I play bass in a metal band, we just do covers for now. We get together once a week to jam and practice some songs. We rent a practice room, so most things are set up for us already, we just bring the guitar, bass and drumsticks.
I need to follow the tabs when we play new songs, so keeping this 'in-sync' with the band is a chore, usually needing us all to stop and count in, in sync. I felt like there has to be a better way.
Tabs are everywhere online, but there is no good way for a whole band to follow the same tab, on separate devices, at the same time.
What is TabCue
TabCue is a synchronized tab player for bands. You upload a Guitar Pro file (or any supported tab format), create a room, and share a QR code. Everyone in the band scans it on their phone, picks their instrument track. When the band leader presses play, every device scrolls through the tablature in sync, with a MIDI backtrack playing through headphones.
The key detail: everyone wears headphones/in-ear monitors. The PA and speakers are reserved for the live instruments. The backtrack never touches the room speakers. Each member hears the MIDI backing track privately.
It works for practice, learning new songs, or running through a setlist without constantly calling trying to figure out where you are if you lose your place.
How the Sync Works
Getting tabs to display on a screen was straightforward using existing libraries. The challenge was making sure the devices start playing audio at the same time and stay locked together for the full song duration.
Every device has different network latency, different audio hardware, and slightly different internal clocks. If you just send "play now" to everyone, you end up with a stagger. Sometimes hundreds of milliseconds apart. This is fine if you mute your local midi audio, but painful if you listen to the slightly out of sync audio.
TabCue solves this in three layers:
1. Calibration. When a member joins, the system measures the network delay and clock difference between their device and the band leader's device (usually the drummer). This gives each device a timing profile.
2. Coordinated start. When the leader presses play, the system does not immediately start audio. It calculates a future moment when all devices should begin, accounting for each device's network and hardware delays. Every device gets a personalized countdown. This results in all devices starting within a few milliseconds of each other. This is quite satisfying to hear.
3. Continuous correction. Just starting together is not enough. Over a four-minute song, devices drift apart. TabCue monitors each member's playback position in real time and applies small corrections at bar starts. With the aim of eliminating the drift, before it can become audible.
The same correction logic applies when looping a section.
Features
- QR code room joining: scan a code, pick your instrument track, ready. No accounts required to join.
- Multi-track support: guitar, bass, drums, keys, vocals. Each member sees only their tabs.
- MIDI backtrack: synthesized audio from the tab file, played through headphones.
- Metronome and count-in: configurable count-in bars so everyone starts together naturally.
- Looping: the band room admin can set start/end markers to practice certain sections.
- Tab library: upload Guitar Pro, MusicXML, or other supported formats.
- Mobile-first: designed for phones on music stands. Works on iOS, Android, and desktop browsers. Install it as a home screen app for a full-screen experience.
Try It
TabCue is currently in beta and free to use. If you are in a band that rehearses regularly and uses tabs, give it a try at tabcue.com. Create a room, share the QR code with your bandmates, and run through a song together.
I am actively looking for bands to test with and give feedback. If you try it, I would love to hear how it goes. Reach out on LinkedIn or Telegram.