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guitar Layer macOS guitar learning software


jasonhocky

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I use guitarLayers mainly for exploring in depth the guitar, although I'm a professional musician, and for teaching.

Guitarlayers is the key software in order to explore how the theory concepts, from the basic ones to the most advanced, can be arranged on the guitar fretboard.

 

It has a "structure engine" that allows you to do operations on scales, chords or arpeggios notes such has calculating automatically modes, inversions, drop voicings or even creating custom structures by choosing editing any single note. I was very surprised when, putting in three random notes, the software has recognized them also as a four-notes chord without a note, awesome!

 

After dealing with the notes guitarlayers allows you to place them on the fretboard by following a precise logic of your choice and by setting some "fretboard constraints". Infact by putting in a scale, you can choose to visualize it on the whole fretboard, or along a single string or a string set, or to calculate its vertical shapes (one for each guitar fret!) or even creating custom shapes by setting the desired number of notes-per-string (NPS). I can explore with a few clicks four or three or two NPS scales or, more powerful choose a custom NPS for my scales or arpeggios.

Same power with chords: you can chose a common or even custom chord and calculating its inversions on the string sets and for the most advances users you can calculate all the six possibilities of drop voicings, going from the most common drop2 and drop3 to the less common DD2&3.

 

GuitarLayers has a lot of other features such as the automatic harmonization of any scale by selecting its chordal or arpeggios substructures along the string sets or the possibility to arrange scales, chords or arpeggios with layers, the same way you can do with a photo editing software. I use layers mainly to visualize harmony by creating chord-scale, arpeggio-scale diagrams, or even to compare scales in a given portion of the fretboard.

 

The platform is a lot configurable, you can arrange your work by visualizing more fretboards, or fretboard portions, which can be configured to show multiple overlaid chord/scale structures in various ways, ready to print or to obtain high-quality images in any format in order to embed inside you videos or web lessons. Even more you have the possibility to create a personal library of contents by creating folders in which organizing you project. I have create my own library of lessons, or study material etc. but the developers have done a good work by releasing pre-compiled folders containing the most common scales and chords organized in a systematic way and ready for consultation.

 

This is definitely the software I've missed for my personal research on the instrument and for teaching and I've been wanting something like this for years.

The thing I really like about it is that it takes full advantage of the visual and shape oriented qualities of the guitar and guitar chords and lines. When trying to learn or integrate new scales and/or licks sometimes It helps to temporarily focus on the spatial and visual nature of the chords or lines I’m working on. This program makes it a lot easier to do. There is a small learning curve at first but they have recently released a very quick getting started guide, a lot of video demos, a owners manual (Download from their website) well written. Once you figure out how to use this app the possibilities are endless.

 

GuitarLayers is a real revolution for those who want to deal in depth with the instrument and music rules but also for educators who want to teach with clarity concepts from the beginner ones to the most advanced.

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