Guitar Pro

Review by eFreeware

Guitar Pro for Android is a paid companion to the desktop tablature program of the same name, and the thing that sets it apart is that it both plays and writes tab. Most score apps stop at playback; this one opens the Guitar Pro file formats and also gives you a NotePad for capturing an idea before it slips away. At $5.49 with no ads and no in-app purchases, it is a straightforward purchase rather than a subscription.

It is clearly built for guitarists and bassists who already work with Guitar Pro files or want to. If you practice from tabs, learn songs by ear and then check the notation, or write riffs on the couch and finish them on a computer, the app is designed around that routine. The mobile version is not a full replacement for the desktop program.

A score player that handles the Guitar Pro formats

The core of the app is a player for GP3, GP4, GP5, GP6, GP7 and GP8 files. It renders tab with rhythms, slash notation and standard notation, and you can move between three zoom levels depending on how much of the page you want on screen at once.

Multitrack files get a soundboard for balancing the parts, with volume control, solo and mute per track and a choice of soundbanks. On-the-fly tempo changes let you slow a passage down without leaving the score, and transposing by half-tones shifts the whole piece when you need it in another key. You can loop any selection, which is the feature I would expect to use most when working through a difficult bar, and a metronome with a visual countdown keeps time when you play along.

Navigation is meant to be simple between sections of a long piece, and the app includes a fretboard view for guitar or bass, set up for both right- and left-handed players, plus a virtual keyboard. Files can be loaded over WiFi, through a web browser or by e-mail, and you can mail a file straight out of the app. There is also a library with search, filters and favorites for keeping your scores organized.

NotePad: writing tab on a phone

The NotePad is where the app earns its keep for songwriters. It edits a single-track tablature for guitar, bass, banjo, ukulele or mandolin, with support for instruments carrying four to eight strings, and it comes with 19 built-in sounds. Tuning and tempo are both customizable, so you can set the instrument up the way you actually play it.

When an idea is finished, or at least worth keeping, you can export it in Guitar Pro 6 or 7 format and continue the arrangement on the desktop version. That handoff is the point of the tool: a phone is good for catching a chord sequence or a riff, less good for building a full arrangement, and the app treats the NotePad as a sketchpad rather than a studio.

The limits are worth understanding before you buy. On mobile, existing files cannot be edited and standard notation cannot be written. Drum tracks cannot be edited in the NotePad either. What you get is single-track tab entry, which covers a lot of everyday writing but not full score editing.

What the mobile version leaves out

Audio tracks are the clearest difference from the desktop editions. Mobile does not support audio tracks: a local file with one opens, but the track stays hidden and silent. Scores from the mySongBook portal that have embedded audio are likewise unavailable here.

The mySongBook sheet music portal is compatible with the app, but its monthly subscription is separate from the purchase price. So the $5.49 buys the app itself, while access to that catalog is a distinct arrangement. The app carries no ads and no in-app purchases, which keeps the paid model simple.

If your practice depends on playing along with the original recording inside the score, this version will not do that for you. If you mainly read tab, loop sections and slow things down, the missing audio matters much less.

What you need to get started

The app costs $5.49 up front and contains no advertising and no in-app purchases. It has been on Google Play since January 2012, has more than 100,000 installs, and currently holds a 2.4 average from 11,988 ratings. The most recent change was a set of minor bug fixes.

Files can arrive by WiFi transfer, through a web browser or as e-mail attachments, so there is more than one route to get your own scores onto the device. The app also has an integrated library with search and filters once the files are there.

You will get the most from it if you already have Guitar Pro files, or if you are willing to build a library of them. Someone starting from nothing has a working tab editor in the NotePad, but the player side is at its best with existing scores.

How I would use it

The natural pattern is to load a score, mute the parts you are not playing with the soundboard, drop the tempo until the passage is manageable, and loop the bars that keep tripping you up. The metronome and countdown give you a reference when the tempo is slow enough that the beat is hard to feel, and the fretboard view helps when you want to see the shape rather than read the numbers.

For writing, the NotePad suits short sessions: a riff, a chord sequence, a bass line, saved with the tuning and tempo you used, then exported to GP6 or GP7 to finish at a computer. Because it handles banjo, ukulele and mandolin as well as guitar and bass, it can serve players who split their time between instruments.

Transposing by half-tones is useful when a song sits awkwardly for your voice or your capo position, and the zoom levels let you trade detail for a wider view of the page. None of this is complicated, but it rewards a little setup time with your own files rather than a casual first look.

A paid tool for players who already read tab

Guitar Pro on Android makes most sense for guitarists and bassists who work with Guitar Pro files and want them on a phone or tablet. The format support is broad, the player is well equipped for practice, and the NotePad gives you a genuine way to write single-track tab away from a computer. The desktop program remains the place for full score editing, notation changes and drum tracks, and the mobile app does not pretend otherwise.

The 2.4 average from close to twelve thousand ratings is a signal that opinions are mixed. If you need audio tracks inside scores or standard-notation editing, this purchase will not cover that.

What's new in version 1.9.0

This update fixes minor bugs. Thank you for using Guitar Pro! Let's rock! 🤘🏻