The simple key, is to use ear training as part of your learning. The results can be dramatic! Check out this software below called Song Surgeon to see what I mean.

Song Surgeon Review

I received a copy in the e-post to review, and here's the lowdown on it. Just to mention that I have played and continuously learned the guitar for over 25 years at this stage, and I have spent (and still spend) 1000's of hours learning guitar songs and solos by ear. Sometimes, as mentioned below, I used a little trick to slow down particularly difficult solos to pick up. But that presented it's own problems which this software has ironed out.

So what is this Song Surgeon all about? Song Surgeon is a powerful tool which can slow down any audio track/guitar solo. Say maybe a solo from a CD, or a computer/Ipod MP3 or .WAV file.

Plus, and here's the great plus for the software ... Song Surgeon DOES NOT CHANGE the key of the song! A vital asset to have. It is hard to place an accurate value on taking the frustration out of trying to learn at full speed which can be seriously frustrating!

In older equipment, this traditional way of learning solos always changed not only the speed of the lick, but also the key. If you have ever slowed down a vinyl record to half-speed you'll know what I mean. I remember, particularly in my early years of learning guitar, installing a light-dimmer switch onto my record-player! It slowed down the track etc but it also changed the key! WARNING: DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME UNLESS YOU ARE A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN!

The problem here is, that you need to learn the solo in a different key than the song is in, and then transpose it to the real key. It's time consuming and can make things difficult. Some solos are an absolute nightmare to transpose and work out in this way due to the use of open strings and the like. The Song Surgeon approach is much quicker.

So if the solo plays an E Note on the 13th fret, B String in real time, well that's what this software will transform the slowed down version to. Slowed down, but still on the 13th fret! Here's a video example of how it works. To view the video in a separate window, click the image below or this link >>> Song Surgeon Loop Demonstration

Notice, that at this slowed down speed, that the key is still the same, every nuance of the player can be heard, such as vibrato, micro-bends, and many more hidden at normal speed sounds.

But, and you can hear for yourself on the demos, that the quality of the Song Surgeon slowed down versions are very clear and true to the tone of the instrument.

Granted, the slowed down sound quality is a slight degeneration from the normal speed, but that's natural and scientifically unavoidable. But the standard is of very high quality.

Song Surgeon Highlight Features

 

A few handy (and some essential), features of the software including: Simple to use but very effective, Built-in E.Q., Loop Feature, Pitch Control, Speed Control, Quality Playback, Fast/Real Time Operation, Rip or Transfer File Option ...

Loop the Loop

Now this is a total winner this part. You can loop any part of the solo you like, and play just that section to your heart's content. Slow it down, work on it, speed it up and so on until you get it off perfect! I looped an arpeggio style solo to give you an idea. To view the video in a separate window, click the image below or this link >>>>>> Arpeggio Run Loop

Rip Button

This button enables you to rip or transfer a file directly from a CD to your computer. A ripped song can be saved in any of the file formats supported by Song Surgeon.

Save Feature

You can save looped versions of any section of any song or solo - a seriously time saving benefit for the user. See the video on the Song Surgeon site to see this idea in action. That's a powerful tool to have at your disposal and cannot be underestimated!

***

To Sum Up / Plus + Minus

As you may have gathered I'm a huge fan of the ear-training method. In this Tab Crazy Guitar World of 2007, it's refreshing to see a quality system which relies on EAR TRAINING and is not visually based ... the Key! It's way above any other learning systems and such an enjoyable way to learn.

It does mention minus points in the title here, but to be honest I can't find any. Well a minor gripe I suppose. It does state on the site that Song Surgeon currently runs ONLY on Windows OS's, but, they are working on a MAC version, and it will be a few months before this is available. So I guess that's fair enough.

Ear-Training is the way forward and this software does exactly what's needed to accomplish this, with style may I add. This software is strongly recommended to ALL levels of guitar player and musician of any instrument in any genre. From total Beginner to Pro, it's that good! There's not many guitar/musician learning programs that can make that claim.

Well here's one fan and user who won't have to mess with variacs, record players and mind bending transpositions anymore :)! Ok now where's that Eric Johnson CD of mine?

Here's the UniGTR+++% Rating:

To visit the Song Surgeon site, have a look and listen yourself, check out the many positive testimonials from other guitar players and mixed instrumentalists, and see a list of further features, visit >>> Song Surgeon.com

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