From...

September 20, 1999
Web posted at: 10:14 a.m. EDT (1414 GMT)

by Liane Gouthro

(IDG) -- Taking guitar lessons has always sounded like a good idea. But does your busy schedule leave you the time to commit a specific hour each week for learning? Not to mention that music lessons can be pricey. What if you shell out a lot of cash o nly to find you're even more tone deaf than you thought?

Consider the Net Music School from Interactive Music.

Launched Thursday, the online music school offers beginner guitar and piano lessons for students of all ages. Lessons are taught entirel y over the Web.

The site now offers four beginner packages: three for guitar, and one for piano. Two more lessons will be added each month, including intermediate and advanced instruction.

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For $8.95, you get 12 months of unlimited access to the password-protected lesson package you choose.

The lessons start with a very basic introduction to the instrument, then move on to teach notes and chords. You play the attached sound files to hear just how the notes should sound. Each lesson teaches a song.

Choose your speed

"We recognize that people learn at different speeds. Some people will fly through the lesson in a month, while others will take one lesson, and then not r eturn for three months," says Jan Renner, president and CEO of Interactive Music. The year of unlimited access lets you learn at your own pace and on your own schedule.

The online lessons use Macromedia's Flash technology, streaming animation over the Internet to show proper hand position and movement. An animated guide, a stick figure appropriately named Sticky, walks and talks you through each lesson.

"We don't just say to our students, 'put your finger here.' We actually show them where their f ingers should go," Renner says. "It's the next best thing to live instruction."

In some aspects, the lessons are better than a live teacher. You can take them any time day or night, and they're cheaper than hiring a private instructor.

Among the d rawbacks is a lack of feedback. Sticky can't tell you what you're doing right or wrong.

Also, location is an issue. Just how easily can you position your guitar or your piano in front of your computer? Do your piano and computer even share a room? And can you see your monitor from the piano bench?

Digital instruments help

The Net Music School recognizes these drawbacks.

Renner suggests buying a small, portable keyboard, which is significantly cheaper than a full-size piano. Or prop you r laptop on top of your piano.

Online lessons are no substitute for a flesh and blood teacher, Renner acknowledges. Net Music School offers a taste, and if you like the experience you can go further with traditional lessons.

"We recognize the valu e of feedback, and we highly recommend that people go out and get private instruction," Renner says. The site will soon include an online database of music instructors, so you can search by location and find a teacher, he adds.

"What this is, is a gre at way to get started," Renner says. "So many people are afraid to make a fool out of themselves in front of someone else. This gives them a chance to practice first."

And for $8.95, it's a virtual steal.