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Encinitas, CA (October 8, 2007) - If there''s anything real guitarists can learn from the immensely popular Guitar Hero and it''s new competitor, Rock Star, it''s that people love the idea of being able to play the guitar. We all love music and those games are making the act of playing music more accessible, although highly unrealistic. This has frustrated many an actual guitar player with children, leaving them caught somewhere between the joy of seeing their kid express a genuine desire to play and the disappointment of seeing them pick up a plastic, fake guitar and spend hours with it instead of the 3/4 scale Squire they got for Christmas.

Don''t give up. There''s another gateway device for fusing the video game-driven mentality of today''s youth with the idea of actually learning to play the guitar -- it''s called GuitarGames.net

GuitarGames.net is a online collection of videogames that does what Guitar Hero doesn''t do... it can teach you how to play guitar, or at least enhance the associated skills and knowledge involved. The site''s nine simple games (okay, mostly simple) involve learning the fretboard, testing your guitar trivia knowledge, developing your ear, learning to read music and learning music theory. Though cheesy compared to today''s video games, the simple graphics get the job done. After a while you realize the games aren''t just for kids. They''re a great way for anyone to sharpen their guitar skills.

The man behind the games is William Wilson, a guitar player and instructor who taught himself how to program. He started creating games that tapped into the video game mentality of his students and found that they naturally pushed his students to learn more. "There''s something about our competitive nature that gets involved with these games," Wilson tells Premier Guitar. "I had one student in particular who had a hard time playing out of the first position at first. After some time with these games, he suddenly knew the entire neck!"

The games are free once you register to the site. A $14.95/year premium membership gives you different capabilities within the games that are designed to help you learn even faster. The premium membership also gives you access to stats for progress tracking and the ability to focus the games around certain levels of play, which makes them easier for beginners.

For more information:
www.GuitarGames.net