How to turn your computer into a guitar station
From ArticleWorld
Many computer programmers show some pride in knowing how to play a musical instrument. The guitar is one of the most popular instrument, not just among computer geeks, but in general. This is why the computer can help you study and play the guitar in a variety of ways.
This guide explains how to turn your computer into a real guitar "toolkit". You need nothing special, except for a sound card and some decent processing power if you want to use guitar effects.
Steps
- Get a guitar effects program. GNUitar is one of the best options you have, because it is free and latency-free. However, many commercial tools exist as well. You will need to test each one to your needs though.
- Install a tablature reading and creation program, like Guitar Pro or KGuitar. These will make your life much easier when reading tablatures, and also include some advanced facilities which experienced musicians will simply love.
- A fretboard study/learning program may also be useful for you. There are dozens of such programs available, which is why we will not even try to recommend one to you. Simply look for one which allows you to study as many scale shapes as possible. The one you use ultimately depends on taste, since many are almost identical in terms of functionality.
- Some recording software, like Kristal, may also be good to use. Even if you do not plan to record anything professional, recordings help you review your performance.
Notes
If it is possible for you, get an operating system with good scheduling capabilities. If you only need an effect processor, Linux will run GNUitar very well (and, possibly, Guitar Pro, using Wine). It will allow you to give GNUitar a higher priority and thus reduce the latency even more.