Guitar computer software is a fairly broad category of applications that are specifically useful for guitar players. It could include things like recording software, educational software, and simple utilities to create guitar tablature or help tune up the instrument. Many of the applications designed for guitarists are very similar to other more general music programs with only a few tweaks to make them especially useful for guitarists, while others would only be useful for those who play the guitar.
Some of the most popular guitar computer software packages are designed to help a guitarist master different aspects of playing the instrument. For example, there is software that shows chord diagrams, neck charts for different musical scales, and some software that actually guides the new guitarist through a series of lessons with multimedia accompaniment. A lot of this software essentially presents the same information that would normally be found in different kinds of educational guitar books. Other applications take more advantage of the multimedia potential available in computers and offer elements of greater interaction, which may help speed up learning for some guitarists.
Some pieces of guitar computer software are simple tools designed to replace common pieces of equipment. For example, there are numerous computer programs designed to replace the guitar tuner, a device that is often built into many external hardware-based effects processors, and can also be bought separately. Some of the tuning software works in a fairly simple fashion by playing back the proper notes for different tunings, while other programs are designed for computers that have a guitar plugged into them for recording purposes, and they display on-screen indicators to let the guitarist know if his instrument is properly tuned when he plucks a note. There is also a lot of software designed to create and utilize guitar tablature, which is a kind of sheet music designed especially for guitarists.
Some guitarists decide to write or record songs with their instrument, and many different kinds of guitar computer software applications exists to help them in this task. Most popular computer recording software packages work very well with the guitar and some of them allow plug-ins to be installed, which can potentially add special effects and other things specifically tailored for guitarists. Another thing guitar players usually need with their recording software is synthetic computerized accompaniment instruments. For example, most guitarists can’t play drums, so they often use software packages to generate computer-based drum patterns.