Guitar UpscaleOpen the guitar

Open Guitar Pro and MIDI files in the browser

Play Guitar Pro and MIDI files on a virtual fretboard without installing anything, and find songs on Songsterr and MIDI sites.

By Oleg Chibikov, the author of Guitar Upscale

Guitar Pro files hold tab, notes, tempo and instruments for each part of a song. Normally you need Guitar Pro or another tab editor to play them. Guitar Upscale opens them in the browser and plays them on a virtual fretboard, so you can see where each note sits on the neck. Uploading your own files is part of the Composer plan.

Which files work

  • Guitar Pro files: .gp, .gpx, .gp5, .gp4 and .gp3.
  • MIDI files: .mid and .midi.

Open a file

  1. Open Guitar Upscale and press the upload button in the control panel.
  2. Pick a Guitar Pro or MIDI file on your device.
  3. The app reads the tab, the tempo and the instruments. It then finds the smallest scale that holds every note and files the song under that scale.
  4. The song starts playing, and its notes light up on the neck as they sound.

The file stays in your browser. It shows up under "Your songs" in the song list, next to the built-in songs.

Find a song online

The cloud button next to upload searches four song sites at once: Songsterr for tabs, GProTab for Guitar Pro files, and BitMidi and MidiWorld for MIDI files. Type a band and a title, such as "metallica one", and pick a result. A Songsterr song opens a list of its tracks. Untick the parts you don't need, pick an instrument for each and press Add.

Learn the song

  • Slow it down. Lower the tempo in the play panel and the song plays slower at the same pitch.
  • Loop a hard part. Open the piano roll and drag along the ruler to loop a few bars. The ruler also marks the verse, the chorus and the solo.
  • Play along. Mute the guitar track in the piano roll and play that part yourself while the rest of the band plays.
  • Change the key. Pick another key or tuning, and the song moves with it.

Save your changes

Edit notes in the piano roll and the app saves your version. The download button saves the song as a Guitar Pro file again, in the key and tuning you picked. Hold it for a MIDI file.

A word on copyright

Tabs and MIDI files of songs are often covered by copyright. Use files you made yourself or files you have the right to use, and keep them for your own practice.

Want to write your own instead? Read how to record a guitar idea as MIDI.

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