Capo 3The Apple Design Award-winning Capo has long been an excellent app for those looking to learn and improve their guitar-playing abilities, but the new version adds a significant new feature to help learn individual songs.

Capo 3 can automatically detect chords and let's users create guitar tablature -- musical notes -- from songs in the iTunes library in order to help guitar players quickly learn songs.

Capo 3 is a revolutionary tool that helps you learn the music in your iTunes library. By slowing your music, automatically detecting chords and quickly generating guitar tablature using the detailed spectrogram, Capo 3’s award-winning capabilities let you learn to play your songs faster than ever.

Capo will change the way you learn to play music. The audio-to-note approach will soon seem so natural to you that you will no longer regard your favorite bands’ music as inaccessible to play yourself. You can learn to play any music you have as a recorded audio file, whether an mp3, m4a, wav, or aiff file. This is the future of learning to play music. It’s no wonder Capo won a prestigious Apple Design Award.


Capo 3 is available from the Mac App Store for $29.99. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

drummingcraig Avatar
159 months ago
Does anyone know of an app like this...but for drums?

Lessons. :D
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carlanga Avatar
159 months ago
what kind of sorcery is this!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nunyabinez Avatar
159 months ago
I find this highly unlikely. I'm sure that for a solo guitar piece it is possible to generate some kind of tab, but for music that has multiple guitar parts playing simultaneously, how on earth would software detect what is going on? Also, as anyone here who actually plays guitar knows, the same note can be played in many different locations on a guitar. How would it figure out exactly where on the neck it is being played?

This is not trivial because something can be easy to play in one position and mind-bogglingly difficult in a different position.

Maybe I am underestimating what this software can do. If it can do what they make it sound like it can do, it would be worth much more that what they are charging.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Benguitar Avatar
159 months ago
Very cool if it actually works!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
till213 Avatar
159 months ago
I find this highly unlikely. I'm sure that for a solo guitar piece it is possible to generate some kind of tab, but for music that has multiple guitar parts playing simultaneously, how on earth would software detect what is going on?

You should get yourself updated about what is possible these days with spectrum/beat/whatever analysis, e.g. this product:

http://www.celemony.com/cms/index.php?id=melodyne

(a well-respected tool in the professional music industry).

Also, as anyone here who actually plays guitar knows, the same note can be played in many different locations on a guitar. How would it figure out exactly where on the neck it is being played?

I - as a guitar player myself ;) - can only suspect that they have some "guitar patterns" ("expert knowledge") programmed in, so they'd figure out if e.g. a A (with a certain frequency) is played, followed by a C and G or whatever, then they are able to figure out the harmony and where (on which "location") to play this best.

Just a guess, though...
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
bradl Avatar
159 months ago
Wow, damn cool!

If only they'd had this app (and personal computers!) when I was a teenager learning guitar.

On one side, I'd agree..

But on the other side, it sorta takes the fun out of learning a song, as part of it is getting it down by ear. And that also helps with tuning by ear. Thanks to listening to songs over and over, I can tell just by listening to it not only the key of that song, but how the guitar might be tuned.

Either way, I just may get this if not just to figure out some of the overdubs put onto some songs.

BL.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

apple store down feature

Here's Why the Apple Store is Going Down

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:01 pm PST by
Apple's online store is going down for a few hours on a rolling country-by-country basis right now, but do not get your hopes up for new products. Apple takes its online store down for a few hours ahead of Black Friday every year to tease/prepare for its annual gift card offer with the purchase of select products. The store already went down and came back online in Australia and New Zealand, ...
iPhone Pocket Short

iPhone Pocket is Now Completely Sold Out Worldwide

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:16 am PST by
Apple recently teamed up with Japanese fashion brand ISSEY MIYAKE to create the iPhone Pocket, a limited-edition knitted accessory designed to carry an iPhone. However, it is now completely sold out in all countries where it was released. iPhone Pocket became available to order on Apple's online store starting Friday, November 14, in the United States, France, China, Italy, Japan, Singapore, ...
New Intel Logo

Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips Again in a New Way

Friday November 28, 2025 7:33 am PST by
While all Macs are now powered by Apple's custom-designed chips, a new rumor claims that Apple may rekindle its partnership with Intel, albeit in a new and limited way. Apple supply chain analyst Ming-Chi Kuo today said Intel is expected to begin shipping Apple's lowest-end M-series chip as early as mid-2027. Kuo said Apple plans to utilize Intel's 18A process, which is the "earliest...
streaming black friday 2025

Best Black Friday Streaming Deals - Save Big on Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, and More

Thursday November 27, 2025 1:14 pm PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Apple TV, Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
iphone air camera

iPhone Air Flop Sparks Industry Retreat From Ultra-Thin Phones

Thursday November 27, 2025 3:14 am PST by
Apple's disappointing iPhone Air sales are causing major Chinese mobile vendors to scrap or freeze their own ultra-thin phone projects, according to reports coming out of Asia. Since the ‌iPhone Air‌ launched in September, there have been reports of poor sales and manufacturing cuts, while Apple's supply chain has scaled back shipments and production. Apple supplier Foxconn has...
iphone black friday gold

The Best Black Friday iPhone Deals Still Available

Friday November 28, 2025 6:24 am PST by
Cellular carriers have always offered big savings on the newest iPhone models during the holidays, and Black Friday 2025 sales have kicked off at AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and more. Right now we're tracking notable offers on the iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air. For even more savings, keep an eye on older models during the holiday shopping season. Note: MacRumors is...
Apple Foldable Thumb

Foldable iPhone to Debut These Three Breakthrough Features

Tuesday November 25, 2025 7:09 am PST by
Apple's first foldable iPhone is expected to launch alongside the iPhone 18 Pro models in fall 2026, and it's shaping up to include three standout features that could set it apart from the competition. The book-style foldable will reportedly feature an industry-first 24-megapixel under-display camera built into the inner display, according to a recent JP Morgan equity research report. That...