I think it’s safe to say that this is one of the most exciting times ever at Agile Partners. TabToolkit for iPad (App Store link) just launched and is featured on the the App Store under “New and Noteworthy iPad Apps.”   We really believe TabToolkit will transform how people learn, practice and enjoy playing their favorite songs on guitar, piano, drums and other instruments.

Far more advanced than the basic sheet music viewers that simply display PDF or image files, TabToolkit is the only app that can smoothly render entire pages of crisp, engraved music in standard or tablature notation, on-the-fly.  You can see TabToolkit for iPad in action in this YouTube video.

We redesigned TabToolkit specifically for iPad to take full advantage of the unique features of the revolutionary device — the large display, Multi-Touch interface and incredible speed. It’s amazing how smoothly you can scroll through music with TabToolkit on iPad or jump to any point of a song by simply tapping or dragging the music on the screen. We think musicians will really enjoy viewing crisp, sharp music notation on the high resolution iPad screen.

Already one of the highest-rated music apps for iPhone, TabToolkit also enables users to listen to and control the audio of individual instrument tracks. Being able to control the audio of individual tracks makes it really fun to practice music with TabToolkit. For example, you can mute the guitar part of a song you’re learning while being guided by the bass, keyboard and drum parts playing in the background. It’s like you’re playing along with an entire band.

While other guitar tablature apps available for iPad and iPhone display only text tabs, TabToolkit fully supports “rich tabs” that include multiple instruments and the ability to hear an entire song performed. Similarly, while a few sheet music apps have appeared, these simply scroll static images or PDF pages. Because TabToolkit understands the underlying music, it accurately renders music on-the-fly in any notation, page size and orientation. TabToolkit also simultaneously renders perfectly synched multi-track audio for the song, including effects like guitar bends and slides.

TabToolkit supports text, PDF, Power Tab and Guitar Pro file formats (Power Tab and Guitar Pro files are required to experience TabToolkit’s full visual and audio capabilities). The app also has easy-to-use file upload and download features, enabling users to take their music with them wherever they go.

TabToolkit for iPad is already getting a lot of attention, particularly on Twitter. For example, @jimsylee tweeted “TabToolkit for iPad is looking veryyy nice”, @ayapejian said “TabToolkit looks great on the iPad, time to throw out all my printed guitar tabs – very happy!” and @gbevin said “TabToolkit for iPad looks mindblowing!!”  And the folks over at Mac|Life have already posted this TabToolkit for iPad article.

We’re proud that we’ve successfully tackled many tough challenges with TabToolkit, but what’s most important is that our customers enjoy our apps, find them useful and provide feedback to help us continuously improve them.  That’s Agile Partners’ commitment and what we’re focused on.

Tags: TabToolkit