A riff is easy to lose by the time you get home. The good news is that you can write guitar tabs on your phone, for free, then hear them played back and share them in minutes. Below you will find what to look for in a notation app, then a simple walk-through of writing your first guitar score in Flat, from tab to playback and sharing.
What to look for in a phone notation app
Writing guitar music on a small screen only works if the app is built for it. Before you start, look for a few things:
- Tab and standard notation together, so you can read fret numbers and the notes they make at the same time.
- Chord grids, so you can mark the shapes a player should use above the music.
- Notes you add by tapping the string or a touch keyboard, with no mouse and no manual needed.
- Instant playback, so you can hear a riff back even away from an amp.
- PDF import, which really matters: open a PDF or snap a photo of tab you already have and turn it into an editable score, instead of typing it in again.
- Cloud sync, so the same score opens on your phone, tablet, and computer.
Flat covers all of these. The app is free to start, runs natively on both iPhone and Android as well as in any browser, and ties them together with a true cross-device experience: your score lives in your account, so you can capture a riff on the train and keep shaping it at home on a tablet or laptop. It can also turn a PDF or photo of existing tab into an editable score, so you are not typing fret numbers in twice.
📲 Get it for iOS
📲 Get it for Android
Write your first guitar tab in six steps
- Get the app or open Flat. Install the free app from the App Store or Google Play, or open flat.io in your phone's browser and sign in.
- Create a new score and add Guitar. Tap New score, give it a title, and add Guitar as your instrument. Flat gives you a tab staff, and you can show standard notation alongside it.
- Set the key and time signature. Pick the key and time signature for your piece before you start, so the notation lines up the way you expect.
- Tap fret numbers onto the strings. Pick a note value, then tap the string and type the fret. The note appears on the tab and in standard notation at once, and you can add chord grids above the staff.
- Play it back and fix what you hear. Press play to hear the part, then adjust anything that sounds off. Playback is the fastest way to catch a wrong fret on a small screen.
- Save, share and export. Your score saves to your account automatically. Share a private link, or export to PDF, MIDI or MusicXML when it is ready.
Tips for writing guitar on a small screen
A few habits make phone tab writing easier. Zoom in before tapping so you hit the right string, and rotate to landscape to see more of the bar at once. Lean on playback to check your work by ear rather than counting frets by eye. And because your score syncs automatically, you can switch to a tablet or computer for a longer editing session and pick up exactly where you left off.
Prefer to work on a computer? Our guide to the best notation software for composers covers the desktop options.
Find inspiration in the Flat community
Flat has a community of more than 5 million musicians, and you can browse their public scores at flat.io/popular. Open a guitar piece you like, clone it to your account, and pull it apart on your phone to see how it was written.
Ready to write your first guitar tab on your phone? Try Flat for free!
FAQ
Can I write guitar tabs on my phone for free?
Yes. Flat's mobile app for iPhone and Android is free to download, and the free plan lets you write guitar tab, hear it play back, and share it. A paid Flat Power plan is optional for more instruments and unlimited scores.
Does Flat show tab and standard notation together?
When you add Guitar in Flat you get a tab staff, and you can show standard notation alongside it. You tap fret numbers onto the strings, and the notes appear on both at once.
Can I add chord diagrams to a guitar score?
Yes. Flat lets you add guitar chord grids above the staff, so you can mark the chord shapes a player should use along with the notes or tab.
Can I start a guitar tab on my phone and finish it on a computer?
Yes. Flat saves your score to your account and syncs it across devices, so you can start a tab on your phone and keep editing in a browser, on a tablet, or in the desktop app.
Can I turn a photo or PDF of guitar music into an editable score?
Yes. In the Flat mobile app you can photograph a printed page or open a PDF and import it as an editable score, then keep working on it on your phone.