Guitar Pro 6 - Fretlight Ready

The end for guitar teachers?   25-Mar-11

Guitar Pro 6 is now Fretlight ready, which has caused a bit of debate in the online guitar community. The Fretlight guitar has LEDs for every note on the guitar which light up in sequence, telling what to play, and when to play it.

For more info on how the system actually works, head over to Guitar Pro's blog.

I'm interested to see what people think about this, Sem over at Muzicosphere (a very cool guitar blog) thinks it could see a drop in demand for local guitar teachers. This is on the same line as the those guitarists who feel that games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero could distract kids from the real thing.

I use Guitar Pro for iPad when I teach my lessons, a student can ask to learn a song, and within 5 minutes I can have the song downloaded onto the app. If I haven't heard it before then I can just read the notation, and teach it to the student without having to listen to the song and learn it by ear first.

The Fretlight guitar might also be handy for those who can't afford regular guitar lessons and are looking for a cheaper alternative. I think most people would recognize the importance of guitar lessons when it comes to learning correct technique, posture, and even learning about things like tone.

I don't think it will be the end for local guitar teachers, but maybe you think differently. Apps like Guitar Pro, and games such as Guitar Hero all encourage my younger students to get into rock and roll, they've all heard Smoke On The Water and Sunshine of Your Love because of these games. Then guitar pro helps them to remember some of the more complex rhythms whilst they are practising the songs at home.

Long live re-packaged rock 'n' roll!

Rich Beech
www.StudioParanormal.com