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Learn and Play Classic Rock Guitar 
by Greg Lundblade

product boxI have had the privilege as an Alamo PC member of reviewing various software packages over several years, but I've never had as much fun as I had reviewing UbiSoft's Learn and Play Classic Rock Guitar, volume 1 CD.

 This multi-media CD is set up for anyone with basic computer skills and basic to intermediate guitar skills. A beginner could use this CD to build his basic skills. Even a person who can only play the stereo would have fun with this one. There are module add-ons for this program that enable the player to practice other songs. As of the writing of this review there was not any other "styles" (country, classical, etc.) available.1

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The player can choose one of eight songs at the opening screen. The selection from volume I is: "Hey Joe (Hendrix), No Woman No Cry, Life By The Drop, Sweet Home Alabama, Dust In The Wind, Blowin In The Wind, Wild World, Blackbird." At each song's main menu the player can tune his ax either by clicking on the guitar headstock and hearing the reference tone and making the appropriate adjustments, or by clicking on the red toggle switch and plugging his guitar into the back of your sound card in order to digitally tune the instrument. My Barcus Berry acoustic pickup worked well with this feature. You can adjust the volume of your speakers by clicking and moving the Stratocaster style volume control at any screen in this program.

 The player now chooses one of four categories: Music, Lessons, Chords, Words. The music category is where the player will hear the song in its entirety while the chord diagrams are shown and the exact place on the sheet music is pointed out. (Very slick and cool). In the Lesson section the player finds all the lessons for the song broken down into easy to follow exercises that you can work through at your own pace. It is not difficult to leave the program and pick up your lessons where you left off at a later time. You can start with whatever lesson you want to and move on to other lessons in any order. The recommended order is well laid out. The Chords section gives the player all of the chords for the song he has chosen. It also shows the corresponding notation. The Words section presents all of the lyrics for each song.

 There are some other handy features available on this program. There are button icons resembling the buttons on a tape player. These controls will play, stop, rewind, fast-forward, and loop the music. The loop feature will play the song or the highlighted section of a song over and over again so that you may practice and play along. The Navigation Bar allows the player to hear and see the section of the music that has been highlighted by the player. This program was designed with a guitar player's needs and wants in mind. He or she does not have to be a computer wiz to get this program to fly.
 
 

SUMMARY

Learn and Play Classic Rock Guitar is a helpful and entertaining program for the motivated novice guitarist or even for the proficient guitar pickers. It is easy to use. The on-screen images of hands moving along the neck of the guitar and the close-up views of the fingers strumming or picking some of the difficult notes are helpful. The notes and the sound are of course synchronized to the music and the filmed images of the hands. The only thing this program was lacking was the ability to slow down the music and the hand movement to the user's needs. I had some difficulty finding copies of it available in the stores and obtaining info on street prices. It is worth the money for the motivated learner. Ad-ons to this program are planned. On a scale of one to five I give Learn and Play Classic Rock Guitar four and a half jalapenos. Play on, and enjoy!

1Webmaster's Note: Volume 2, scheduled for release in March, 1997, features songs by Lennon and McCartney, including : Yesterday, Michelle, Across The Universe, Norwegian Wood, Let It Be, You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away and Blackbird.