[How to] Read tabs in Linux

How to read tabs in Linux

¿De qué está hablando? Versión en Español

Introduction

One of the reasons I didn't install Linux as my only/main system was that I couldn't read tabs. I found some software that could do it but it wasn't that great.
Until I found Tuxguitar and then I left Guitar Pro behind.

Tuxguitar an OpenSource alternative in Linux

Tuxguitar is a program that can read Guitar Pro tabs (.gp3-.gp5) and PowerTabs too, it may not be as great as the options that are available in Windows or in Mac. Actually I think that is one thing that Linux is missing, all the multimedia software that let you do very cool stuff.
However, because the community is so awesome, you will always find an alternative to any program that you want. If you play any instrument and you want to keep using tabs, Tuxguitar is a great option.

Some screen-shots of this little program:

If you want to install it, all you have to do is:

sudo apt-get install tuxguitar

Playing sound with the Java Library (tuxguitar-jsa)

After you installed Tuxguitar maybe you won't heard any sound.
The easiest way to play sound with Tuxguitar is to use the Java library, in order to do that you have to install the package tuxguitar-jsa. Just run the command:

sudo apt-get install tuxguitar-jsa

Then you need to close the application and open it again. If you still don't hear anything go to "Tools">"Settings">"Sound" and make sure the MIDI port is "Gervill".

Don't like the sound? I don't really like it, that's why I use a MIDI emulator...

TiMidity: MIDI emulador

I wasn't really convinced with the sound of the Java library so I decided to look for other options. If you search the other packages of tuxguitar you may see some interesting options,

but I have tried them all, and I couldn't make them work. The only thing that I could find was TiMidity, it's a MIDI emulador that will play the content of the tab. And it sounds better than tuxguitar-jsa.

To install it use the command:
sudo apt-get install timidity

This time it is not going to be that simple. You need to launch TiMidity from a Terminal with some options.

timidity -iA -Os

After you launched the emulator, some ports are going to open. In my case four ports (129:0 - 129:3)

After you did that go back to Tuxguitar and again go to the Configuration menu ("Tools">"Settings">"Sound"). In "MIDI Port" you need to choose one of the different ports of TiMidity.

Choose the first one and you're ready! Now the sound will be a little more decent.

Did you like this post? Here you can see what I'm going to write about in this blog (for the moment). Don't forget to add me to your G+ circles or follow me on Twitter: @RobertoXMed