Essential Features of Guitar Pro 8

Guitar Pro is a music notation program that allows you to create tablatures and sheet music for guitar, bass, drums, piano and even the ukulele. It has many pedagogical tools such as chord and scale libraries, and its transposition features make it ideal for teachers or anyone who needs to transcribe a song from one instrument to another.

The program also lets you create backing tracks for your guitar or any other instrument and apply effects like reverb, delay, compression, EQ or tremolo. You can use this to play along with other musicians or just for practice. You can also adjust the tempo of the track and the chord progressions. The program can be customised to suit your own preferences but you will need a little training in order to get the most out of it.

One feature that is very useful is the ability to insert a section description so you can jump straight to a particular part of a song. This makes it easier to learn songs and can save you a lot of time when writing your own tabs. Simply place your cursor at the beginning of a bar and press Shift+Insert, then choose from a list of preset section types or write your own.

As well as being able to create backing tracks, Guitar Pro has built-in chord and scale libraries which are perfect for learning new chord shapes and expanding your fretboard knowledge. It’s a good idea to start by practicing the first four chords in a song as they will be easiest and then gradually increase the tempo so you can learn the full track.

Another great feature is the chord tool which can be used to create a wide range of different variations for each chord. For example it will show you a chord on all six strings and in different positions across the fretboard. This will help you build your fingering patterns and increase your chord vocabulary as well as improving your rhythm skills.

A new essential feature in GP8 is the ability to mark expressive playing techniques such as palm mutes, tapping, sliding and vibratos. This will give your scores a more realistic feel and is an excellent tool for emulating real-life performances. However, remember that Guitar Pro is only a guide and subtleties such as bends will never be captured accurately.

Using Guitar Pro can be a little confusing at first but with a bit of practice you will soon be able to understand the various features and functions. You can even download a free trial version of the software to try it out for yourself.

If you have any questions about guitar pro or would like to speak with a Sweetwater Sales Engineer, please contact us here. Our sales engineers live and breathe gear, they’re professional musicians who are passionate about helping you find the right products for your needs. They’ve owned studios, worked as engineers, and performed on tour – so they know what it takes to get the job done.