The Main Window – Gateway to Music

Here is the Main Window where you access all your tests and access new music skills.

Here you can change the tuning from normal tuning to drop tuned to Eb (Eddie Van Halen, Jimi Hendrix and Yngwie all tune to Eb)

You can also access the tuner for a tuning reference and also the various e-books available as bonuses for purchases.

Also available is the Very popular E-book “Guitar Virtuosity for the Everyday Man” – a lesson by lesson e-book which will take a complete beginner all the way to advanced jazz and all the stages between.

There is an inbuilt browser to check for updates and for useful links (including free useful software and others to complete your music practice area)

If you’re a user of SightReader Master Extreme, you can use the menu at the top to upgrade to the fully activated Guitar Freak Workstation.

SightReader Master Extreme

Do a search on sight-reading software for guitar or bass – and you’ll only find some flash-card software or one other, more interesting software called “SightReader for guitar”, “SightReader Master”or SightReader for Bass.

Well, I’m glad to say that I have nothing to do with the flash-cards, but these other downloads are programs that I created!

The difficulty is not finding the notes – or playing the rhythms – but doing them both at the same time!

Right now, I’ve culminated all that programming experience into my wish-list for guitar/bass software.

This site is where the only guitar/bass sight-reading software is available.And this new feature is embedded in Guitar Freak Workstation.

I wanted sight-reading software that should:

• Be able to choose single notes or chords (that I have selected)
• choose options to suit my current level of ability – whether I’ve ever read music or not – maybe show the names of the notes or chords if needed
• I control the tempo
• I choose how often certain notes (whole, 1/2, 1/4, 1/8, 1/16ths, triplets of all of those, groups of 5 etc…) would appear
• I choose how often rests would happen – if at all.
• I choose (popular request) what scale the notes would come from
• I choose exactly where on the fretboard I want the chords and/or single notes come from – I want to see the fretboard during the process so I know where to find the notes.
• I want to control whether ties happen and how often.
• I choose 4/4, 3/4 or 6/8 time.
• I want a help file that teaches me important tips on reading music, charts and the like.
• I want to learn to read up to four bars ahead - across and down the page.
• Large enough so that I can see it clearly and resemble what I’ll see in written music.
• (Advanced) I want to have accompanying chords and bass notes to appear at the top of the music so I can practice playing chords with the single note at the top (use this often if you want work on cruise ships – $$$)
• I want to hear the notes as I play along to see if I match up with them.
• For my instrument – guitar or bass (4, 5 or 6 string)
• It’s got to look like music!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I still make use of guitar pro or powertab (which is free) for transcribing music and I read tab well – but now I – and you too, can read music just as well!

SightReader Master Options

Using The SightReader Master Extreme Options page, you can select your level exactly!

Including

• The scale
• The Notes on the fretboard
• The range of notes
• The interval distance between notes (or random)
• Ties
• Accidentals
• Chords
• Swing or straight 8ths (swing for jazz)
• Backing chords
• Note groupings

Note Groupings for SightReader

Here is the 2nd page if the SightReader Master Extreme Options.

Here you can choose note groupings – how often rests will happen – and how often each grouping will appear.

You are also able to save a selection and recall them at any time.

There is every combination up to 16th notes triplets and also groups of 5 as well!

Transcriber

The Trancriber

An extremely useful tool for any musician – the transcriber will slow down any mp3’s or wave files that you have in your music collection!  This way you can learn any fast passages by slowing it down up to 50% of the original speed – while keeping it at the same pitch.

File

From here you can open any or your music files – or you can access any recent files you may have opened

Sliders

You can set the sliders to repeat a section of the music. Using the loop button (Pressing the L key activates or deactivates this function) you can play it once or loop it.

If you want Transcribe to recall the sliders, click the “Make Bookmark” button and you can enter in some text to describe your selection. Every time you load this file, those markers will be available to you.

Hotkeys allow you to easily speed up in increments of 5% faster or slower – helping you nail that looped selection until your playing at the right tempo – or faster!

The included help file gives you tips on transcribing!

Guitar Freak Workstation is your one-stop software for getting hot on Guitar or bass!

Ability Trainer

The Ability Trainer – new with version 4.7

What’s it for?

Well, I’m going to be honest – I use it for speed.

1. I record myself playing something tricky and then slow it down to half speed to make sure that the quality of my tricky lick sounds just as clean as if I played it at that speed – if not – time to practice it until it does!

2. I’ll play something cleanly and then speed up my run to see what my lick would sound like if it was faster – this sets me a goal to aim for in speed and clarity (if you know what it should sound like faster and clean – and it really works!

Number 2 is exactly what Yngwie Malmsteen did to get his incredible speed. You may have read in an article that he would record something in the studio and when he got home, the tape recorder at home played a little faster than the tape recorder in the studio – inspiring him to get it faster with the same quality of the speed up original.

Of course, with the digital realm at hand, you don’t have to wait between trips – you can do it right here!

Also, this is a good way to see if you can play a song from top to bottom without any accompaniment. What about your jazz comping or rhythm playing – is it as even as you think? It’s really hard to play and hear yourself at the same time – this tool will soon become your best friend!

QuickChords

One of the most powerful features I want in some guitar software is to be able to intertwine chords and scales seamlessly.

This feature is possible in Guitar Freak Workstation only!

You can select 15 different chords voicings for every chord you have in your software (as well as the ones you’ve added.

You can then, with a click of a button, see every scale that will work over that chord. A combobox become available and you can see the each chord with the white scale notes around it!

Click on any of the 15 shapes and see that chord or scale enlarged. Play the scale, the chord or both simultaneously with a button.

Click on the enlarged shape and you’ll see all the notes involved (great for practically apliable theory!)

You can also choose any scale and then see what chords will work over that scale. Great for composing!This means

• If you can play a chord, you can use the scale notes to add notes to the chord(making it a little more interesting)
• You can pinpoint the notes in the scales that are chord tones and resolve on them – more meaning-full solos!
• No box shapes!
• Play a chord tone on the strong beats (1,2,3 or 4) and any other scale note on the “ands” or other timing subdivisions that aren’t 1,2,3 or 4 and you have yourself a hot lick that works well over that chord
• Will definitely break you out of a rut.
• You can choose whether to play a chord or scale at any time!!!!
• The chords are the shapes that Grammy award winning guitarists use.
• Highly graphical interface – if you’ve ever seen chord grids before, you’ll recognize the shapes!
• Print the shapes out on your local printer!

The Invertor

The Invertor – a revolution on the fretboard!

The Invertor is a powerful new feature never before seen in guitar software!

It will allow you to choose any scale or chord – in a any key. This will display on a fretboard.You can then click notes on the fretboard until you create a shape – it can be a sweep, a whole scale, a chord – whatever shape you like.Using 5 options you can hear this shape played

* All once – like a chord.
* Ascending (it will play all the notes from lowest to highest notes – at the speed you choose)
* Descending (same as above but going down)
* Ascending and then descending
* Descending and then ascending

Then – with a click on a button or hotkey, this shape will move up one note in the scale or chord.

It’s still in the scale but the next inversion up.

You can move shapes up and down the scale – so you scales and chords stay in the scale but you can play them anywhere on the fretboard!

Check out the video on the right to see it in action!

Freaks – Alan holdworth uses this wayout method to create his unique chord shapes (he did it the long way around – not in software)

Bass Invertor

Don’t Worry you Bass Players – the Invertor is available for you too!