FiddleTabs

Violin & Viola Fingering / Tab Plugin for MuseScore 4

Author: Tom Vincke
Version: 1.0.0
Date: 2026-06-05
Developed with the assistance of: Claude Sonnet 4.6 (Anthropic)
Licence: GNU General Public License v3.0 — see LICENSE.txt

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What it does

FiddleTabs analyses every note in your score (or selection) and places a string-and-finger tab annotation directly below it. Each annotation shows:

• the finger number — 0 (open), 1L, 1, 2L, 2, 3, 3H, 4
• the string letter — C (viola), G, D, A, E

String letters can be shown on every note or only when the string changes (see Configuration below). Annotations can be coloured per string so string crossings jump out at a glance.

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Requirements

• MuseScore 4.0.2 or later
  (tested on 4.7.2; may work on earlier 4.x builds)
• Works for Violin and Viola parts

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Installation

1. Locate your MuseScore plugins folder:
   • Windows: %APPDATA%\MuseScore\MuseScore4\plugins\
   • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/MuseScore/MuseScore4/plugins/
   • Linux: ~/.local/share/MuseScore/MuseScore4/plugins/
2. Copy the entire FiddleTabs folder (containing FiddleTabs.qml, README.md, and LICENSE.txt) into that plugins folder.
3. Open MuseScore and go to Plugins → Plugin Manager.
4. Tick FiddleTabs and click OK.
5. The plugin is now available under Plugins → FiddleTabs.

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Usage

1. (Optional) Select the passage you want to annotate.
   If nothing is selected, the plugin processes the entire score.
2. Go to Plugins → FiddleTabs.
3. Annotations appear below every note immediately.
   The operation is fully undoable with Ctrl+Z.

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Configuration

All user-adjustable settings live at the top of FiddleTabs.qml, clearly marked between the CONFIGURATION banners. Open the file in any text editor to change them — no QML knowledge required.

Variable	Default	Description
cfg_yOffset	7.5	Vertical distance below the note (staff-space units)
cfg_showStringAlways	false	true = string letter on every note; false = only on string change
cfg_useColors	true	true = colour per string; false = everything black
cfg_colorC	#000000	Colour for the C string (viola)
cfg_colorG	#B22222	Colour for the G string
cfg_colorD	#E67E22	Colour for the D string
cfg_colorA	#1ABC9C	Colour for the A string
cfg_colorE	#5DADE2	Colour for the E string
cfg_colorChord	#8E44AD	Colour for double-stops / chords
cfg_tabFontSize	10	Font size in points for single-note labels
cfg_chordFontSize	9	Font size in points for chord labels

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Based on

FiddleTabs is derived from the ViolinFingering plugin lineage:

Year	Author	Contribution
2014	lalov	Original ViolinFingering plugin
2016	HansPog & Christophe Corsi	Extensions
2019	Johan Temmerman (jeetee)	Further development
2023	Joachim Schmitz (Jojo-Schmitz)	MuseScore 4 compatibility
2026	Tom Vincke + Claude Sonnet 4.6	FiddleTabs — configurable rewrite

Original project page: https://musescore.org/project/violin-fingering

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Licence

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License v3.0 as published by the Free Software Foundation.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but without any warranty; without even the implied warranty of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

See LICENSE.txt or https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-3.0.html for the full licence text.

As required by the GPL, attribution to the original authors listed above must be retained in any modified or redistributed version.