ABC Notation Cheat Sheet

ABC notation writes tunes as plain text — a header of tune information, then the notes. This covers the fields and note syntax you need to read and write a tune.

Header fields

X:1Tune number (first field)

T:My TuneTitle

C:ComposerComposer

M:4/4Metre / time signature

L:1/8Default note length

Q:1/4=120Tempo

K:DKey (must come last, before the music)

Notes & octaves

C D E F G A BOne octave (uppercase)

c d e f g a bThe octave above (lowercase)

C,An octave down (comma)

c'An octave up (apostrophe)

^C _C =CSharp, flat, natural

Durations

A2Twice the default length

A/2 or A/Half the default length

A3/2 or A>BDotted rhythm (A dotted, B halved)

A<BReverse dotted (A halved, B dotted)

Rests, bars & repeats

zA rest (z2 = longer)

|Bar line

|]End of tune

|: … :|Repeat the enclosed bars

[1 … :|[2 …First- and second-time endings

Chords, ties & more

[CEG]A chord (played together)

A-ATie two notes

(ABc)Slur a phrase

"Am"A guitar chord symbol above the note

w: Twin-kle twin-kleLyrics aligned to notes

ABC Notation — Plain-text music notation. · ABC Notation in the tool directory →

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