How to Convert MP3 to Guitar Tabs

Learning to play your favorite songs on a guitar can be difficult if you are a beginner. However, guitar tablatures (or tabs) can make learning songs on the guitar a much faster and easier process. There are several music production programs, such as CakeWalk and Cubase, that allow you to convert your favorite song’s into MP3 and MIDI files, as well as, tabs. These programs can be a costly investment for the beginning musicians, but there are numerous free and cheap alternatives available on the web. Following these steps will help you find the best method for converting your MP3s files into tabs.

Download software. Use your preferred Internet search engine to find both MP3 to MIDI converter software and MIDI to Guitar Tab converter software. There are many free versions of these programs that work just as well as their paid counterparts. You will also want to download a free MIDI player, such as vanBasco, to play and control your MIDI files. Be sure to follow all instruction for properly downloading and installing these software programs to your computer.

Select an MP3 file to convert. Simple MP3 song files work best. Be mindful that, though the software exists, MP3 to MIDI conversion is extremely limited in how many notes and tones it can distinguish and interpret. For that reason, many of these programs can only convert single note MP3s. If your MP3 is more than a single note recording (such as a song from a CD), search the web for a MIDI version of the song you wish to convert. There are many sites, such as myMIDIfiles.com, that provide a free MIDI file catalog of current and popular music.

Convert your MP3 into an MIDI file. Start your MP3 to MIDI conversion software, and follow all the necessary steps for uploading your MP3 files to the program and then converting the file into an MIDI file. Be sure to utilize your programs' tutorials and help feature to walk you through these processes.

Edit your MIDI file. Open your MIDI player and upload your MIDI file. Access the program’s instrument control panel that allows you to turn each instrument in the track on and off. Turn off (or mute) every track except for a single guitar track or melody (piano) track. Save this single instrument track as a new MIDI file.

Convert your MIDI file into a guitar tab. Start your MIDI to tab conversation software and follow all the necessary steps for uploading your MIDI files to the program. Be sure to utilize your programs' tutorials and help features to walk you through the process of converting the MIDI file into guitar tabs.