January 22, 2011

Rock Prodigy - iPhone app for learning guitar

During NAMM 2011, I met with the developers behind this new and interesting app called Rock Prodigy. It's a guitar learning tool that works on the iPhone, iTouch and iPad.

I was given an demonstration and I talked to the guys behind this app. They have created a free app that you can download from iTunes and use for learning songs, chord, etc. They are also working on more lessons, such as scales, arpeggios, etc - constantly expanding the library to provide you with a lot of good material to learn from.

What is Rock Prodigy

The idea behind Rock Prodigy - you connect your guitar to an iphone, ipod touch, or an ipad using the mic input, or a dedicated input like the iRig from IK Multimedia. What you do next is to hit the notes as the scrolling tab goes by. The app reminds me of Guitar Hero, except the idea here is to use a real guitar to learn real songs. Songs are $2.99 each and the developers are working hard on building a larger library of material.

You Can Use any guitar

Use your own guitar – acoustic, electric, etc – as long as you are in tune, you are ready to experience Rock Prodigy. You can either use the microphone-in or hook up with a standard instument adapter (such as the iRig).

How hard is it? Easy, Medium, Hard, Prodigy

The interface differs from traditional tablature, recordings, or sheet music. Rock Prodigy lets you play along with each song at four skill levels:

Easy – play one right note at a time to get a feel for the song.
Medium – fill in the song with more emphasis on the main riffs.
Hard – sharpen your skills by playing at least half of the notes.
Prodigy – master the song: play above and beyond the note-for-note transcription, learning practical approaches that incorporate more than one guitar part.

You can check out Rock Prodigy in the app store - it's a free download. You can also check out the Rock Prodigy website to learn more.

By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com

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Posted by Robert Renman on January 22, 2011