Play Music, Inc. Releases Play Rock Guitar with Keith Wyatt CD-ROM
January 1, 1997
Play Rock Guitar with Keith Wyatt is a Windows 95 CD-ROM that explores the styles and techniques of rock's greatest guitarists. Four classic rock songs are showcased: Crossroads (Cream), Little Wing (Jimi Hendrix), Freeway Jam (Jeff Beck) and Black Magic Woman (Carlos Santana). The design of the CD is based on the concept that the best way to learn to play music is by playing. For that reason, rock guitar technique lessons and an animated music glossary are linked to the songs, so that the guitarist learns technique and theory while playing the songs.
For each song, the guitarist can watch an overview video, watch a band play the song in a music video, read a chord chart or explore lessons for playing the note-for-note recordings of the guitar riffs.
The overview videos and the text on the background screens illustrate Wyatt's expertise in the playing styles presented in these classic tunes. Each music video contains a second audio track isolating the sounds of the rhythm section without guitar, allowing the guitarist to play along with the band. The recordings nearly match the originals, supplying enjoyment and inspiration to the aspiring rock guitarist. Every video has looping buttons for continuous repeating of a section. All song lessons are broken down into choruses, taught with a demonstration video and an Animated Fretboard. The two-hand demonstration videos are multi-track, too, containing both guitar playing and a voice-over lesson, in which Wyatt explains the finer points of the part. Rock guitar technique lessons covering scale patterns, as well as solo and rhythm phrasing, are linked to the chorus lessons wherever a technique is needed to play a part.
Play Rock Guitar utilizes the power of MIDI with an Animated Fretboard that displays the fingering positions used to play the riffs. Animated dots, containing finger numbers and string bend indicators, displayed on a fretboard graphic, are synchronized with the sounds of the PC's MIDI synthesizer playing a transcription of the song. Below the fretboard is a tablature window that scrolls in synch with the music. The Animated Fretboard is rich with features for improving the rock guitarist's playing abilities. The tempo can be adjusted to slow down or speed up the track. Looping controls can isolate several bars of music for repetition. A mixer panel can be used to mute or isolate the guitar or any other instrument. A whammy bar window shows when the whammy bar is used. Finally, the guitarist can choose between multiple fretboard viewpoints, including a left-handed view.
Play Rock Guitar with Keith Wyatt is a rock guitarist's multimedia dream, guaranteed to provide the maximum playing pleasure!!!
Minimum System Requirements
Windows 95, 66 MHz 486 (Pentium recommended), 3MB Hard Drive Space, 8 MB RAM, 256 color SVGA Graphics, Double Speed CD-ROM Drive, 8-BIT Soundcard with a MIDI Synthesizer, Mouse.
For more information, visit their web site at www.playmusic.com. |
