Have you ever noticed that when something repeatedly comes up in your life, you either have to embrace it or take drastic action to avoid it? For me, it's Donny Osmond.
You see, I was given enough DNA to look vaguely like Donny Osmond (that's me, left). Women have been attracted to me because of it, men ask me about my purple socks, and I sometimes get stopped in public for autographs.
Stranger: "Hey, wow, aren't you Donny Osmond?"
Me: "No, I'm not."
Stranger: "Aw c'mon, yes you are."
Me: Sigh.
I once visited the lookout area on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, and a woman stopped me to ask if I was His Donniness. When I said I wasn't, she refused to believe me. So I showed her my ID, to which she responded: "You celebrities carry fake ID." I should have showed her my belly. Donny doesn't have a belly. Now there is a point to all this. You see, besides the belly, there is one more difference between me and Donny. He can play a musical instrument, specifically a guitar. So when my editor, Dave Bunnell, asked, "Want to learn how to play the guitar for your next article?" I said, "Hook me up, Jerry!" (Dave once had a Jerry Garcia gray ponytail thing going on.)
So the guitar, called the Fretlight from Optek Music Systems, showed up at my home, and I unpacked it and strummed it smugly. "I can be a little bit rock ‘n roll," I said to my cats. They ignored me.
The Fretlight is a full-on electric guitar, with a twist. It is also computer-enabled, so you can learn to play it easily. Instead of a single cable that goes from the instrument to the practice amplifier, it has two. One goes to the amplifier as expected. The second ends in a USB connector which, if you're a little geeky, you know plugs into a computer.
The guitar comes with software that works on a computer using either Windows XP or Windows Vista. It also works on a Mac which runs the operating system OS X. (An operating system is the programming that runs the computer.) If your Windows or Mac computer is less than five years old, then it's very likely that it uses one of these operating systems.
If this techie stuff feels a bit overwhelming, don't despair. The guitar comes with a really well-designed and easy-to-understand DVD tutorial you can play on your television. The disc shows you how to set up the Fretlight guitar, how to install computer-based lessons on your computer, and how to use some of the included bonus programs to help you develop your rock star skills.
The lessons start with the parts of the guitar, how to hold it, and how to tune it. By lesson 30, you're being taught chord progressions, which are a series of finger placements on the neck that can be played in sequence. (Think Stevie Ray Vaughan's sliding fingers here.)
The big wow factor, however, is a series of lights embedded in the guitar's neck. These are used in the interactive lessons to show you where to put your fingers as you learn to play. This feature is very effective, but it really stands out when you're using a program called the M-Player. This program (which comes on the Fretlight CD with a 15-day trial) teaches you the chords for songs you want to learn. As it plays the song, it lights up the frets (the ridges on the guitar's neck), so you know where to put your fingers.
There's also a tempo control, which allows you to play the song slowly, so you can match your finger placements to the lights at a comfortable speed. The CD comes with several other programs that will enhance your use of your Fretlight guitar. However, they are only 15-day trials, which is a little frustrating.
There are a couple of other downsides. The lesson pack included with the guitar is a bit intimidating. The text is small and dense, and the program design isn't particularly appealing. You'll have to scroll through reams of text to get through a single lesson. The audio samples embedded in the text also require several clicks to get them to play (I discovered this on my Windows Vista computer), which will irritate some and confuse others. A full-on redesign of this software will go a long way to increase its appeal among a non-techie audience. Optek needs to address simplicity of use, create bite-sized lessons, and develop a cleaner design that's easier on bifocal-enhanced eyes.
Shortcomings aside, the Fretlight technology is an ingenious way to learn to play the guitar. If you've ever wanted to indulge your inner Buddy Holly (or Jerry Garcia, Paul McCartney, or whomever you like), then take a good look at the Fretlight technology. You'll need some determination and a bit of computer geekiness to get it to work for you, but I can't think of a better way to learn guitar unless Eddie Van Halen uses your hot tub.
The Fretlight comes in a variety of packages, which can include guitar, cables, software, DVD and various accessories. Pricing runs $449.95 for the acoustic starter kit through $1,049.95 for the PRO Electric package. The software titles and extra lesson packs run between $15.95 and $59.95 each. Songs configured for the M-Player cost $4.99 to $5.99 each. You may also need a practice amplifier. Optek sells those for $129. You can learn more at fretlight.com [1].
You also get to choose your style of guitars. Choices include acoustic, standard electric, vintage electric, and pro Electric. There's no Donny Osmond kit—but then again, if you are like me, you can buy your own purple socks.
Andy Walker is a contributing editor for ELDR. Visit him at his website, cyberwalker.com [2].