Using notation software for songwriting

Does anybody else use software such as Guitar Pro, Finale, Powertab, tabledit to write their own music in? I find for me it really makes the whole process much faster and I don't have to ever worry about forgetting music :)

Speaking of which, anybody here use Guitar Pro 6 yet? How is it compared to version 5?

Yup, I have been using Powertabs for like 6 years. Thats what I use to write stuff down; and even at one point I would solely use it to actually write with. But I realized that it doesnt transfer well; Whether it was actually playing the music with somebody or recording. I would literally have 3 guitars doing their own thing and it would sound awesome. Yet when I got the Reaper recording program, I would physically record all 3 guitars and their parts and it just didnt sound and flow as well. So even though I still use it, I try not to use it to write; just keep track of riffs.

I use Guitar Pro 5. I haven't tried 6 yet but I hear good things!

Guitar Pro 6 takes some getting used to but it's worth it. There's so many more things you can tweak to get it to sound the way you want. It's not going to sound like the real thing, but it's nice to work everything out in your songs and know what you'll be doing when you record.

At first, the workspace will not seem as good as it was in GP5. But after a day or two, the new setup will make way more sense. It feels like I've been much more productive in my writing process.

Originally Posted by: shred-zombieDoes anybody else use software such as Guitar Pro, Finale, Powertab, tabledit to write their own music in? I find for me it really makes the whole process much faster and I don't have to ever worry about forgetting music :)

Speaking of which, anybody here use Guitar Pro 6 yet? How is it compared to version 5?

I use GP6.0. I also have GP5.0. 5 was good, but 6 blows 5's door off. With 5.0 you get a synth sound when you play back. With GP6 you select your guitar, Les Paul, Fender, and which pickups to use, bridge or neck, and you select the amp from several different amps, and you select your foot pedals which there are many listed. Basically, GP6 is like setting up your rig in real life. The foot pedals look like the real thing and the knobs look like the real thing. GP 6.0 is awesome! And when you play all this back, it sound almost like real instruments. For a tab software, it's the best.

The drums and base sound awesome. I will record them to use to jam with. Sometimes the GP drums will end up as the final recording. That is how close to the real sound it is. I look eagerly for their next version to see if it blows version 6 away.

The interface is easy to get use to. The drop tunes or other tunings are easy to select then it converts your normal tab to the other tuning that you choose.

The chord selection is very good. It must have every possible chord ready for you to choose from. And you don't have to know the chord at all. Just start placing the notes on their little fretboard graphic and it will come up with a lot of chords to choose from with the fingerings. Your selection goes at the top of the 1st page as a small keyboard graphic and goes right above the tab as text, just like it should.

The file saves and loads are no problem normally. I have not used the many inport features; but, the exports to pdf and gp5 works great. I haven't use the other export file formats yet.

The load does have a little bug. If you save on one computer on a network then try to load it onto another computer on the network, it will not see the file. But, if you look for it by clicking "Start - Computer - C Drive - (user) - Document - etc...) you can see the files, click on them, and it will start GP6 and load the file over the network. But, you have to close GP6 to load a file on another network computer. That stinks; but, it works. And this is the only bug I have seen so far. I've use it for over a year I think, maybe 10 months, not sure.

Also, there is a lot of tab availiable on the web for free. You can't go wrong with GP 6.0. I use it extensively; and, I love it. I think I paid around $65 or so for it. Very well worth it.

The customer service is great also. They actually email you back pretty quick, with suggestions.

Bottom line: highly recommended, a must have...

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I tried using 6 but had a lot of issues with it. When trying to open and play most of my old tab files, they would be messed up. It's almost like it wasn't fully compatible. Some tracks would have the volume way down, so it would have like no drums playing.

How much does the best quality stuff for this cost?

Just curious.

~ Zac Sullivan ~
http://www.fretzeroguitar.com

Life & music are high-school sweethearts:
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I'm thinking about making the jump to GP and really appreciate the information you all are providing.

My main interests in GP are for composing and writing lessons. Can anybody recommend any good sources for turorials on using GP? Sifting through all the available resources and weeding out the duds can be overwhelming.