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Section 4Rus

Guitar Pro integration

Example files: Constant-tempo MIDI Guitar Pro file

4.1. The "floating" tempo problem

DrumsMIDI calculates the tempo-map frame by frame, so the tempo in our MIDI isn't perfectly even — it slightly "breathes" around an average value (in the example — fluctuating around 66–69 BPM).

For working in a DAW this isn't a problem — the notes sit exactly on the sound. But Guitar Pro handles variable tempo poorly: for every micro-change it places a separate tempo marker, which clutters the tab and makes it hard to read.

To get a clean tab, the project's tempo needs to be leveled to a single constant value before exporting to Guitar Pro.

4.2. Preparing the project for tempo leveling

Take the silence-free project (the result of step 1.3) as the basis. Select the whole project from start to end with the cycle locators.

Note. This works when the song runs at a single tempo. If the tempo in the project changes in parts (for example, the verse at one tempo, the chorus at another), you need to level it segment by segment: successively select each section with a constant tempo-map using the locators and apply tempo leveling to it separately.

4.3. Leveling the tempo to a constant value

  1. Switch the tempo-handling mode to Adapt Tempo (in the transport bar) and enable Flex on the audio tracks — this way the audio will stretch to follow the new constant tempo. Since the original tempo already fluctuates within a narrow corridor around 68, the stretching is minimal and inaudible.
  2. Open the tempo list: the Tempo tab → Options menu → Tempo Operations….
  3. In the Tempo Operations dialog, choose the Create Constant Tempo operation — the Position field fills the range automatically from the locators, and in the Tempo field Logic fills in the averaged value itself (here 68,0114). You can tick Continue with new Tempo. Click Apply.
  4. As a result, the Tempo track becomes a flat line, and a single value for the whole project remains in the tempo list.

4.4. Exporting to Guitar Pro

  1. Select the drum MIDI region and run Export as MIDI File… (⌥⌘E).
  2. Find the saved file in Finder, right-click → Open With → Guitar Pro 7.
  3. In the MIDI Import window, leave the track as Drum Kit, Quantization 1/16, the Tempo toggle On, Time/Key signatures as you wish. Click Import.

4.5. Actualizing the tempo and adjusting the bars

  1. On import, Guitar Pro inserts an extra bar at the very start with the default tempo of 120 BPM, and sets the real tempo (68) only from the second bar.
  2. Place the cursor on this first bar and delete it: the Bar → Delete Bar menu (^−). After deletion, the constant tempo of 68 applies from the first bar. Sometimes you need to quit Guitar Pro and reopen it so the actual tempo of 68 overwrites the default 120.
  3. Adjust the structure to your song: add the needed number of empty bars before the drums come in via Bar → Insert Bar (^+), and delete the extra empty bars at the end via Delete Bar. The result is a clean drum tab at a constant tempo of 68, matching the bars in the DAW.

4.6. Adding other parts

You can add the remaining parts to the resulting Guitar Pro project as separate tracks — for example, bass — and practice bass to the drums or drums to the bass. And once you're ready to play at the real tempo, move to the DAW and play with all the instruments and vocals.