Suggestion: Possible extension to tablature support

[David E. Nelson]

I am not sure if you have discussed this before, but why not extend tablature support in LilyPond by allowing the user to input symbols for how strings should be played, such as hammer-ons, bends, slides, etc.  This could be done by implementing commands that the engine would only pay attention to in a "TabStaff" context, such as adding, say, "\tabOrnament" after a note to indicate "add the quoted string that follows onto this note in the tab staff."

For example:
c' \tabOrnament "aa"   % Add "aa" after the fret number for this note in the tab staff

Harmonics can also be included in tablature, so the command, say, "\tabHarmonic" after a note would enclose that note's fret number in angle brackets.  Also, grace notes can be denoted in tab by enclosing their fret numbers in round parentheses.  This would occur if a \grace command was encountered in a TabStaff context.

If you want more info on annotated tab, here's a link:
http://www.jmdl.com/howard/music/tabfaq.html#OTHER%20SYMBOLS%20USED%20IN%20TAB

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