So you’ve mastered “Painkiller” on Expert, you nailed the harmony vocals on The Beatles: Rock Band, and you just know that with a little direction you could be slaying a real-life crowd like your rock heroes do? Maybe you’ve always been tempted to learn an instrument but never taken the plunge - or you’ve said something like, “Sure, I’ll play a real guitar as soon as Alex Lifeson from Rush can give me a lesson.”
Well, guess what: He’s going to. So are a bunch of other music luminaries, many of whom you’ve jammed with on Rock Band. Beginning next month, we’re joining with the brilliant folks at iVideosongs to bring their online music lessons to our fans. But this isn’t the kind of music lesson where some random guy yells at you for getting the fingering wrong. Instead you’ll be learning songs you love directly from the folks who wrote and originally played them. And in the case of The Beatles, you’ll be coached by one of the biggest experts there is: Giles Martin, son of Beatles producer George Martin and creative producer for The Beatles: Rock Band.
iVideosongs was co-founded by Tim Huffman, himself a musician who spent years on the road and even got a Grammy nomination in 1984. He realized that a lot of people start to learn instruments by watching their heroes play - so why not take it a step further and have those heroes sit down with you, reveal the stories behind their songs and show you exactly how it’s done? Each lesson zeroes in on a particular song, and it’s presented in full detail: You’ll learn the key, the fingering, and the tricks, with close-ups you can keep watching until you’re ready to attack it yourself and play along with a full production backing track that comes with every iVideosong.
Beatles fans get to sit down with Giles Martin in Abbey Road Studios where he shares the stories behind the writing and recording of more than a dozen songs by The Beatles. The stories are augmented by tutorials on electric and acoustic guitar provided by Martin and iVideosongs master instructors. Martin literally grew up with The Beatles, and he’s the man to thank for how brilliant their tracks sound as re-mastered for Rock Band; he arguably knows The Beatles catalogue better than anyone this side of the band itself. Alex Lifeson pulls back the curtain on both “Tom Sawyer” and “Limelight.” Other celebrity teachers include Graham Nash, who teaches CSN classics on both piano and guitar; and the guitar/drum team of Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana; who used to play with a pretty famous guy named Elvis Presley. iVideosongs also has its own in-house instructors, who can teach you such Rock Band favorites as “Ace of Spades,” “Carry On Wayward Son” and “Are You Gonna Be My Girl.”
We at Rock Band have always wanted to nudge players into living their rock dreams for real; and with iVideosongs’ help you can start without even logging off. And remember….If you can play a real guitar, you can play a plastic one too!
See the list of Rock Band tracks in the Music Section.
