Is Used
ABC has been shared on mailing lists and websites for more than thirty years, so a large ecosystem of collections and software reads it. Tunes you check here can go straight into any of them without conversion.
The Session
A large archive of Irish and other traditional tunes, each with ABC settings from players.
abcnotation.com
Chris Walshaw’s search engine for tunes across many ABC collections.
EasyABC
An open-source desktop editor that shows notation as you type.
abcm2ps
A command-line typesetter that turns ABC into printable PostScript or SVG.
Web Players
Sites built on abcjs draw and play ABC directly in the browser.
When to Use an ABC Previewer
Whenever a tune is written in ABC and you need to see it as notation, change its key, or check it before sharing it with a session or a class. It also helps when you are transcribing a tune by ear and want to see whether what you typed looks right on the stave before you play it back to yourself.
Learning Tunes
Turn ABC from a tune site into notation you can read.
Session Prep
Move a tune into the key your session plays it in.
Teaching
Write exercises in plain text and show them as notation.
Tune Books
Check a whole collection for missing titles and errors.
Sharing
Post a tune as ABC knowing it renders correctly.
ABC Pitfalls
Mistakes that make a tune draw wrongly or not at all, and that are easy to miss when reading ABC as text rather than as notation. Most come from the header, where a single wrong letter or number changes how every note after it is read.
Missing K:
Without a key line, the music isn’t recognised as a tune.
Wrong Unit Length
Forgetting L: makes notes twice or half as long as intended.
Bars That Don’t Add Up
Each bar should match the meter. Count lengths when a bar looks crowded.
Fields in the Wrong Order
K: must close the header. Fields after it are read as music.
Spaces Between Notes
Spaces break beams, so notes meant to be grouped look separate.
Chords Without Quotes
Chord names must be in double quotes, or they’re read as notes.