Free online GTP to MXL converter

A Guitar Pro score may need conversion when another notation program, archive, or publishing workflow accepts MusicXML rather than the older Guitar Pro format. MXL is the compressed MusicXML form, so it preserves editable notation while reducing file size.

What the GTP format is

.gtp is an older native Guitar Pro tablature format used for guitar, bass, and other fretted-instrument scores. It stores standard notation, tablature, tuning, rhythms, articulations, repeats, lyrics, track settings, and playback information. Guitar Pro created these files, and older Guitar Pro releases are the programs most likely to produce them; current releases may open them only through backward-compatible import.

GTP is a proprietary binary format rather than a general interchange standard. Music notation applications may therefore need Guitar Pro or a compatible importer before the score can be exported to another format.

What the MXL format is

.mxl is compressed MusicXML. MusicXML represents editable musical notation in a documented interchange format supported by applications such as MuseScore, Dorico, Finale, Sibelius, and other scoring software.

MXL is useful for exchanging scores between notation programs and for archiving because it is normally much smaller than uncompressed .musicxml or .xml. It contains notation data, not rendered audio; opening it in a compatible score editor is required to view or modify the music.

How to convert GTP to MXL

Using Guitar Pro

1. Open the .gtp file in Guitar Pro. If the current release cannot read it, try a release with support for the file’s Guitar Pro generation, then save the score in a newer native format if necessary.
2. Check the imported score, especially tuning, measures, voices, tuplets, repeats, bends, slides, harmonics, and track instruments.
3. Choose File → Export → MusicXML. Depending on the Guitar Pro version, the export may produce .musicxml or .xml rather than .mxl.
4. If the exporter offers compressed MusicXML, select .mxl directly. Otherwise, open the exported MusicXML file in MuseScore and choose File → Export, then select compressed MusicXML or the .mxl format.

Using MuseScore

1. Install a MuseScore version whose import dialog supports Guitar Pro files, then choose File → Open and select the .gtp file.
2. Review the imported notation and correct any measures or techniques that were not interpreted correctly.
3. Choose File → Export and select compressed MusicXML, usually shown with the .mxl extension. If only ordinary MusicXML is available, export that file and use a newer MuseScore release for the final MXL export.

Using the online converter

You can convert the file on 101convert.com for free without installing software: upload the .gtp file, choose MXL as the output, run the conversion, and download the resulting file. Open the result in a MusicXML-compatible notation program to verify it.

Quality and compatibility limitations

MusicXML does not represent every Guitar Pro playback or notation feature identically. Custom effects, guitar-specific bends, grace-note behavior, percussion mappings, sound-bank settings, automation, and layout details can change or disappear. Guitar Pro files containing multiple voices, complex repeats, or nested tuplets require manual checking after export.

Do not change the filename extension from .gtp to .mxl; that does not convert the binary data. Likewise, an uncompressed .musicxml file is not automatically MXL merely because it contains MusicXML. Use an exporter that creates the compressed MusicXML package, then validate the result by reopening it in the target application.