Level up your playing with the Guitar Pro Scales Tool

Hi everyone, I’m Thomas from Guitar Pro. I’m excited to share some Guitar Pro tips with you. I’ll be showing you how to make the most of the scales tool in Guitar Pro 8 to help you enhance your guitar skills.

The first part of the question to ask is: why should you bother learning scales?

Scales provide a framework for improvising melodies, solos, and fills, helping you create more coherent and expressive music.

Learning scales teaches you the layout of notes across the guitar neck, improving navigation and fluency. And practising scales improves finger strength, speed, and coordination, making complex guitar techniques easier to master.

This powerful and underestimated Guitar Pro Scale Tool allows you to:

– visualize the notes of a large selection of scales on the Fretboard View
– visualize the intervals of the scales
– find scales from a selection to help you compose
– discover new scales
– practice them in different keys and positions.

We have prepared a Guitar Pro tab for you for your practice sessions. Download the Guitar Pro tab here. It contains the audio file of a backing track! Download the free Guitar Pro demo here.

Let’s dive in!

How to access the scales tool in Guitar Pro 8?

Open a new project or a Guitar Pro file then go to:
Guitar Pro 8 > Tools > Scales.

Tip 1: optimize your scales practice

Here is an example of how you can use the Scales Tool during your practice time:

1 – Open a tab, and select a few bars.

2 – Open the Scales Tool.

3 – Click on “Find Scales from Selection“. The Scales Tool will propose a selection of scales you can play when accompanied by the song! On the right side of the window, you’ll even see the accuracy rate of the scales proposed. Select the one you like.

4 – Open the Fretboard View if not opened to visualise the placement of the notes.

5 – Enable the loop, select a few bars and play the song.

6 – When practising, choose a position on the neck, and I suggest you start playing with the root note. The root note can be highlighted on the Fretboard View. And of course, all the notes that appear on the fretboard are the notes you can play as they belong to the scale you selected.

To highlight the root note:
Fretboard View > OPTIONS > Highlight root note: On.

Tip 2: make your editing process easier

Using the scale tool to help you write songs is easy.

1 – Open the Scales Tool then select several bars of your composition.
If you’re starting from scratch, open the Scales Tool, select a key and then select the scale you’d like to use.

2 – Use the Fretboard View to enter notes in your composition. All the notes of the scales you selected will appear on the Fretboard View, click on them to add them to your score.

The Fretboard View icon is at the top right of the main Guitar Pro window.

NEW! Did you know?
You can now edit and add scale diagrams to your scores.
Note > Scale Diagram…

Tip 3: practice scales with backing tracks

With Guitar Pro 8, you can add an audio file to your score. You can then add a metronome, slow down the tempo, add a loop and play along with the backing track. These are great conditions for practising your scales!

Tip 4: train your ears

Use scale patterns for ear training: improve your ear by reproducing scales by ear and recognizing intervals within the scales.

You can also preview the sound of the scales by clicking on the little play button in the Scale Tool window.

Tip 5: warm-up your fingers

Incorporate scales into your warm-up routine: make scale practice a regular part of your warm-up to build dexterity and muscle memory.

Tip 6: practice rhythms

Experiment with different rhythms and articulations: practice scales with varied rhythms and articulations to apply scales creatively in solos.

Tip 7: switch positions

Master the fretboard with position shifts: practice shifting between scale positions across the fretboard to improve navigation and versatility.

Tip 8: explore exotic scales

Experiment with less common scales: jump into exotic scales like the Phrygian Dominant or the Spanish Mode. These scales offer unique tonalities that can inspire new ideas and expand your musical vocabulary.

Tip 9: analyze famous solos

Dissect iconic guitar solos: use the Scales Tool to analyze famous guitar solos. Identify the scales used and practice the scales in similar musical contexts to better understand their application.

Tip 10: set achievable goals

Set progressive challenges: gradually increase practice speed and incorporate different scales to expand your musical vocabulary. You can use the progressive speed feature to increase or decrease the tempo.

We hope you like these tips, share your suggestions and questions with us in the comments below. You’ll find plenty of Guitar Pro files with audio tracks to download for free on our blog.

Have fun and scale up!