Guitar Pro
 | |
|
Guitar Pro 6 on Windows Vista and Guitar Pro 5 on Mac OS X Leopard | |
| Developer(s) | Arobas Music |
|---|---|
| Stable release |
6.1.9 r11686 October 2, 2015
|
| Development status | Active |
| Written in | C++ |
| Operating system | Linux (Ubuntu 9.10 and 10.04 officially supported), Mac OS X (Intel processors only), Microsoft Windows |
| Type |
Scorewriter MIDI Editor |
| License | Proprietary |
| Website |
www |
Guitar Pro is a multitrack editor of guitar and bass tablature and musical scores, possessing a built-in MIDI-editor, a plotter of chords, a player, a metronome and other tools for guitarists and musicians. It has versions for Windows, Mac OS X (Intel processors only), and Linux and is written by the French company Arobas Music.
History
There have been four popular public major releases of the software: versions 3–6. Guitar Pro was initially designed as a tablature editor, but has since evolved into a full-fledged score writer including support for many musical instruments other than guitar.
Until it reached version 4, the software was only available for Microsoft Windows. Later, Guitar Pro 5 (released November 2005) undertook a year-long porting effort and Guitar Pro 5 for the Mac OS X was released in July 2006. On April 5, 2010, Guitar Pro 6, a completely redesigned version, was released. This version also supports Linux, with 32-bit Ubuntu being the officially supported distribution.
On February 6, 2011, the first ever portable release of Guitar Pro (version 6) was made available on the App Store for support with the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad running iOS 3.0 or later. An Android version was released on December 17, 2014.
In 2011, a version was made to work with the Fretlight guitar called Guitar Pro 6 Fretlight Ready. The tablature notes being played in Guitar Pro 6 Fretlight Ready show up on the Fretlight guitar's LEDs which are encased within the guitar's fretboard to teach you the song.
Background
The software makes use of multiple instrument tracks which follow standard staff notation, but also shows the notes on tablature notation. It gives the musician visual access to keys (banjos, drumkits, etc.) for the song to be composed, and allows live previews of the notes to be played at a specified tempo. It allows for certain tracks to be muted and provides dynamic control over the volume, phasing and other aspects of each track. Included in version 4 onwards is a keyboard that allows pianists to add their part to a composition.
Guitar Pro outputs sound by means of a library and/or, as of version 5, the "Realistic Sound Engine" (RSE) which uses high quality recorded samples for a more realistic playback.[1] By using its live preview feature musicians may play along with the song, following the tablature played in real time.
Files composed using Guitar Pro are recorded in the GPX, GP5, GP4 and GP3 format, corresponding to versions 6, 5, 4, and 3 of the software. These file formats lack forward compatibility, and opening them in an older version of Guitar Pro prompts the user to upgrade their software to the respective version. These tab files are available free on several websites, including songs of both underground and popular bands. However, copyright issues raised by the Music Publishers' Association (MPA) pressured some of these sites to close.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ Mendelson, James (16 February 2007). "Guitar Pro 5". PCMag. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ Youngs, Ian (12 December 2005). "Song sites face legal crackdown". BBC News. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
