Install & Setup Guide

From download to your first session — in about ten minutes.

GuitarTrainer works with gear most guitarists already have or can add inexpensively:

• A Windows 10 or Windows 11 computer with an available USB port.
• An audio interface (DI) capable of a 48 kHz sample rate. The Behringer UM2 (~$50) is a reliable budget option; the Focusrite Scarlett Solo (~$120) is a step up. If your interface already works with a DAW on Windows, it will work here with no extra configuration.
• An electric guitar with passive magnetic pickups, or an acoustic guitar fitted with a passive magnetic pickup, and a standard ¼" instrument cable.
• Audio output — built-in speakers, headphones, or monitors.
• An internet connection for the download and the one-time license activation only. Everything else runs offline.

1. On auropticgt.com, click Download the Free Trial. The file GuitarTrainer_Setup.exe saves to your Downloads folder.
2. Open your Downloads folder and double-click GuitarTrainer_Setup.exe.
3. If Windows shows a blue "Windows protected your PC" screen, that's expected for a newly published app — see the note below.
4. Follow the installer prompts and accept the License Agreement to continue.
5. Launch GuitarTrainer when the install finishes.

1. Connect your audio interface to your computer with its USB cable.
2. Plug your guitar into the interface's instrument input using a standard ¼" cable.
3. Make sure your guitar is tuned to standard A440 tuning.

If your interface has a Hi-Z (instrument) input, use it — it's designed to match the high output impedance of guitar pickups and gives the cleanest signal. A standard line-level input also works if needed.

This is the most important part, and it takes a minute. In GuitarTrainer, confirm each of the following:

1. Input device — at the top, confirm the listed input is your audio interface (not a microphone or other device).
2. Sample rate — confirm it reads 48000 Hz (shown lower-right). If your interface offers a choice, use the Sample Rate button to open Windows Sound settings and set it to 48000 Hz.
3. Output device — confirm the output at the top is something other than your interface (your speakers or headphones).
4. Master volume — set it low to start (see the safety note below), then raise it gradually to a comfortable level.
5. Verify your guitar registers — play a note and confirm it shows in the Guitar Input meter at the top.
6. Set input gain — adjust the gain on your interface so the signal meter shows a healthy but comfortable minimum.
7. Disable other inputs — you should see no response in the Guitar Input window from your voice or room noise. If you do, click the Input Device selector, turn off any microphones so the interface is the only active input, and close the window.

1. Choose a key (C Major is a good start), a difficulty, and a fret range. The fret window divides your chosen range into focused zones; you can accept the default number of trials per zone or set your own.
2. Press Enter or click the red Start button to begin.
3. The program plays your target note, names it, and gives the string and fret (string 1 is the thinnest, string 6 the thickest) to orient your hand and ear.
4. Play the note. When you match it, you'll hear a chord — confirmation you found it — and see the chord name and the note you played.
5. After the first match, the program plays a new note and withholds its details until you find it. Stuck? Hints appear in four levels: a replay; replay plus the interval from the previous note; replay plus the note's scale position; and replay plus the string and fret.
6. When you exhaust a zone, the program plays the scale as a cue to shift focus to the next zone. When all zones are done, the session ends and your review appears — average and best time to match, the character of each match, and a breakdown by note, string, fret, zone, and interval. You can export the session as a JSON file for your own records or analysis.

The free trial runs in Beginner difficulty across frets 0–5, up to 10 trials per zone, for 10 sessions — enough to feel exactly how it works before you decide.

You can purchase and activate any time — the trial simply lets you try before you buy. After ten sessions, a license key is required to continue.

1. Click: Buy GuitarTrainer to purchase a license. You'll receive a 16-character key on screen and by email.
2. Click the Activate License button in the toolbar at the top of the program.
3. Paste your key and click Activate. A one-time internet connection is required for this step.
4. That's it — the program unlocks immediately. No reinstall, and your session history is preserved.

The program thinks my guitar is a half-step sharp

This is almost always a sample-rate mismatch. GuitarTrainer needs your interface set to 48 kHz. Click the Sample Rate button to open Windows Sound settings, select your interface, and confirm it's 48000 Hz on both the Recording and Playback tabs.

My notes aren't registering at all

Confirm your interface is the selected input device at the top, that your guitar is plugged in and the interface's gain is up, and that the cable is seated. If you're using a Behringer UM2, use channel 1 — see below.

My Behringer UM2 doesn't work on channel 2

This is a known Windows driver behavior. The UM2 presents its two inputs as a single stereo pair, and GuitarTrainer — like most Windows audio apps — reads the left channel, which is channel 1. Plug your guitar into channel 1.

It's picking up my voice or room noise

A microphone is active as an input. Click the Input Device selector, turn off any microphones so your interface is the only active input, and close the window.

How can I hear my electric guitar better while practicing?

Often the simplest answer is to just listen to your guitar acoustically — in a quiet room it's usually loud enough to follow along. If you'd rather monitor through your speakers, Windows has a built-in option: click Sample Rate to open Windows Sound settings, go to the Recording tab, right-click your interface → Properties → Listen tab → check "Listen to this device" → choose your speakers → Apply.

Note: some interfaces interfere with note detection while monitoring is active. If notes stop registering reliably, turn monitoring off. A slight reverb-like latency with the Windows Listen option is normal.