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Guitar Pro 4
May 07, 2004 - Contributed By dB Masters
This is more than just a transcription and composition tool...much more. Read this review for details.
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Guitar Pro is described at their web site as "a multitrack tablature editor for guitar, banjo and bass", but I see it as that and more. this can be a learning tool, to help student learn theory and composition, how different parts of music interact with each other and not only what sounds right together, but also help make the student understand why they do or do not sound right. It also has quick views of scales and transposition to help a student to learn scales and how to move between them.
In addition to scoring, Guitar Pro also offers the ability to listen to your composition via MIDI sounds from your sound card, printing your scores and also offers extensive import and export functions to make it compatible with other scoring formats already in existence. Additionally Guitar Pro also has a tuner, a metronome and quick and easy transposing tools. It does make this a very complete software toolbox for songwriters to document their music.
Feature Overview
Guitar Pro creates tablature for 4, 5, 6 and 7 stringed instruments and will handle up to 256 individual tracks in each score...enough to compose a pretty large symphony should the urge strike.
It is currently available in 28 languages and has the capability to add languages via simple patches, and runs with any Windows operating system from Windows 95 to Windows XP...you really don't see many applications say that any more.
The interface I have found quite intuitive and logical, and furthermore is 100% customizable to make it fully suit the user. The initial layout is quite cumbersome, but it can be easily slimmed down to streamline the users experience, increase font styles and sizes and customizations of that nature. The staff and tabs automatically display measures and bar breaks based on the beat durations and count of the song. It is also capable of working with off-beat rhythms such as triplets, which is often times a downfall of automated software sequencers and composition tools.
Guitar Pro will also play back your compositions through your systems MIDI sound device from the assigned instrument sounds in the application. It allows you to mix the MIDI instruments with volume, pan, chorus and reverb effects and can even simulate a 12 string guitar sound.
At First Glance
Upon first opening Guitar Pro you will be presented with the window shown at the right. It contains a standard musical staff, a keyboard and a guitar neck. Above the guitar neck is three rows of buttons for various functions of the program. I for one am not a big fan of a massive button-driven interface as it can often be intimidating to a new user. However, like with many programs, Guitar Pro offers the ability for the user to control which toolbars display and which ones don't, so each user can customize the interface to best suit their tastes.
To first get a feel for the app the toolbar you must understand immediately is the toolbar right above the guitar neck with the notes on them and the small arrow buttons immediately beneath them. These buttons select the duration of the note or chord you are currently adding and moving through the transcription. Set it to a quarter note, then go onto the guitar neck or keyboard and click on the note you want that quarter note to play. When finished click the arrow button to move the cursor to the right, click the duration of the next note or chord and so on. When you have completed a couple measures, go to the transport controls up toward the top center and rewind the cursor, then press play. Guitar Pro will then play the music back to you. Pretty cool, huh? You have just used the core of what Guitar Pro is all about.
But There Is A Lot More
Multitrack Scoring
OK, so we just took a very brief overview of what Guitar Pro is all about. Don't dare walk away just yet thinking you know everything about the application. We haven't even brushed the surface of some of the other capabilities of Guitar Pro. In addition to that simple example of scoring, you can also include multiple tracks to each score...
In the menubar, under the menu named "Tracks", select "Add". In the very bottom frame of the main window (as shown below) will appear a second instrument. Clicking on that newly appearing track will display a dialog that allows you to select exactly what instrument that will be represented there and select the proper sound from your MIDI device to play back it's track.
Stay In Tune
In the "Tools" menu on the menubar is where you will see some real power as well. There is a 6 string guitar tuner, which, when your guitar is plugged in to the computer, can work just as any tuner. I tried it, it is very accurate compared to the tuner on my Line6 POD and my Bass Vamp.
Scales
Another nice addition along the lines of reference and education is scales. In the "Tools" menu select scales and a dialog will appear asking which note to base the scale on, and which type of scale you want to see. That dialog will then show you the notes in that scale and the progression between them. Close that window and the keyboard and fret board in the main window will contain markers at all the notes in that scale over the full length of them. This is a very nice reference for anyone trying to learn scales, or to help find that one note that just doesn't sound right.
In the "Tools" menu is also the transposition tool as well as many other useful and powerful functions that help make Guitar Pro the great application that it is.
Chord Charting
Yet another reference/educational tool, that I think really should be under the "Tools" menu, but isn't, is the chord chart. Open this dialog and it presents you with an empty chord chart. Just highlight the string and frets that you are playing and it will tell you what chord it is that you are playing. Alternately, you can go and click the chord you are playing and it will show you the finger patterns available for it.
In addition to the reference this tool supplies, after you supply or find the right chord, you can also select the right chord chart and it will insert the chart into your tablature right along with the staff and tabs.
MIDI and Wave Exporting
I can hear people now, saying, well it sounds great and all, but then I have to sequence my MIDI tracks twice, once to compose then go to record it and I have to do it there as well...
Not so, my friends...each track in your Guitar Pro composition can be exported as a MIDI file and/or as an audio wave file. Export it and it creates a .mid or .wav that is ready for import into your multitracking application. Though it took me a while to work with this feature, it is easily one of the most useful and time-saving features in the application.
My Two Cents
Personally, I am very impressed with Guitar Pro. This is a very impressive application with lots of features to impress and be useful for people at many phases of the songwriting process. The only issue with many people is that I know very few musicians that actual ever document their songs in this manner. Most or scrawled on a napkin, some loose piece of paper or just left in their heads then go right to the recording. Therefore, the main issue with this program for those people is that they would have to make an effort to change their writing styles. What is cool about doing it this way is that you can't "forget" them, such is the case with songs stored in your head.
At $59(USD) with a discount for upgrades of 50% the price is more than fair for the power it gives you.
The only thing I would warn the first time user is to be aware it's really not as complicated as the inital interface leads you to believe...the toolbar full of buttons is customizable (as is the entire interface) so don't be put off by that. Additionally, it has so many features and functions, it's sometimes seemed time consuming to do the simplist little composing...but ultimately, I guess if you have so much in an app, it gets tough to make it all easy too. I also noticed, as with most software, with familiarity comes speed, so the simple little things would get quicker as one gets to know the application better.
I give Guitar Pro high marks for taking the art of composition to a whole new level, a truly impressive application.
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