Popular music app Capo 3 received a major update today, adding Touch Bar support for the 2016 MacBook Pro and other new features that are designed to improve the overall user experience.

For those unfamiliar with Capo 3, it is a music app that can detect the chords in any song, allowing users to isolate specific sounds and vocals to play along with.

On 2016 MacBook Pro models, the Touch Bar can be used to scrub through songs and quickly access playback controls like volume, pause, and more. A waveform scrubber displays the waveform of the song and the locations of regions that have been added by the user.

capo1

"The Touch Bar support in Capo 3.5 was fun to build, but it's even more fun to use," says Chris Liscio, SuperMegaUltraGroovy founder and chief developer. "It's great to jump instantly to a point in the song, and if you have regions placed then you can identify them in the waveform overview by color. It's also helpful to have the audible feedback while scrubbing, so you can hear whether you're in the right spot."

Along with Touch Bar support, there's a new Song Views option, which allows users to choose between a new Practice view and a Tabbing view with the Spectrogram display. New view customization options are available, allowing the tablature display and automatically detected chords to be disabled.

capo2
Transcription Playhead, a new playback mode that makes it easier to listen to individual notes has been added, and there's an improved scrubbing feature, also for better identifying individual notes.

"I spent a week in the summer prototyping a new effect that would allow users to 'freeze time' so that they could hold a note still to help identify it by ear. I attached it to Capo's scrubbing feature--just to see whether it worked--and I couldn't stop playing with it. Since then, I've used it to pick apart some truly difficult solos in the Tabbing view faster than ever before."

Capo can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $29.99 through the holidays. A free trial is also available from the Capo website. [Direct Link]

Tag: Capo

Top Rated Comments

Michaelgtrusa Avatar
91 months ago
I'm glad dev are supporting the TB.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
liscio Avatar
91 months ago
I'm not questioning the value for an avid musician, only for the more occasional use I was describing. Online tools such as Chordify can make the chord charts for free, so I am wondering if a casual duffer such as myself could gain much by investing in this software. The answer I suppose is to download the demo version.
Warning: I'm the developer of Capo, so take everything I say with a grain of salt! ;)

First off, definitely download and use the demo. There's a lot more to Capo than just "detecting the chords"—that's just one of very many features of the product.

We have often referred to Capo as a tool for "Reverse Engineering Rock 'n' Roll" because that succinctly captures the depth of functionality that we offer. If you want to *really* dig in and figure out what notes are being sounded in the song, Capo will help you drill down and do just that. But it also gives you a high-level "guess" of the chords, or just acts as a powerful song-slowing and transposition tool.

Here's a quick look at the tabbing feature, for example:

[MEDIA=vimeo]195679954[/MEDIA]

Once you have a sense of *what* to play in a given song, then Capo gives you the tools to practice along with the recording so you can develop your skills on the instrument.

We have users ranging from "casual duffers" like yourself all the way up to Grammy-winning musicians: http://capoapp.com/testimonials. It's a useful tool for users at any level, and it will continue to pay you back as you use it more and more.
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JJayguy23 Avatar
91 months ago
I'm glad dev are supporting the TB.
Me too Michael, me too.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iOS 16 4 Web Push

Apple Confirms Governments Using Push Notifications to Surveil Users

Wednesday December 6, 2023 5:06 am PST by
Unidentified governments are surveilling smartphone users by tracking push notifications that move through Google's and Apple's servers, a US senator warned on Wednesday (via Reuters). In a letter to the Department of Justice, Senator Ron Wyden said foreign officials were demanding the data from the tech giants to track smartphones. The traffic flowing from apps that send push notifications...
iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Will Add These 12 New Features to Your iPhone

Friday December 1, 2023 12:19 pm PST by
iOS 17.2 has been in beta testing for over a month, and it should be released to all users in a few more weeks. The software update includes many new features and changes for iPhones, including the dozen that we have highlighted below. iOS 17.2 is expected to be released to the public in mid-December. To learn about even more features coming in the update, check out our full list. Journal ...
airpods pro 2 pink

Apple Releases New AirPods Pro 2 Firmware

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:28 am PST by
Apple today released new firmware update for both the Lightning and USB-C versions of the AirPods Pro 2. The new firmware is version 6B34, up from the 6B32 firmware introduced in November. Apple does not provide details on what features might be included in the refreshed firmware beyond "bug fixes and other improvements," so it is unclear what's new in the update, but prior software releases ...
Beyond iPhone 13 Better Blue

'All-Screen' iPhone Under-Display Camera Enters Development

Wednesday December 6, 2023 2:03 am PST by
Apple's Korean suppliers have begun developing smartphone under-display cameras (UDC), paving the way for the first iPhone with a true "all-screen" appearance. According to The Elec, LG Innotek has entered the preliminary development of the UDC, which sits under the display and does not result in a visible hole in the panel when the camera is not in use. A UDC differs from a typical front ...
iphone se 4 modified flag edges

iPhone SE 4 May Reuse Existing iPhone 14 Battery

Wednesday December 6, 2023 1:17 pm PST by
Recently, MacRumors has received details on the battery currently being tested on the upcoming fourth-generation iPhone SE, and the information corroborates previous findings in relation to the device. The iPhone SE 4, known by its device identifier D59, is expected to use the exact same battery found in the base model iPhone 14. Partially assembled prototypes of the next iPhone SE have been ...
12

Apple to Launch Two iPad Air and Two OLED iPad Pro Models Early Next Year

Wednesday December 6, 2023 9:53 am PST by
To boost falling iPad sales, Apple has a major refresh planned for the iPad lineup in early 2024, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Apple plans to debut new iPad Air and iPad Pro models, both of which will feature notable changes. The iPad Air will come in two sizes like the iPad Pro for the first time. The smaller model will continue to measure in at 10.9 inches, but the larger version...
New iOS 17

iOS 17.2 Release Notes: All New Features for Your iPhone

Wednesday December 6, 2023 7:17 am PST by
Apple has shared the full release notes for iOS 17.2, which is in the final stage of beta testing and should be released to the public next week. iOS 17.2 includes a long list of new features and changes, including a Journal app, spatial video recording on iPhone 15 Pro models, several improvements to the Messages and Weather apps, a Favorite Songs playlist in Apple Music, and more. iOS...
magsafe blue 2

iOS 17.2 Brings Qi2 Support to iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 Models

Tuesday December 5, 2023 11:04 am PST by
The iOS 17.2 update that Apple is set to release to the public in the near future will bring support for the next-generation Qi2 wireless charging standard to the iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models. Qi2 was mentioned in the release notes for the RC version of the update that came out today. With the addition of support for the new standard, iPhone 13 and iPhone 14 models will work with Qi2...