PanTab reference

Spaces at the start of a line are ignored, so you can indent. Windows and Mac/Linux line endings both work.

   D 3 5 3

A line starting with # is a note to yourself and is ignored. A comment between an L: and an R: row doesn’t split them.

# Intro: let it breathe
D 3 5 3

A # after beats is not a comment: it and the words after it are errors. (Open question Q11.)

5 6 # calm

Characters PanTab doesn’t know are one error per run of them.

D abc? 3

The bad part is reported and skipped; everything else still draws and plays. Errors are underlined in red in the editor, warnings in yellow.

D 3 ? 5

D is the Ding, the big centre note, struck on its dome. 1, 2, 3… are the notes on top, from the lowest (1) to the highest, up to 20. Which pitch each number plays comes from your pan.

D 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

A small d strikes the flat ring around the Ding’s dome: the Ding’s pitch, brighter, crisper and more percussive. Case matters: d and D are different sounds.

D d D d

Notes on the underside, numbered by pitch on their own. They work anywhere a note does.

D B1 3 B2

Note names (A3, Bb3…) only belong in the pan’s setup. In a tab the letter is an error.

A3 5

0, 21 and above, B0 and B21 are errors, and so is a leading zero (03). The beat still counts, silently, so the rows stay lined up.

0 5

21 5

03 5

12 is note twelve; 1 2 is two notes. Two sounds always need a space between them: D1 or 3. is an error.

1 2 12

D1 3

Plays nothing, and the editor warns at each use: “This pan has no note 12” (PT017). For example, 9 on a D Kurd 9.

Each note, chord, rest or sound is one beat.

D 3 5 3

Nothing new is played; whatever is ringing keeps ringing.

D - 3 -

A finger drops on the metal with barely any weight: a very, very quiet tick with no pitch. It takes no marks.

D . 3 .

Until the next thing in the same row (a note, chord or sound), even if that’s lines later. The last one rings to the end. The notes of a chord stop together.

D - - - 5 S - -

For reading only; it takes no time. It may touch a beat.

D 3 | D 5

|5 6|

Everything inside the brackets shares one beat evenly: (3 5) is two halves, (1 2 3 4) four quarters. Any count from 1 up works.

(3 5) (3 5 7) (1 2 3 4) D

(5) (1 2 3 4 5)

Notes, chords, rests, ghosts and letters.

(3+5 7) (5 -) (. S) D

Allowed, with a warning as they get hard to read: the inner pair shares the first half.

((1 2) 3)

A ( that is never closed keeps what came after it as the split. A stray ) and empty brackets are skipped.

(3 5

3 5)

() 5

Flat, relaxed fingers that briefly stick: a snare-like slap.

D S D S

A sharp tap on the Ding’s ridge or shoulder: a dry, high tak. Dt is the same.

D T D Dt

A flat palm onto the Ding’s dome, held: it stops the ringing Ding (D or d) with a quiet thump, or is just the thump. D* is the same.

D - - P

A bent finger joint knocks the raw shell: a dry, woody knock.

K 3 K 5

A fingernail flick on the shell or side: a high metallic click.

D N 3 N

The side or bottom of a loose fist on the shell: a heavy, dull thud.

F 3 F 5

Any other letter, in either case, is unknown.

D G s

Struck, then cut short (about 0.15 s).

3 3x 3 3x

Stops a 3 still ringing from the beats before (either hand) with a quiet thud; just the thud if nothing rings. On the Ding, D* is the palm P.

3 - - 3*

o sounds an octave up; v an octave and a fifth up. Both a little softer.

3 3o 3 3v

Tight, metallic, compressed.

3 3^ 3 3^

A dry tak on the note’s edge, at its pitch. On the Ding, Dt is T.

3 3t 3 3t

Two quick hits, about 25 ms apart (never more than half the beat).

3' - D' -

Even strokes filling the beat, about 10 a second, at least 2.

3" - D" -

An iPhone types ’ and ” for ' and ": they’re read the same.

3’ - 3” -

Letters take only the flam and the roll: S', K". Any other mark on a letter is an error, and so is any mark on . or -.

S' K" T' P"

Sx

Any order, each once: 3ox is 3xo. At most one mute (x or *) and one harmonic (o, v); ^ or t, not both; ' and " not both; * goes alone. Together: timing from ' or ", tone from o v ^ t, then the mute shortens it.

3ox 3xo 5^' 6v"

3ov

3*o

Only the mark that breaks the rule goes; the note keeps the rest and still plays.

3xox

The mark must touch the note right before it. A mark on its own, before a note, or after a space is an error and is skipped.

x 5

o5

5 x

The Ding included.

D 3+5 D+5 1+3+5

3x+5o is a muted 3 with a harmonic 5. There is no way to mark a whole chord at once: write the mark on each note.

3x+5o 3x+5x

(3+5)x

Letters can join a chord (D+S) and are drawn under the notes. A ghost or a rest can’t.

D+S - K+5 -

3+.

Up to 4 sounds on a line with no hand, 2 in one hand’s row. More is a warning; it still plays.

1+3+5+7

1+3+5+7+9

L: 3+5+7

In 3'+5, 3 lands just before 5. If every note has ', the whole chord flams.

3'+5 - 3'+5' -

With nothing after the +, the notes before it are kept. With spaces around it, the + stands alone and is an error.

3+ 5

3 + 5

Highest pitch on top, from your pan, then letters. If a note isn’t on your pan, by number: bottom notes lowest, then the Ding, then the top notes.

Each multiplies the loudness: {pp} ×0.4, {p} ×0.6, {mp} ×0.8, {mf} ×1, {f} ×1.2, {ff} ×1.4. Nothing goes above 1.

{p}
1 2 3 4
{f}
1 2 3 4

On their own line, after a section name ([Intro] {p}), or inside a row between beats. Spaces inside the braces are fine.

{p} 5 3 {f} 5 3

{ f }
5 3

A marking applies to both hands from where it’s written. The same marking in the L and R rows at the same beat counts once.

L: {p} D - D -
R: - 3 - 5

Moves one level (mf → f, or mf → mp), reaching it at the next marking or section (or the end), then holds. Stops at pp and ff.

{p}
1 2 3 4
{cresc}
1 2 3 4
{f}
5 6 7 8

Lowercase only, and only the names above. Anything else is an error and is dropped.

{loud}
5

{F}
5

Rows next to each other form one system: their beats line up in columns and play at the same time.

L: D - D -
R: - 3 - 5

L:5 works.

L:5 - 3 -

A beat line with no L: or R: is a one-row system, with no hand.

D 5 7 5

Any line that isn’t an L: or R: row: a blank line, a section, a marker, a header or a line without a hand. Comments don’t.

L: 1 2
# still the same system
R: 3 4

Starts a new system: R, L, R is two systems (R with L, then R alone).

R: 1 2
L: 3 4
R: 5 6

A warning, not an error, on each shorter row. The system lasts as long as its longest row; shorter rows are silent at the end and padded with empty cells. A split beat counts as one beat; barlines and markings don’t count.

L: 1 2 3 4
R: 5 6 7

Kept, and warned about like any shorter row.

L:
R: 3 4

All L rows are one stream through the whole tab, all R rows another, and lines without a hand a third. A note rings until the next thing in its own stream.

A bar ends at |, |: or :|, and at the end of the line. A system has as many bars as its longest row.

D 3 5 3 | D 5 7 5
D 3 5 3

The system’s bars come from the row with the most bars, so every row shares the same columns.

L: D - | D -
R: 3 5 7 5

From @time; 4/4 if it’s missing. They restart at each bar and go round again in a bar longer than the meter. N/8 with an even N counts “1 + 2 + …”; everything else counts “1 2 3 …”.

@time 3/4
1 2 3 4 5

@time 8/8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

@time 6/8
1 2 3 4 5 6

In /4 (and /2, /1) meters, a beat split in 2 shows “+”, in 4 shows “e + a”. Anything else, and any split in /8 meters, shows a dot per extra column. When rows split a beat differently, the widest split is labelled.

(1 2) (1 2 3 4) (1 2 3) 5

A section, @tempo change, dynamic or {loop} written before a line goes on its first cell. One at the end of a line goes on the next line. The same marking in two rows shows once; if rows disagree, the first row’s wins.

[A] {p}
5 3 5 3 {f}
5 3 5 3

Aren’t drawn. Their markings carry on to the next line with beats. A section with no beats after it isn’t shown.

On its own line. The name is whatever is between the brackets, trimmed; spaces and hyphens are fine.

[Verse 1]
D 1 2 3

A section can be followed by one marking on the same line: a dynamic or {loop}.

[Intro] {p}
D 3 5 3

[Groove] {loop}
D 3 5 3

With anything else after the ], the line isn’t a section: it’s read as a beat line, and gives confusing errors (the t and o in “Intro” read as marks).

[Intro] 5

Empty brackets are an error and the section is dropped. A marking after it is kept.

[ ] {p}
5

:| plays the part twice in all; :|x4 plays it 4 times.

|: D 3 5 3 :|

|: D 3 :|x4

Tracked per hand (L, R, no hand) through the whole tab. Sections don’t reset them.

|: D 3 5 3
5 3 D - :|

All rows play in one order, read from the signs in every row. The same sign at the same beat in L and R counts once. If only one row has a sign, it still repeats both hands (open question Q12).

L: |: D - D - :|
R: |: - 3 - 5 :|

A warning. It plays like printed music: it repeats from the end of the previous repeat, or from the start.

D 3 :| 5

No warning; it plays once.

|: D 3 5 3

A warning; the part plays once.

|: D 3 :|x1

An error: the x is a mark with no note. Write the count, e.g. :|x2.

|: D 3 :|x

A second |: before the :| moves the start there, with no warning.

|: 1 2 |: 3 4 :|

On pass 1 the repeat plays up to its first ending, then [1.; on pass 2 the same, then [2. A [2. right after the :| is simply what follows. With more passes than endings, a pass with no ending plays only the shared part.

|: D 3 [1. 5 3 :| [2. 7 5 |

|: D 3 [1. 5 :|x3 7

[1. needs an open repeat. [2. needs an open repeat or one that just closed.

[1. 5 3

Each pass sounds the same, dynamics included (they follow the written order). Sections are listed once, where they first play.

While playing, everything from the first {loop} to the end loops for ever. It can go on its own line, after a section, or inside a row. A {loop} with nothing after it is ignored.

D 3
{loop}
5 7 5 3

D 3 {loop} 5 7

@title, @composer, @arranger, @scale (the scale it was written for, e.g. D Kurd), @tuning (e.g. 432 Hz), @tempo, @time, @feel (how it should feel) and @notes (anything else).

@title Morning
@scale D Kurd
@tempo 90
@time 4/4
D 3 5 3

The header block ends at the first section, marking, row or beat line. Blank lines and comments between headers are fine.

A warning; the header is still kept. Keys are case-sensitive.

@Title Morning
5

@pantab 1.0
5

Both are kept, no warning; the first one is used.

@title A
@title B
5

Beats (cells) per minute: a plain number above 0, decimals allowed, no units. Anything else is an error and is ignored. With no @tempo, 80.

@tempo 72.5
D 3 5 3

@tempo fast
5

@tempo 0
5

@tempo on its own line in the body changes the speed from there, in play order: a change inside a repeat carries into the next pass. The player’s speed control scales it from 25% to 200%.

@tempo 60
D 3 5 3
@tempo 120
D 3 5 3

A warning; still kept.

5
@title Late

N/D: N is the number of beats (cells) in a bar, 1 to 64; D is 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32. 8/8 means 8 eighth-note cells a bar. Anything else is an error; the header is kept as text.

@time 4/5
5

@time 65/4
5

The Ding is always D, whatever its pitch. The other top notes are numbered 1, 2, 3… from lowest to highest. On the diagram the ring around the Ding is evenly spaced, 1 at the bottom, zig-zagging left and right up to the top.

Notes between the Ding and the ring are numbered with the others by pitch (so 10, 11… on a pan with 9 around the Ding). The ring only decides where a note is drawn: in an arc across the top.

Notes on the underside are B1, B2… from lowest to highest, numbered on their own, and drawn outside the shell.

A capital letter A–G, at most one # or b, then an octave 0–8: Bb3, C#4. No ♯ or ♭ signs, double sharps or flats, spaces or small letters.

The octave number changes at C, so Cb4 is B3 and B#3 is C4. A4 is the A above middle C (C4).

An error; that note is left out and the rest are still numbered.

More is an error; the lowest 20 are kept. A crowded ring draws its notes smaller.

A warning (A#3 and Bb3 count as the same, and so does a note equal to the Ding). Both are kept.

New pans start at A4 = 440 Hz, the usual tuning. You can change it per pan.