For those unfamiliar with the concept of Guitar Hero, it’s a game that can be played on consoles that asks players to tap out notes on a plastic guitar (or controller) to the rhythm of the song. When you miss a note, you are notified and lose points, but when you get notes correct, especially in a row, you get bonus points. Now if you wanted something similar in real life, an app for the iPad called TabRider might be of interest to you. Making use of the microphone built into the iPad, the app will be able to “listen” to what you’re playing and let you know when you have missed a note. Players will be able to jam along to some tunes, mapped out in tablature form, and get rated based on how accurate their playing is.
The app supports both acoustic and electric guitars, with electric guitars having the option of being plugged directly into the iPad via an adapter. The app itself is free, surprisingly, and from what we see it looks pretty decent. Granted it’s not as flashy as Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but for guitarists hoping to improve their skills, this is an app worth checking out. According to the developers, they are in negotiations with publishing companies in hopes to include more songs in their app, but in the meantime you can download it for free from the iTunes App Store.