Dave Wirth
My good friend Gary hipped me to an application called Capo about a month ago. This app is nothing short of incredible. Capo is the most intuitive guitar transcription tool I have ever seen.
Transcription is the best process that guitarists have to learn how to solo. Basically, a person learns to play a solo by figuring it out by ear. Jazz and rock guitarists before taps were limited because they had to literally drop the needle on the record over and over again in order to figure out melodies. That process was cumbersome. Tapes made transcription easier, and cd's even more so. Digital recording made it very possible for a certain song to be recorded and looped, but it meant one had to learn how to operate the software (not easy).
Then, Capo came and made the entire process dead simple and fun. Basically, any song that you have in your iTunes library can be uploaded into Capo. From there, Capo allows you to slow down the song, loop it, and figure it out by ear. Naturally, you can adjust the speed of playback. When you feel you have the song at one tempo, you can readjust the tempo so that you can practice it faster. Eventually, you'll be able to play the song at full speed.
Like I mentioned above, the technology has been around for a long time. It's very possible to use Pro Tools to do the same exact thing, or you can use Capo. It's more intuitive, and it's far more affordable anyways.
Test Time!
I put Capo to the ultimate first test. How about the introduction to Cliffs of Dover?
Cliffs of Dover by Eric Johnson is possibly one of the most difficult guitar solos in the repertoire of guitar hero-esque songs. It has always bothered me that I couldn't totally figure out what he was playing in the opening cadenza of the song. It's too fast! I was almost ready to buy some sheet music. Unless Eric Johnson himself edited both the tablature and the notes on the staff, I wasn't going to buy it.
Instead, I just imported Cliffs of Dover into Capo, slowed down the beginning cadenza to ¼ speed, and then figured it out note-for-note. Then, I gradually upped the speed until I was playing along. I couldn't believe it. I finally had it. Now all I need to do is just play it about 100,000 more times, and I think I'll have it for good.
All in all, this program is amazing! If you like to play solos, Capo will be a great friend.
Where To Get It
Want to learn more? Here's their site! http://supermegaultragroovy.com/products/Capo/
