Every once in a while I’ll get overwhelmed at work, and one of my colleagues will have to remind me that “we’re not saving lives here”. It’s a quick phrase that puts everything into perspective, and oftentimes brings me back down to earth.

I was thinking about this phrase when it comes to Guitar Pro and some of my students. Guitar Pro is a fantastic notation app, geared towards guitarists. I’ve been using it for years, and it’s been one of my most indispensable tools as a musician and teacher.

Students will open the app, see the sidebar with all sorts of notation elements, and quickly get discouraged. Here’s what I tell them to do - rather than get nervous when opening an app like this, instead develop a curious mindset, a playful mindset.

We’re not saving lives here, and no one will fault you for messing things up in the app. This sort of expermentation is half of the fun of being a musician in the first place. I recommend going into the app, writing some notes and seeing what works. What you’ll quickly find out, is you learn to see patterns. The human mind is a pattern recognization machine!

Transcribing someone’s licks or writing down your own ideas will make you a better musician. Once you start understanding notes and rhythm, then you can mess with the fun stuff, like bends, hammer-ons, pull-offs, legato, and more.

If you’re still a little too overwhelmed with getting started, I recommend downloading someone else’s Guitar Pro file. See how other transcriptionists lay out their songs, and then bring those ideas into your own transcriptions.

And of course, if you ever need help, that’s what I’m here for. Send me your questions!