Learning new songs on the guitar is incredibly rewarding, and for many players, guitar tablature (tabs) is the go-to method. While websites like Ultimate-Guitar and GuitarTab have been invaluable resources for desktop users, navigating these sites on mobile devices can be clunky, with layouts often misaligned and intrusive ads disrupting the experience. Fortunately, a plethora of guitar tab apps have emerged to address these issues and revolutionize how we learn and play guitar on the go. These apps not only optimize tab viewing for mobile but also introduce innovative features that enhance learning, practice, and overall enjoyment.
If you’re ready to ditch the frustrations of mobile website tabs and embrace a more streamlined and feature-rich approach, you’re in the right place. We’ve compiled a list of the top guitar tab apps for iOS and Android that are guaranteed to simplify your musical journey and elevate your guitar playing.
Top Guitar Tab Apps for iOS and Android
1. Ultimate Guitar Tabs & Chords
By: Ultimate Guitar | Website
Platform: iOS and Android
Ultimate Guitar Tabs & Chords reigns supreme as the #1 guitar tab app in both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Mirroring the immense popularity of its website, this app leverages a massive community of guitarists who contribute, refine, and discuss tablature. This collaborative environment ensures a vast and constantly updated library of guitar tabs and chords for virtually any song imaginable.
The app itself is intuitively designed, offering seamless navigation and a user-friendly interface. While the base app is robust, Ultimate Guitar offers in-app purchases to unlock even more powerful features. The “Tab Pro” upgrade is particularly noteworthy, consistently ranking as a top guitar tab app in its own right. Ultimate Guitar smartly allows users to either upgrade to Pro from the standard app or directly purchase the Pro version, offering flexibility based on individual needs.
The Pro features significantly enhance the learning experience, including interactive scrolling playback, backing audio tracks to play along with, and adjustable tempo control for practicing at your own pace. These advanced features make Ultimate Guitar Tabs & Chords a comprehensive tool for guitarists of all levels seeking a vast library and dynamic learning tools.
2. Guitar Chords and Tabs
By: xssembler | Website
Platform: Android
Guitar Chords and Tabs stands out as a highly favored guitar tab app exclusively for Android users. Boasting access to an impressive library of over 500,000 tabs, this app is a treasure trove for guitarists seeking a wide variety of songs. Unlike some apps that offer scrolling playback synchronized with the music, Guitar Chords and Tabs adopts a more traditional approach, similar to the free version of Ultimate Guitar. It excels in providing a vast collection of tabs in an easily searchable and accessible format.
The app’s strength lies in its simplicity and extensive library, making it a fantastic resource for quickly finding tabs and chords. For Android users seeking a no-frills, cost-effective way to access a massive tab database, Guitar Chords and Tabs is an unbeatable option, especially considering it is available for free. Its focus on breadth of content over advanced playback features makes it a practical tool for learning and practicing a wide range of songs.
3. Guitar Pro
By: Arobas Music | Website
Platform: iOS and Android
Guitar Pro distinguishes itself as a sophisticated and well-engineered tab learning application, sharing similarities with Songsterr in its interactive approach. Tabs in Guitar Pro are not static; they are played in real-time, scrolling across the screen in perfect synchronization with the music. This dynamic display allows users to follow along note-for-note as the song progresses. A unique and valuable feature of Guitar Pro, not commonly found in other apps on this list, is the simultaneous display of traditional musical notation alongside tablature. This is a significant benefit for users looking to improve their music reading skills in conjunction with tab reading.
While Guitar Pro offers a premium learning experience, it comes with a price tag. It is a paid app, requiring a one-time purchase, which might be considered a downside compared to free or subscription-based alternatives. However, compared to the recurring cost of a Songsterr subscription, Guitar Pro could be more economical in the long run. One potential drawback is the lack of clear information regarding the size of their tab catalog, which might raise questions about the breadth of song choices available. Despite this, Guitar Pro’s robust features and focus on interactive learning make it a strong contender for serious guitarists.
4. Songsterr Guitar Tabs & Chords
By: Guitar Tabs LLC | Website
Platform: iOS and Android
Songsterr Guitar Tabs & Chords elevates the guitar tab experience to a more interactive and engaging level, akin to the Pro upgrade of Ultimate Guitar. Rather than presenting static tablature, Songsterr dynamically plays the tab in tempo, scrolling the music across the screen as the song progresses. This synchronized playback enables guitarists to play along in real-time, making practice more intuitive and effective.
A frequently requested feature by users is tempo adjustment, a seemingly essential function for learning at a comfortable pace. Songsterr boasts a substantial library of 500,000 tabs, emphasizing the accuracy and quality of its catalog by offering only one definitive version of each song – a subtle jab at Ultimate-Guitar’s multiple user-submitted versions. Access to the full Songsterr library requires a subscription priced at $4.99 per month. The free version is quite limited, offering only 15-second preview clips, essentially pushing users towards the paid subscription to fully utilize the app’s capabilities. Despite the subscription model, Songsterr’s interactive, high-quality tabs and official versions make it a strong contender for guitarists serious about learning songs accurately and efficiently.
5. Chordify – Guitar Chords for Any Song
Chordify app icon, a stylized colorful guitar fretboard
By: Chordify BV| Website
Platform: iOS and Android
Chordify – Guitar Chords for Any Song has gained immense popularity, albeit focusing primarily on chords rather than comprehensive tablature. It earns its place on this list due to its impressive library of 4.5 million songs, providing a vast starting point for chord-based learning. The free version grants access to this entire library, along with the ability to play along with songs from YouTube and SoundCloud, and create a personal song library.
Chordify’s strength lies in its chord recognition technology, which automatically detects chords in songs, making it exceptionally useful for quickly learning song structures and chord progressions. The paid premium version unlocks a suite of additional features, significantly enhancing practice capabilities. These include tempo adjustment to slow down songs for easier learning, looping of challenging sections for focused practice, and offline access to songs, making it convenient to practice anywhere. While not strictly a tab app, Chordify’s chord-centric approach and vast song library make it a valuable tool for guitarists interested in learning songs by chords.
6. Tab Toolkit
By: agilepartners | Website
Platform: iOS and Android
Tab Toolkit is laser-focused on providing a comprehensive tab-centric experience. This app offers a curated library of tabs, but uniquely, it also empowers users to create their own tabs and edit existing ones within the app. This feature makes Tab Toolkit stand out for users who want to transcribe music, create custom arrangements, or correct inaccuracies they find in existing tabs.
Unlike many apps on this list, Tab Toolkit is not free; it operates on a one-time purchase model. This means users pay once for lifetime access to all features, which can be appealing for those who prefer to avoid subscription fees. While it may not boast the largest pre-existing library compared to some giants, its strength lies in its tab editing and creation tools, making it a powerful utility for serious guitarists and transcribers.
7. GuitarTapp PRO
By: 8:45 Tools| Website
Platform: iOS and Android
GuitarTapp PRO is recognized for its extensive tab library, with a particular emphasis on acoustic songs. This focus makes it a great choice for guitarists who favor acoustic genres and styles. Beyond its library, GuitarTapp PRO includes a useful feature that allows users to customize the tab layout, enhancing readability and adapting the display to individual preferences.
GuitarTapp PRO is a paid app, but a free version with limited functionality is also available, allowing users to sample the app before committing to a purchase. The PRO version unlocks the full library and customization options. Its specialization in acoustic music and layout customization features make GuitarTapp PRO a tailored option for acoustic guitar enthusiasts seeking a user-friendly and genre-specific tab app.
8. Fender Play
Fender Play app icon, a red play button with Fender logo
By: Fender Music | Website
Platform: iOS and Android
Fender Play takes a different approach by integrating guitar tabs with comprehensive video lessons within a single subscription-based app. Developed by the iconic guitar brand Fender, this app offers structured learning paths ranging from beginner to advanced levels. In addition to lessons, Fender Play includes tabs for specific songs, allowing users to apply their learned skills to real music.
Fender Play operates on a subscription model and offers a free trial period, allowing new users to explore its content before committing. Its strength lies in its structured learning approach, combining tabs with high-quality video instruction, making it particularly appealing to beginners and intermediate players who benefit from guided learning. While it’s not solely a tab app, the inclusion of tabs within a broader educational framework positions Fender Play as a holistic learning tool for aspiring guitarists.
9. JamPlay
By: JamPlay LLC | Website
Platform: iOS and Android
JamPlay mirrors Fender Play’s approach by combining guitar tabs with video lessons within a subscription-based platform. JamPlay stands out with its emphasis on community, fostering connections between guitar players and instructors within the app. Like Fender Play, JamPlay offers structured lessons for various skill levels and incorporates tabs for learning specific songs.
JamPlay also uses a subscription model with a free trial available. Its unique selling point is the community aspect, aiming to create a supportive learning environment where users can interact with other guitarists and learn from experienced instructors. For guitarists who value community and seek a comprehensive learning platform that integrates tabs with video lessons and social interaction, JamPlay presents a compelling option.
Bonus Guitar Tab App Recommendations
Guitar – Chords, Tabs & Games
By: Gismart
Platform: iOS and Android
Guitar – Chords, Tabs & Games, also known as Real Guitar, is a distinctive app that functions as a realistic guitar simulator. It features a user-friendly interface and high-fidelity sound samples recorded from real guitars. This app allows users to strum, pluck, and strike virtual strings to play chords of varying complexity and learn songs or create their own compositions. Beyond tabs, it offers interactive games to learn chords and improve guitar skills, making it a fun and engaging tool for beginners and casual players.
GuitarTab
By: GT1 Apps | Website
Platform: Android
GuitarTab positions itself as a straightforward ‘tab viewer’ app, primarily for Android. It grants access to over 500,000 tabs, similar to Guitar Chords and Tabs, and also supports Guitar Pro files for users who have those. GuitarTab aims to enhance user experience with a promised scrolling tab feature, making it easier to play along with tabs on mobile devices. Its focus on tab viewing and broad compatibility makes it a practical tool for Android guitarists.
Guitar Tabs & Chords
By: Pascal Mugnier | Website
Platform: iOS
Guitar Tabs & Chords Player is a free app for iOS offering a vast catalog of over a million tabs and chords. Key features include playback looping for practicing sections repeatedly, high-quality transcriptions for accurate learning, a realistic song player for previewing songs, and tempo control to adjust playback speed. Its combination of a large library and useful practice features makes it a valuable free resource for iOS guitarists.
Conclusion
Regardless of your musical taste or skill level, the world of guitar tablature apps offers a solution tailored to your needs. Whether you seek structured lessons, interactive playback, vast libraries, or community features, these apps empower you to learn, practice, and rock out with your guitar from virtually anywhere. The accessibility and innovation packed into these mobile tools have truly transformed how guitarists learn and engage with music.
So, take the plunge, explore a few of these Best Guitar Tab Apps, and unlock a new dimension in your guitar playing journey. Download one (or a few!) and start playing today!
