Guitar Pro vs mySongBook: what each purchase includes
Guitar Pro and mySongBook work together, but they sell different things. Guitar Pro is the desktop score editor and player for local supported files; mySongBook is a separate subscription to a licensed catalogue of professionally prepared scores.
The practical answer
Buy Guitar Pro when you need to create and edit local scores; subscribe to mySongBook when you want access to its catalogue. One purchase does not automatically include the other.
Guitar Pro buys editing software
A Guitar Pro 8 licence unlocks the desktop application’s score creation, notation, tablature, arrangement, playback, import, and export tools. You can open supported local Guitar Pro, MIDI, ASCII, MusicXML, PowerTab, and TablEdit files, then edit or save according to the format and source rights.
The programme includes a few example scores, not an all-you-can-play commercial song library. Free files found elsewhere vary in accuracy and legal status, and the application licence does not turn them into official editions.
mySongBook buys catalogue access
mySongBook is Arobas Music’s online sheet-music service. Its scores are presented as certified, legally licensed arrangements created by teachers and professionals. Current access to the general catalogue requires an active subscription rather than a Guitar Pro licence.
Subscribers can open titles inside Guitar Pro, play them, change tempo, loop passages, mute tracks, and use fretboard or keyboard displays. The service controls the catalogue content and access; it is not equivalent to downloading an unrestricted editable .gp archive.
You can use the mySongBook player without buying the editor
Guitar Pro 8 begins with a seven-day full-feature trial. Official mySongBook support says that after the trial expires, the application can continue as a free player for purchased mySongBook titles or an active subscription. You therefore do not need a paid Guitar Pro editor licence merely to play subscription scores.
The free-player path does not restore the full score-editing feature set after the trial. Choose the desktop licence when creating, changing, exporting, or managing your own editable scores is the actual requirement.
Understand purchases, subscriptions, and access
Titles purchased under mySongBook’s former credit system remain accessible in Guitar Pro 8, according to current support guidance, even without an active subscription. Old remaining credits can still be used until exhausted, but new general catalogue access is subscription-based.
Do not assume every title can be saved as an ordinary local file, fully edited, or retained after subscription access ends. Check current service rules for download, printing, mobile use, and offline availability before subscribing for a specific workflow; these terms are more time-sensitive than local-file features.
Choose from the job you need to do
Choose Guitar Pro when your main work is writing tabs, correcting arrangements, importing files, creating exercises, or exporting audio and scores. Choose mySongBook when your priority is a convenient catalogue of licensed, professionally prepared songs with practice controls.
Some musicians reasonably use both: the subscription for reliable repertoire and the editor for original material and local files. Budget them as separate products, use the same account credentials where required, and confirm current prices and catalogue availability directly before purchase.
Common questions
Sources and review notes
Product details were checked against the official sources below on 10 August 2026. Offers and software details can change, so confirm current terms before buying.