Playing Songs

To play a song that you have purchased and installed, you must first open it in GuitarVision Player:

1.	Click on the File menu.

2.	See if your song is listed in the File menu – most purchased songs will be automatically added to this menu. If it is, simply select it from the list.

3.	Click the Play button.

If your song did not appear in the File menu, you can open it with the Open command:

1.	Click on the File menu.

2.	Select Open.

3.	In the “Look in” list, select the folder location of the song file you want to open. Songs are normally stored in the Songs folder within the GuitarVision program folder (the default program folder is C:\Program Files\vmusicsystems\GuitarVision, but you might have chosen a different location during installation). You can move your songs to any folder you like.

4.	Select the song you want to play.

5.	Click the Play button.

As the song plays, the fretboard displays fingering and other animated graphics to help you learn how to play along. See Playback Animation for details.

To play a short section instead of the entire song, use the Range Controls at the bottom of the window and/or the Start From Event and Stop After Event controls in the Playback Controls window.

To reopen a song you played earlier, click the File menu to open it. The most recently-played songs are displayed in the menu for quick access.


Playback Animation

As a song plays, the fretboard displays fingering and other animations to help you learn how to play along. The animations include:

String color

•	Dark-colored strings are silent.

•	Light-colored strings are plucked:

o	Green indicates an open string (no fingering).

o	White indicates a string with fingering. The fingering is marked with a blue circular finger pad behind the correct fret. The string color gradually darkens as the note fades away.

Fingering

Finger placement is indicated by blue circular finger pads placed behind the correct frets. Fingering can be labeled with letters or numbers. See Fingering Options for details.

Constellation

The Constellation feature places a group of small yellow dots on the fretboard showing placement of all the notes in the section of the song defined by the current range. This allows you to get a sense of the pattern of fingerings that will play out for that portion of the music. This feature is most effective when used with small ranges; otherwise, too many dots will appear to be useful. Click the Constellation button to toggle Constellation on and off.

Special Fingering Techniques

Bend: The string is pulled laterally across the fretboard, causing the note to rise in pitch.  A bend is represented visually by a bend in the string and a letter inside the finger pad indicating the size of the bend:

Letter	Size	Raises pitch by
Q	Quarter	¼ note
H	Half	½ note
F	Full	1 note
F+	Full Plus	1½ notes
Hammer-On: A technique in which a finger is tapped down hard and rapidly on an already-played string, so that a second, higher note is produced without plucking. A hammer-on is visually represented by a yellow line arcing from the placement of the first finger to the placement of the second finger.

Pull-off: A technique in which the finger is lifted immediately after the string is plucked, so that a lower note is produced. A pull-off is represented graphically by the first finger bead disappearing from the fretboard, and a yellow line arcing to the placement of the second note.

Slide: In a slide, the finger slides up or down the fretboard while continuously holding the string down, so that the note rises or lowers in pitch. A slide is represented visually by movement of the finger bead and a change in the length of colored string.

Vibrato: When the finger pad moves back and forth rapidly as a note sounds, it indicates vibrato, a technique that produces a slightly wavering tone.

Zoom

You can choose to view the entire guitar neck or to zoom in on the part of the neck where notes are currently being played. To set the zoom level:

1.	Click the View menu.

2.	Choose Zoom.

3.	Select Full Guitar Neck or Partial Guitar Neck.


Fingering Options

As a song plays, blue circular finger pads appear on the fretboard indicating where to place your fingers to play the notes. Fingering can be indicated with letters or numbers:

Finger	Letter	Number
Index	i	1
Middle	m	2
Ring	r	3
Pinky	p	4
Thumb	T	T
To change the fingering option:

1. Open the View menu.

2. Choose Fingering.

3. Choose either Letters or Numbers.


Updating GuitarVision Player

To make sure you have the latest version of GuitarVision Player, click the Check Updates button near the top of the GuitarVision Player window:

If the Check Updates button does not appear in your version of GuitarVision Player, click on the View menu and choose Toolbar to display the toolbar buttons.

Clicking the Check Updates button opens the GuitarVision web site, which contains information and downloads of the latest version of GuitarVision Player. Your computer must have an active internet connection in order to use the Check Updates feature.


Buying Songs

Before buying songs, you must first register your copy of GuitarVision Player. This is for copyright protection of songs. Each song you order is encrypted with a unique key so it can be played only by your copy of GuitarVision Player. To register:

1.	Open the File menu.

2.	Choose Register.

3.	Follow the instructions in the Registration dialog box.

To purchase songs, click the Buy Songs button near the top of the GuitarVision Player window:

If the Buy Songs button does not appear in your version of GuitarVision Player, click on the View menu and choose Toolbar to display the toolbar buttons.

Clicking the Buy Songs button will open a web page where you can shop for songs. The web site contains more details about purchasing options. Your computer must be connected to the internet to purchase songs.

Please note that all GuitarVision songs are encrypted for copyright protection. This means that songs you purchase can be played only on the version of GuitarVision Player installed and registered on your computer. If the songs are copied to a different computer, they will not play.


Encryption and Copyright Protection

All GuitarVision songs are encrypted for copyright protection. This means that songs you purchase can be played only on the version of GuitarVision Player installed and registered on your computer. If the songs are copied to a different computer, they will not play.

You must register your version of GuitarVision Player to be able to play GuitarVision songs. This is because encryption is based on a unique key that is different for every GuitarVision user. Each time you purchase a song, it is encrypted in a way that only your version of GuitarVision Player can read.

To register, open the File menu and choose Register.


Playback Controls

The Playback Controls window contains the Play, Stop, Tempo, and other options that control playback of songs. If you’re not sure what a button in the Playback Controls window does, hold the mouse cursor over the button (without clicking), and text will pop up explaining the button’s function. If you prefer to use the keyboard to access the controls, keyboard shortcuts are provided in the Controls menu.

If the Playback Controls window does not appear in your version of GuitarVision Player, click on the View menu and choose Controls to display the Playback Controls window.

Continuous playback

	Play: Starts playback of the current song.
	Pause: Suspends playback after the current event. When Play is selected again, playback resumes from the next event (rather than from the beginning of the song or range).
	Stop: Stops playback and resets to the start of the song or range.
	Loop: Plays selected range repeatedly. When playback reaches the end of the song or range, it starts over from the beginning. Loop remains on even if the range is changed. To turn looping off, click the Loop button again.

Note-by-note playback

	Previous Event: Plays the event previous to the current event. Allows you to step backwards through a song note-by-note.
	Current Event: Plays the current event.
	Next Event: Plays the note after the current event. Allows you to step through a section note-by-note.
To use the note-by-note playback controls in the middle of a song, first click Pause (instead of Stop). The Stop button resets playback to the beginning of the song.

Other controls

Start From Event and Stop After Event: These controls select the range when you don’t want to play the entire song. Use them when you want to focus on a short section of music. The range can also be set using the graphical range controls near the bottom of the GuitarVision Player window. To help determine which event numbers you want to play, see the Event Counter in the lower-right corner of the GuitarVision Player window.

	Constellation: The Constellation feature places a group of small yellow dots on the fretboard showing all the fingerings in the section of the song defined by the current range. This allows you to get a sense of the pattern of fingerings that will play out for that portion of the music. This feature is most effective when used with small ranges; otherwise, too many dots will appear to be useful. Click the Constellation button to toggle Constellation on and off.
Tempo: Drag the slider to the right to speed up the tempo, or to the left to slow down the tempo. The marker in the middle of the slider indicate the original tempo of the song.

Volume: Drag the slider to the right for louder playback, or to the left for quieter playback. Your Windows volume control and speaker volume control also affect the volume of playback – check both of these settings if the volume is not loud enough.


Song Info Window

The Song Info window displays tuning, chord, and other information about the song.

"N.C." means no chord is associated with the part of the song being played.

Occasionally, chord changes appear in the Song Info window even when nothing is playing on the fretboard. This happens when the chords of the song change during a rest in the individual guitar part. For songs that have multiple guitar parts (usually rhythm and lead), usually the other guitar part is playing during this time.

To hide or display the Song Info window, open the View menu and choose Song Info.


Pick View Window

The Pick View window shows the direction that the pick moves across the strings, either Up or Down.

To hide or display the Pick View window, open the View menu and choose Pick View.


Range Controls and Progress Bar

The progress bar runs across the bottom of the GuitarVision Player window and looks something like a ruler. As a song plays, progress is indicated in green.

The range controls are the triangular green markers that control where playback starts and stops, allowing you to play a short segment of a song instead of the whole song. These graphical range controls coordinate with the Start From Event and Stop After Event controls in the Playback Controls window (explained below), giving you two ways to set the range, depending on the kind of precision you need.

By default, the range includes the entire song. To change the range, drag the Start or End indicator to a new location. For instance, if you want to play only the first part of a song, click on the right-most triangle (the End indicator) and drag it to the left, closer to the Start indicator. After you've mastered the first part of the song, drag the Start and End indicators to the right to select a new range.

Note that if you move the Start indicator while a song is playing, the song does not immediately stop or reset to the new location. This allows you to use the Start indicator to mark places along the moving progress bar that you want to return later. Playback will begin from the new Start location the next time playback starts over (when playback loops or when you next click Play).

Start From Event and Stop After Event Controls

To specify ranges on a note-by-note basis, use the Start From Event and Stop After Event controls in the Playback Controls window. These controls let you specify the range precisely by event numbers:

Use the Event Counter in the lower-right corner of the GuitarVision Player window to determine the event numbers of the notes you want to play:

Remember that if you change the start of the range while a song is playing, the song does not immediately stop or reset to the new location. Playback will begin from the new Start location the next time playback starts over (when playback loops or when you next click Play).


Frequently Asked Questions

Questions about...

... fretboard animations

Why do strings sometimes appear green?

What does a yellow arc above the fretboard mean?

What do the letters i, m, r, p, and T on the fretboard mean?

What do the letters Q, H, F, and F+ on the fretboard mean?

The fretboard appears too small - how do I zoom in?

... other items in the GuitarVision Player window

What do the green triangles and the "ruler" at the bottom of the window do?

A window/control/toolbar is missing - where did it go?

... obtaining and playing songs

How do I obtain songs?

Why won't my song play on a different computer?

How do I play one note at a time?

How do I play a short segment of a song instead of the whole thing?

What's the difference between Stop and Pause?

What is an "event"?

... installing to a different computer

I got a new computer, but my songs won't play on it. How do I re-enable them?

... registering

My email address changed. Why shouldn't I re-register? What should I do?

I got a "Registration Failed" error with no explanation given. What does it mean?

... troubleshooting

Playback is not steady. What can I do to improve it?

My speakers are on, but there's no sound from GuitarVision Player. What's wrong?

My friend’s version sounds like a real guitar, but mine doesn’t. Why not?

How do I make sure I have the latest version of GuitarVision Player?

I get an error while registering. What should I do?


Playing One Note at a Time

To learn a song one note at a time, use the note-by-note playback buttons in the Playback Controls window:

	Previous Event: Plays the event previous to the current event. Allows you to step backwards through a song note-by-note. The keyboard shortcut is , (comma).
	Current Event: Plays the current event. The keyboard shortcut is / (forward slash).
	Next Event: Plays the event after the current event. Allows you to step through a section note-by-note. The keyboard shortcut is . (period).
To use these controls in the middle of a song, first click Pause (instead of Stop). The Stop button resets playback to the beginning of the song. The Pause button pauses playback in the middle of the song.


Demo Song

Clicking the Play Demo button near the top of the window begins playback of a demo song:

If the Play Demo button does not appear in your version of GuitarVision Player, click on the View menu and choose Toolbar to display the toolbar buttons.

The demo is not a complete song, but it is fully-functional, giving you a chance to explore GuitarVision’s features and animations before purchasing songs. Just click Play Demo to start playback of the demo song. Use the Playback Controls and other features as you would with any other song.

If you like what you see and hear in the demo song, click the Buy Songs button to purchase complete songs.


Toolbar

The toolbar appears near the top of the GuitarVision Player window:

The buttons include Play Demo, Buy Songs, GuitarSchool.net, and Check Updates.

To increase the screen area for guitar animation, you can hide the toolbar:

1. Open the View menu.

2. Choose Toolbar.

To re-display the toolbar later, repeat the above steps.


Guitarschool.net

The Guitarschool.net button in the toolbar opens the GuitarSchool web site in your browser. (You must have an active Internet connection for the GuitarSchool.net button to work.)

The Guitarschool.net web site offers more resources to support your guitar playing, including video lessons, product reviews, technical support, and community forums.


View Menu

The View menu allows you to choose which windows and features are visible at any time. You can hide features when you want to focus on just the guitar, then re-display features later when you need them.

The first five View menu choices allow you to alternately show and hide the following items:

Toolbar: The row of gray rectangular buttons near top of window

Status bar: Gray text across bottom of window. The left-hand corner describes the current status of the selected feature and identifies controls when you hold the mouse cursor over the control. The right-hand corner contains the Bar/Beat Indicator and Event Counter.

Controls: The Playback Controls window (Play, Stop, Pause, etc.)

Pick View: The Pick View window

Song Info: The Song Info window (chords and tunings)

The other View menu choices allow you to customize display of the fretboard:

Fingering: Choose whether fingerings are indicated by letters or numbers, and toggle Constellation on and off

Zoom: Choose Full Guitar Neck to display the full neck at all times, or Partial Guitar Neck for a closer view of the fretboard. With the Partial Guitar Neck option, the display shifts up and down the fretboard as the fingerings move from one section to another. Red numbers along the side of the fretboard allow you to locate the correct frets even when the ends of the neck are not visible.


Bar/Beat Indicator and Event Counter

The Bar/Beat Indicator and Event Counter are located in the lower-right corner of the GuitarVision Player window. They display the bar, beat, and event number of each note. (An event is a note, chord change, rest, special technique such as pull-off or slide, or other occurrence that GuitarVision Player keeps track of and that you can use to find your place in a song.)

If the Bar/Beat Indicator and Event Counter do not appear in your version of GuitarVision Player, click on the View menu and choose Status Bar to display the status bar along the bottom of the Player window.

The above example shows that the 18th event of the song occurs during the 4th beat of the 3rd bar. You can use the event numbers to set the Start From Event and Stop After Event controls to learn difficult passages.

Most songs have 4 beats per bar. However, each beat can contain several events, one event, or no events at all.


Performance Troubleshooting

If playback is not steady, the following items can affect performance:

Applications working in background: Applications that perform memory-intensive tasks in the background can temporarily disrupt GuitarVision Player. If you have applications that perform tasks in the background (such as an email application that automatically checks for new messages at regular intervals or browser windows that automatically refresh), you might want to close them while running GuitarVision Player. (Applications that are open but not performing any memory-intensive tasks should not affect GuitarVision Player.)

Color depth: If your screen displays the maximum number of colors, it can use up a lot of memory during animated playback. High color depth is not necessary when running GuitarVision Player. Reducing the color depth to a medium setting (16-bit or 65,000 colors) can significantly improve performance. To change the color depth:

1.	Open the Windows Control Panel.

2.	Click on Display to open the Display Properties control panel.

3.	Click the Settings tab.

4.	In the list labeled Colors or Color Quality, select the option one level below the current setting. On most systems, 16-bit color is a good choice, ensuring both good performance and good picture quality.

See Windows Help or the documentation that came with your video card for more information about display options supported by your computer.

Screen resolution: High screen resolutions also require a lot of memory during animated playback. If reducing the color depth does not improve performance, you can also reduce the screen resolution. This option is less desirable, however, because it will affect the picture quality of your display. To change the resolution, follow the same steps as above to open the Settings tab of the Display Properties control panel. Reduce the screen resolution slider (sometimes called screen area) to one level below its current setting.


Footswitch

To keep your hands free for playing guitar, you can optionally connect a footswitch to your computer and use it to control playback of songs. The footswitch can either start and pause playback, or it can play one note at a time.

You’ll need an adapter to connect the footswitch to your computer’s game port. For information on how to obtain an adapter, send email to adapter@guitarvision.com.

Both latching and non-latching footswitches work with GuitarVision Player. Tested models include the Boss FS-5U footswitch (non-latching) and the Boss FS-5L (latching). Other brands and models should work as well, although they have not been fully tested.

To configure a footswitch for use with GuitarVision Player:

1.	Obtain a footswitch and an adapter.

2.	Connect the adapter to the game port of your computer. (The game port is marked on some computers with a joystick icon. Refer to the documentation that came with your computer if you can’t locate the game port.)

3.	Connect the footswitch cable to the adapter.

4.	If Windows does not automatically detect the new device, open Windows Control Panel and click on Game Controllers. Click the Add button and then click OK. (This selects the default game controller type, which is “2-axis, 2-button joystick.” The footswitch is not a joystick, but these settings do work to enable the footswitch.)

5.	Click OK to close the Game Controllers control panel.

6.	Open GuitarVision Player and load a song. Tapping the footswitch should now work to alternately play and pause the song.

To choose which function the footswitch should perform:

1.	Open the Controls menu.

2.	Choose Footswitch.

3.	Select the Play/Pause option (footswitch toggles Play and Pause) or the Next Note option (footswitch works like the Play Next Event button).


Sound Card MIDI Support

If you do not hear sound from GuitarVision Player

GuitarVision Player’s sound is produced via the MIDI synthesizer built into most sound cards. Usually only high-end sound cards intended for use with external synthesizers would not include a built-in MIDI synthesizer.

If you do not hear any sound from GuitarVision Player, first make sure your computer can produce other sounds (such as standard system alerts or music played in another application). This will verify that your speakers and sound card are working.

If you hear sounds from other applications but not from GuitarVision Player, it might be that a MIDI synthesizer is not supported by your sound card or is disabled in the sound card's control panel. To verify that MIDI is supported and enabled for your sound card, follow these steps:

Windows 98

1. Open Windows Control Panel.

2. Open the Multimedia control panel.

3. Click on the MIDI tab.

4. In most cases, the Single Instrument radio button will be selected, and the name of an audio device will appear directly below. If one of the listed devices contains "Synth" in the name and is not already selected, choose it. (If no devices are listed, your sound card does not include a MIDI synthesizer. Contact your sound card manufacturer for information about obtaining a sound card that supports MIDI.)

5. Click OK to save the change to the control panel.

6. Open the Volume control (located in the taskbar by default). Under the Synthesizer and Volume Control sections, make sure that the "Mute" checkboxes are unchecked and that the volume controls are not all the way down.

Windows 2000 and XP

1. Open Windows Control Panel.

2. Open the control panel called either Sounds and Multimedia (Windows 2000) or Sounds and Audio Devices (Windows XP).

3. Click on the Audio tab.

4. The section called "MIDI music playback" includes a drop-down list of audio devices. If one of the listed devices contains "Synth" in the name and is not already selected, choose it. (If no devices are listed, your sound card does not include a MIDI synthesizer. Contact your sound card manufacturer for information about obtaining a sound card that supports MIDI.)

5. Click the Volume button. Under the Synthesizer and Volume Control sections, make sure that the "Mute" checkboxes are unchecked and that the volume controls are not all the way down.

6. Click OK to save the change to the control panel.

If you haven't restarted your computer since installing GuitarVision Player, restart now. Otherwise, after completing the above steps, try playing a song in GuitarVision Player. If you still do not hear any sound, but can produce sounds with other applications, contact techsupport@guitarvision.com.

If playback does not sound like a real guitar

MIDI synthesizers, like all synthesizers, can produce tones that sound like a variety of different instruments, from pianos to tubas to drums to (of course!) steel-string guitars. However, the quality of this sound depends on your model of sound card – some sound more realistic, some sound more artificial. Some might be able to produce a realistic flute or organ sound, but not a realistic guitar. As a result, the same song might sound quite different when played through two different sound cards.


Registration Troubleshooting

Registration is essential for playing GuitarVision songs. All songs are encrypted for copyright protection, and you will not be able to play them on an unregistered copy of GuitarVision Player.

If you attempt to register your copy of GuitarVision Player but receive an error message, the error message will include a reason for the failure. For instance, the message might say:

Could not register yourname@yourisp.com. Reason: User already exists.

Most reasons should be self-explanatory (for instance, if the passwords do not match or if fields are left blank). A few special cases are described below:

No reason given

If no text appears after "Reason:", it means that your computer did not succeed in connecting to the GuitarVision server. If this happens, first make sure that your internet connection is active, for instance by using your web browser or other internet application. If your internet connection is working properly, send an email message to techsupport@guitarvision.com for help getting registered.

Reinstalling on the same computer

If you uninstall GuitarVision Player then reinstall it later, your registration will still be current and your songs will still play. You do not have to re-register (in fact you will be prevented from doing so, because re-registering would overwrite your encryption key and disable your songs). If you have any trouble playing songs after reinstalling GuitarVision Player, send email to techsupport@guitarvision.com.

Re-registration from a different computer

If you previously registered a copy of GuitarVision Player, and then attempt to re-register from a different computer using the same email address, you will see a "User already exists" message. If you are re-registering because you installed GuitarVision Player to a different computer, send email to techsupport@guitarvision.com to receive an encryption key that will work with the songs you’ve already purchased. Re-registering by itself will not allow you to play your current songs.

If your email address changes

If your email address changes, you should not re-register! Simply send email to techsupport@guitarvision.com asking us to update your email address. If you re-register using a different email address, the songs you already own will be disabled and will no longer play. If this happens, the technical support department can provide you with a new encryption key that will work with your existing songs.


Contacting GuitarVision

For technical support, send email to techsupport@guitarvision.com.

For information about adapters for footswitches, send email to adapter@guitarvision.com

For general information, send email to info@guitarvision.com.