Tabbing Riffs in Guitar Pro: Your Essential Guide

Whether it’s voice memo recordings, hastily scrawled tabs, or videos on your phone, guitarists each have unique methods for documenting riffs and song ideas. As a solo musician, I discovered Guitar Pro to be an invaluable tool for transforming those ideas into full-fledged songs. Having embraced it just a few years into my guitar journey, it played a pivotal role in deepening my understanding of music theory. In this introductory guide, I’ll share insights gained over 15+ years of using Guitar Pro, focusing on the basics of tabbing out a riff and understanding the theoretical aspects of your compositions.

Getting Started with Guitar Pro

If you don’t own Guitar Pro, fear not! You can download a free 7-day trial of Guitar Pro 8 for both Windows and macOS. This guide will focus on version 7.6, but the features discussed are applicable to the latest iteration as well.

You can apply these instructions to an original composition or to a riff you’ve learned from another artist. For many, imitation can be a fantastic teacher, especially in the early stages of learning the software.

1. Creating a New File

When you open Guitar Pro, the projects screen greets you. Over time, as you save more projects and tabs, your recent files will populate here, allowing for quick access to your work. To get started, click on ‘new file’ to create a blank slate for your riff.

2. Choosing Your Guitar Type

Next, it’s time to specify your starting instrument. Guitar Pro presents you with options across four tabs: Stringed, Orchestra, Drums, and MIDI. In this guide, we’ll focus exclusively on the ‘Stringed’ option.

Upon selecting ‘Stringed’, you’ll see two columns: your ‘master’ instrument on the left and various permutations on the right, such as:

• Acoustic: Nylon, 12-string, Steel, Resonator
• Electric Guitar: Overdrive, Distortion, Sitar, Clean, Jazz, 12-String
• Bass Guitar: Acoustic, Fretless, Electric, Synth, Upright
• Other: Banjo, Ukulele, Mandolin

Once settled on a guitar type, you have additional settings to adjust:

• Instrument track name
• Notation type: tablature, standard, and slash notation
• Number of strings and tuning
• Sound type: the tone you’ll hear during tabbing and playback

Don’t worry too much about these settings; you can always modify them later.

3. Tabbing Out a Riff

Before diving into tabbing, familiarize yourself with Guitar Pro’s layout. The ‘full screen’ view will showcase the ‘Edition Palette’, ‘Global View’, and ‘Inspector’ view, each serving different functions for your tabbing.

To begin, you’ll need to input the corresponding fret numbers on the strings used in your riff. The upper staff represents standard notation, and the lower one depicts tablature, with its six lines indicating the six strings of your guitar.

On a new project, the lowest string is automatically highlighted. Use your mouse or directional keys to navigate to the required string or move to the next beat in the bar.

For example, you’ve got an E Minor chord arpeggio and an eight-note riff straddling the low E and A strings to get started.

Guitar Pro defaults to a quarter note duration. Use the (+/-) keys to adjust the duration as needed while ensuring it aligns with how you intend to play it. Hit the space bar for playback to make any necessary refinements. If the timing feels off, simply double-click the tempo at the top to adjust it.

4. Understanding Notation for Your Riff

With your riff tabbed out, consider refining it further. Here are some techniques to enhance accuracy:

Time Signature

Understanding time signatures is key. The top number indicates how many notes are played, while the bottom specifies the note’s length. For instance, 6/4 consists of six quarter notes. If your riff crosses an unexpected time signature, double-click the symbol in the first bar to make a change. For multiple changes, use CTRL/CMD+T to adjust them in the respective bars.

Rests, Ties, and Dotted Notes

To indicate silence in your riff, you’ll use rests, which can be inserted with the (R) key. Adjust the duration of the rest using (+/-) keys. Ties, which allow a note to extend over two bars, can be notated by selecting the note and pressing (L) at the next bar.

Dotted notes, indicated by a period/full stop, modify the note’s length by adding half of its value. This adds nuance and can greatly impact the feel of your riff.

Note Articulation

Articulation breathes life into your notes. Here are essential articulations to consider:

• Legato Slides: Press (S) on the first note and tab the following note to create a smooth transition.
• Hammer-ons/Pull-offs: Use (H) to designate these techniques between notes.
• Palm Muting: Highlight the desired notes and press (P) to apply muted effects.
• Let Ring: For notes that should continue sounding, hit (i) to enable this function.
• Dead Notes: Create staccato effects with dead notes by pressing (X) and defining the duration.
• Bends: To bend a note, press (B) and adjust its specifications for your desired effect.

Refining Your Riff

With these foundational aspects in mind, you can transform your simple riff into a nuanced composition. Keep experimenting with different techniques and adjustments. The beauty of Guitar Pro is that it allows you to hear your changes in real time, which is invaluable for expanding your creative toolkit.

Next time, we’ll build on this knowledge by creating a complete song, diving into custom guitar tones, adding additional instruments, and exploring automation techniques.