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
160 months ago
Does anyone know of an app like this...but for drums?

Lessons. :D
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Carlanga Avatar
160 months ago
what kind of sorcery is this!
Score: 5 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Nunyabinez Avatar
160 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
160 months ago
Very cool if it actually works!
Score: 3 Votes (Like | Disagree)
till213 Avatar
160 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
160 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

iphone 17 models

No iPhone 18 Launch This Year, Reports Suggest

Thursday January 1, 2026 8:43 am PST by
Apple is not expected to release a standard iPhone 18 model this year, according to a growing number of reports that suggest the company is planning a significant change to its long-standing annual iPhone launch cycle. Despite the immense success of the iPhone 17 in 2025, the iPhone 18 is not expected to arrive until the spring of 2027, leaving the iPhone 17 in the lineup as the latest...
duolingo ad live activity

Duolingo Used iPhone's Dynamic Island to Display Ads, Violating Apple Design Guidelines

Friday January 2, 2026 1:36 pm PST by
Language learning app Duolingo has apparently been using the iPhone's Live Activity feature to display ads on the Lock Screen and the Dynamic Island, which violates Apple's design guidelines. According to multiple reports on Reddit, the Duolingo app has been displaying an ad for a "Super offer," which is Duolingo's paid subscription option. Apple's guidelines for Live Activity state that...
Clicks Communicator Feature

'Clicks Communicator' Unveiled — Will You Carry This With Your iPhone?

Friday January 2, 2026 6:35 am PST by
The company behind the BlackBerry-like Clicks Keyboard accessory for the iPhone today unveiled a new Android 16 smartphone called the Clicks Communicator. The purpose-built device is designed to be used as a second phone alongside your iPhone, with the intended focus being communication over content consumption. It runs a custom Android launcher that offers a curated selection of messaging...
Low Cost A18 Pro MacBook Feature Pink

Apple's 2026 Low-Cost A18 Pro MacBook: What We Know So Far

Friday January 2, 2026 4:33 pm PST by
Apple is planning to release a low-cost MacBook in 2026, which will apparently compete with more affordable Chromebooks and Windows PCs. Apple's most affordable Mac right now is the $999 MacBook Air, and the upcoming low-cost MacBook is expected to be cheaper. Here's what we know about the low-cost MacBook so far. Size Rumors suggest the low-cost MacBook will have a display that's around 13 ...
Low Cost MacBook Feature A18 Pro

Low-Price 12.9-Inch MacBook With A18 Pro Chip Reportedly Launching Early This Year

Friday January 2, 2026 9:08 am PST by
Apple plans to introduce a 12.9-inch MacBook in spring 2026, according to TrendForce. In a press release this week, the Taiwanese research firm said this MacBook will be aimed at the entry-level to mid-range market, with "competitive pricing." TrendForce did not share any further details about this MacBook, but the information that it shared lines up with several rumors about a more...
Apple Fitness Plus hero

Apple Announces New Fitness+ Workout Programs, Strava Challenge, and More

Friday January 2, 2026 6:43 am PST by
Apple today announced a number of updates to Apple Fitness+ and activity with the Apple Watch. The key announcements include: New Year limited-edition award: Users can win the award by closing all three Activity Rings for seven days in a row in January. "Quit Quitting" Strava challenge: Available in Strava throughout January, users who log 12 workouts anytime in the month will win an ...
govee floor lamp

CES 2026: Govee Announces New Matter-Connected Ceiling and Floor Lights

Sunday January 4, 2026 5:00 am PST by
Govee today introduced three new HomeKit-compatible lighting products, including the Govee Floor Lamp 3, the Govee Ceiling Light Ultra, and the Govee Sky Ceiling Light. The Govee Floor Lamp 3 is the successor to the Floor Lamp 2, and it offers Matter integration with the option to connect to HomeKit. The Floor Lamp 3 offers an upgraded LuminBlend+ lighting system that can reproduce 281...
Belkin 25W Battery magnetic

CES 2026: Belkin Announces Magnetic Ring Power Bank, Modular Dock, and More

Sunday January 4, 2026 3:02 pm PST by
Belkin today announced a range of new charging and connectivity accessories at CES 2026, expanding its portfolio of products aimed at Apple device users. UltraCharge Pro Power Bank 10K with Magnetic Ring The lineup includes new Qi2 and Qi2.2 wireless chargers, magnetic power banks, a high-capacity laptop battery, and USB-C productivity accessories, with an emphasis on higher charging...