When the PlayPro Interactive Guitar course arrived on my desk I thought, "Here we go again, another ho hum guitar course you have to be a genius to figure out". Boy, was I wrong! There is only one word to describe this and that is "sensational". This has got to be the best and most comprehensive guitar course ever. Laurie Arthur and PlayPro have produced a guitar course that is stunning in its scope and simply breathtaking depth. No matter who you are or what standard every guitar player should have one. It's an absolute knockout. The program is totally plug and play so loading is easy. The opening screen is a jukebox and everything is controlled from here. There is an introduction and then you get into the lessons. For the absolute beginner it starts at the very beginning (a very good place to start). The course explains in text, audio and video the various parts of a guitar, the strings, how to hold a plectrum (pick for us what know better) and how to play a note and chord. Simple stuff, but for a novice absolutely vital as correct technique sets you up to do things properly later. The lessons proceed through scales, chords and how they are constructed, with exercises to do along the way. You progress at your own speed and don't go on to the next lesson until you have matered the current exercise. Now, here's the genius and brilliant part of the program. You plug your guitar into the back of the sound card with the plug provided (a simple $1.50 jack to mini jack plug, no complicated MIDI interfaces required), tune your guitar with the tuner on the screen which is, and works, the same as the BOSS tuner you probably already own. Then play along with the exercise.

Once you have it down then surprise number two: Click on the MIDI button, then the record button and record yourself playing the exercise. When you have finished hit "Compare" and the program now analyses what you have recorded, compares it to what should have been, then rates on timing, accuracy and overall performance. The program then provides helpful hints or tells you to move on to the next lesson. Absolutely stunning. The lessons progress from basics, through scales, chords, simple backings, riffs, music notation, tablature, blues, country, how to read music, hammer ons, pull offs, string bending etc. So at the end of the day (well, many days actually) you complete the course, the students will have all the knowledge and skill to play Clapton, Steve Vai or any of their guitar heroes. That leaves taste and feel, and even here Laurie has tried to help pass on tips and experience picked up over 30 years of playing guitar with various bands including some of Australia's and the world's best players. The program doesn't stop there. Once you have mastered all the lessons or at least have a competence with it there are also 50 Famous Feels which can be looped to play along with. These "feels" are mirrored on the audio CDs which come with the program and range in style from heavy rock to country to ballads to reggae to funk. In other words, something for everybody and a great way to practice.

This would be the best and most comprehensive guitar course currently available anywhere. Packed with information in simple bite sized exercises, with full audio and video, to provide a Monkey-See, Monkey-Do learning curve. On-line help is everywhere and the help file is almost as comprehensive as the program. Experienced players can learn a lot from the course as well in terms of filling in gaps in knowledge and technique and learning how to play different styles. I just wish this had been around 30 years ago when I first picked up a guitar. I know that I would have been a much better player. For my money, PlayPro Interactive Guitar is a must for any guitar player or prospective player, it's just brilliant. I guess you could say it's to guitar playing what "War and Peace" was to literature. A towering tour-de-force in the world of music. The program comes with two CD-ROMs, two audio CDs plus a fully illustrated 200 page book, and includes the plug to plug your guitar into the sound card in your computer. - Alan Scott

PlayPro Interactive Guitar really knocked me out. You plug your guitar directly into your computer's sound card - no MIDI, no interface of any kind, just a guitar cord. The program takes you from holding a pick to speed picking and tapping techniques via 200 lessons. You can record and compare yourself with the program lessons and jam with computer bands in 50 different styles. It's only available on PC for now, with a MAC version on its way. - Bill Evans

Stop surfing the net and devote some time to your guitar playing. But grab your axe, get back to your computer and load PlayPro Interactive Guitar (for Windows) from PlayPro Software, Inc. When using this CD-ROM educational software, you plug your guitar right into your computer's soundcard. The software provides amplification and Comp-U-Pare, a nifty system that lets you record and then compare your playing to given examples. Comp-U-Pare even grades your shredding with blunt honesty, so don't be too sensitive.

The package consists of two CD-ROMs, two audio CDs, and a 200-page book. The CD-ROMs present a virtual fretboard, letting you control fingering and intervals. This is highlighted as you play to more than 150 exercises. Over 50 full-motion videos are also included. And, you can play along to recorded "live" musicians or a MIDI device, which transposes, loops, and performs other functions. If that isn't enough, the Interactive Guitar features a software version of the BOSS TU-12 Chromatic Guitar Tuner. You'll be wired all night long.

New from PlayPro, Interactive Guitar stakes its claim as the Cadillac of computer-based guitar instruction. Simply plug into PC (jack adapter provided), and play along with a virtual fretboard and onscreen video shot from your perspective - this means no more reversing images. The instructional material is solid, but a feature like the Comp-U-Pare analyzing system puts this system in a league of its own. After you cop each lick, this device rates your accuracy and timing, alerting you to what needs practice. Perhaps the software's most attractive feature is a bevy of live band backing tracks, over which you can record your solos to measure your progress. The Deluxe Version also includes two audio CDs and a 200 page book.

This impressive package from PlayPro is multimedia in the truest sense, combining two discs of interactive CD-ROM, a hefty 200-page reference book and two audio CDs for those times when you're away from your computer. (A software-only version is also available). Unlike the G-VOX system, PlayPro lets you plug your electric or pickup-equipped acoustic guitar directly into the mic port of your computer using the adapter provided. Set-up is, to say the least, a breeze.

Lessons and information can be chosen from an on-screen selector and displayed on a virtual fretboard using text, tablature and QuickTime video. A MIDI Machine function is also provided that lets you loop examples in any key and at any tempo to facilitate learning. Used in conjunction with the comprehensive manual and audio lessons, Interactive Guitar provides loads of generic riffs from various music genres. There's enough song material here to teach beginners a healthy variety of styles, with plenty left over for intermediates to chew on. The basics are clearly explained, and the many exercises incorporate important techniques and theory as they progress. Rather than teaching students to copy examples, PlayPro's Dynamic Learning Method teaches the pupil to think in musical terms, much in the same way languages are successfully taught.

Sound and graphics are excellent, and the Virtual Tuner is uncanny. Another nice feature lets you jam along with a library of 50 well-known musical styles, then record your efforts and customize them with a Virtual Effects Rack that includes distortion, reverb and delay. As a package, this all works extremely well, with each of the components reinforcing the others.

The PlayPro Interactive Guitar Deluxe V2.5 is an impressive package, featuring two CD-ROMS, two Audio CDs and a large spiral-bound book. This comprehensive course takes players all the way from beginner to advanced level using a multitude of tools and modern teaching methods. An adapter lets you connect your guitar directly to your PC’s sound-card, thereby allowing PlayPro to monitor and analyze your playing as you progress via the Comp-U-Pare feature, which grades you on timing and accuracy and then offers advice. This connection also gives you access to a virtual effects rack and a cool little studio in which you can record over the provided backing tracks.

There's even a chromatic tuner. These lessons use tab and standard notation, a virtual fretboard with color-coded fingering maps, text and crisp video clips; the audio can be played back as a "live" version or in MIDI, and sections can be looped in any key or tempo. The courses are very thorough embracing theory and the concept of thinking musically and even explain the physics of guitar, amps and effects. The PlayPro Interactive Bass program has the same features and tools as its guitar counterpart and the package is equally well produced. With more than 180 exercises, and a wealth of theory and technique information, this course contains all the necessary tools to turn a bass newbie into a well-trained player and a knowledgeable musician.

PlayPro Interactive Guitar is the best looking and certainly the most comprehensive multimedia guitar tutorial we've encountered to date. The complete package includes two CD-ROM discs, two audio CDs, and a 200-page book of music. The CD/book package functions as a stand-alone guitar course that covers everything from basic left - and right-hand techniques through chords, blues, slide playing, solo patterns, phrasing, scales, modes, advanced techniques, and even guitar care and maintenance. The CD-ROMs port all of this info into your PC using a very pleasing jukebox interface. Along with features on other learn-guitar CD-ROMs (animated fretboard fingering, scrolling music and tab, video examples), this product has a number of unique features. There's a software version of the Boss TU-12 tuner. There are MIDI lessons that can be transposed, looped, or played at any tempo. The videos are shot from a player's-eye view, looking down on the fretboard (nice touch), and are synchronized to the music.

The real breakthrough is called Comp-U-Pare: You can plug your guitar straight into your soundcard, record as you play an exercise, and the computer will compare it to an ideal playback and rate your timing and accuracy. Also included are "Fifty Famous Feels," repeating chord patters in fifty styles -- reggae, ballads, blues, country, rock, and so on -- to use as backup tracks while practicing your newfound skills; PC only, Mac version to come.

Do you want to play guitar (or play it better)? If you have at least a modicum of self discipline, this educational CD-ROM could be a worthwhile investment. A good starting point for novices and a valuable tool for more advanced players, PlayPro's Interactive Guitar course combines multimedia savvy with a solid curriculum to both encourage and challenge.

Basic Format. Most of the Interactive Guitar's brief but dynamic lessons lean toward blues, rock and country styles to illustrate chord, scale, tab, and notation lessons. Sharp graphics, crisp audio tracks, and smooth video playback drive home the course material as only multimedia (or a live teacher) can -- a valuable package whether or not you'll be moving on to Berklee.

The box includes two CD-ROMs, a 200-page book, and two audio CDs containing music and dialog examples found on the CD-ROMs. The courses are designed to be taken linearly, via book or CD-ROM, though you can peek ahead with either. There are 12 course categories, each containing numerous individual lessons. For instance, "The Basics" includes individual lessons on using a pick, right/left hand placement, fretting notes, ergonomics, and tuning. Other categories include Scales and Riffs, Chords, the Blues, Techniques, Patterns, Guitar Care, Reading Music, and Famous Feels. The book and disc mostly follow one another and can be used independently, though each offers something the other doesn't.

Interactive Guitar makes full use of multimedia's advantages, though: A 3D-shaded virtual fretboard, loopable MIDI tracks, extensive online help, and seamless video and audio examples all enhance the learning experience as no book can.

Take it for a spin. Interactive Guitar starts to live up to its name with an onscreen version of the popular Boss TU-12 guitar tuner. Its pinpoint accuracy readout is easier to tune with than an actual TU-12. You just plug into your soundcard's mic input with the supplied 1/4'' to 1/8'' adapter; no MIDI interface is required to access the interactive features (more on this below).

A 50's-style wood-grain jukebox is the interface to access the 12 lesson categories. Selecting an individual lesson in the jukebox takes you to the Amp, there lessons, audio, and video controls are located. CD-type transport controls move you through music, dialog, and video tracks, and shuttle from lesson to lesson. The virtual fretboard (complete with oxidized nut) colorfully and rhythmically displays proper string positioning as numbered fingerings, note names, or intervals -- very useful in developing what the course calls "sound pictures" of patterns, scales, and chords.

Under the fretboard, a scrolling window displays lesson text with links to online help, as well as many of the graphics, photos, and cartoons found in the book. Select the Amp's Music knob, and standard notation and TAB (tablature) versions of the lesson's music are displayed in place of the text, each note and number lights up as the notation scrolls by, á la karaoke.

There are over 50 video examples for the lessons, displayed in a 6'' x 4'' window. All segments are filmed from the player's point of view, which I found easier to assimilate than the usual image of facing a teacher head on. It would be great if future versions could include the ability to slow down video playback or even loop a section.

Though the CD-ROM shines when showing fingering positions, I was confused by the book's changing black-and-white graphic convention. Some lessons display fingerings as white dots with black numbers/notes inside them, others as black dots with their numbers in white. Then there are alternating white and gray diamond-shaped fret markers, and even instances where all these styles alternate within the same page or spread.

I'm Listening. The interactivity really heats up with PlayPro's unique Comp-U-Pare technology. Once you're plugged in and recording along with the CD-ROM, the Comp-U-Pare module pops up to analyze what you just played. After a waveform comparison between your recording and the original, you're rated for timing and accuracy, and given an overall grade accompanied by constructive criticism. Each example can be played as a .WAV file (with guitar, drums, and voice) or as adjustable MIDI backing tracks. The MIDI control panel handles bass and drum volumes, tempo, transposition, and loop start/end points. MIDI offers many ways to dissect and learn a piece of music -- slow it down, speed it up, change the mix -- a great way to augment the audio, video, and book.

Lessons. Like a teacher, the course starts by asking for at least a half-hour of practice-time per day. You won't have to read music to use Interactive Guitar, though there are starter lessons on reading guitar tablature and standard notation. You are encouraged to follow four stages of each lesson before moving onto the next: (1) Read all text and play all audio and video segments. (2) Learn the fingering slowly, accenting the timing with toe taps. (3) Practice the passage in double time. (4) Rehearse and record along with the examples until you can play it solo.

Upon leaving each lesson you must self-grade your grasp of the subject with an icon before moving onto the next. A smiley face means you get it, a frown means you don't and will come back to it. The face symbols then appear before the lesson titles in the Jukebox, a good way to leaf through the categories to follow your progress. Student sessions are saved as .PRO files, so you can pick up where you left off with the next lesson. No cheating, Beavis.

The first lessons cover the basics of stringing a guitar, tuning it, picks, and hand and body ergonomics. I'd know about pre-stretching new strings, but learned here to stretch them both vertically and laterally to fully seat them into the tuning pegs and heads. There are step-by-step instructions on how to tune to the virtual tuner, and to reference tones on the CDs, on a tuning fork, and within the guitar itself. It was a bit surprising, though, to find so much data on string mass, action, and intonation yet no mention of what kind of string or gauges a beginner should look for.

Scales & Riffs introduces major and minor scales, and explains how the relationships between notes within scales for the templates for all scales, patterns, chords, and progressions. For self-taught players like me, just starting this process of connecting common music terminology with what I've viscerally known on the frets for years was the best lesson of Interactive Guitar.

There's a lot of data to digest in the Chords section, and here I felt like grabbing a real, breathing teacher and pleading, "Yikes! Please explain this to me!" Roman-numeral chord symbols show up undefined in a chart of relative minor chord patterns...a few lessons later, Roman numerals do become clearer, thanks to some simple and effective graphics.

The Techniques lessons make good use of the virtual fretboard's sharp graphics. The graphic representation of slides, hammer-ons, and pull-offs is handy, and video is especially useful when copying there motions. There's more than you'll ever want to know about string bends, including a chart on what tonic, subdominant, and dominant notes you're bending up to, or down from, in a number of scales. (Was Ted Nugent thinking of this kind of stuff when he recorded "Stranglehold"?).

Famous Feels is a blast to work through. It goes beyond blues and rock to include jazz, Latin, dance, metal, and ballad styles. A series of chord charts, text, and audio tracks illustrates that makes funk funky, country twangy, and the blues blue with the subtlest of note and chord substitutions. If you're into tweaking and taking care of your axe, check out Guitar Care. Lessons include how to restring a guitar, check intonation, and adjust string height and the truss rod. I would have liked to see video segments on stringing a guitar, with close-ups of wrapping a string around a tuning post to avoid slippage, or how to adjust the springs on a vibrato bridge.

Conclusions. I've self-taught myself guitar for 30 years on pure instinct alone, absorbing and practicing chords, songs, and scales, but I've always preferred jamming and recording to working with a teacher, music stand, and metronome at $60 an hour. PlayPro's multimedia approach helped me get over the hump of enjoying the learning curve, changing the way I look at a guitar neck and listen to a chord progression for the price of one lessons.

Interactive Guitar's colorful CD-ROM interface is simple and clean and does a great job illustrating finger positions, scales, and chord movements (all blinking rhythmically with music), and the video's point of view is like looking right over the teacher's shoulder. I like the uniquely interactive Comp-U-Pare feature, and I'd trade my Boss TU-12 tuner for this 17'' onscreen version any day.

PlayPro has put together a good package for the self-motivated guitar student in all of us, novice and seasoned musician alike. This package encourages further learning, yet I found plenty on Interactive Guitar to keep me busy for some time. The more difficult curriculum in a few of the lessons was tough to grasp with just brief text, audio, and video bites, but it's here that any CD-ROM guitar course must reach the medium's limit. Until two-way online video tutoring becomes common, Interactive Guitar will remain an excellent way of helping a disciplined player of any ability to get better and motivated to learn more. - Randy Alberts

PlayPro has come out with PlayPro Interactive Guitar, a CD-ROM based instructional guitar program that lets the user connect a "guitar directly to a computer's sound card, without the need for any guitar modifications or a specialist device," according to the manufacturer. The exercises and examples cover several levels of playing, from beginner to professional. This software package comes with two CD-ROMs, two audio CDs and a 200 page book that illustrates the course.

The program contains 55 computer-based videos to help the student learn from a player's perspective, and uses a virtual fretboard to teach notes and fingering. Over 150 exercises are included, and you can play along with each one on your own guitar.

Another interesting feature of this program is Comp-U-Pare, which "allows a student to record and compare their playing to original examples," according to the company. Furthermore, they tell us "Comp-U-Pare interprets both timing and accuracy, and offers graded reports and advice." A user can also play along with recorded musicians or a virtual MIDI Machine, which transposes, loops, changes keys, tempos and performs other MIDI functions.

PlayPro Interactive Guitar contains a fully-functional software version of the BOSS TU-12 Chromatic Tuner, and enables you to simply use your computer's sound system as a guitar amp.