Review: Nowplayit music software

Learn to play like a rock star

It's refreshing to see companies using the internet to innovate, Nowplayit being a good example.

The company offers music tutorials on playing rock and pop music, but many of them are hosted by the musician who played on or wrote the song in the first place. That gives the tutorials both authority and a friendly feel.

There are three varieties: full (£4), which is a 10- to 15-minute video of the artist explaining the track, then going through how to play it, and finally playing it along with the viewer. The notes or chords are overlaid on the video to make it easier to follow. The house tutorials (£3) are similar, but are hosted by one of Nowplayit's non-celebrity tutors. Finally, the 'lite' videos (£2) don't have any commentary, but simply overlay chords and how to play the song over a video of the artist singing it.

They cater for all sorts of instruments and all sorts of players, from beginners up to expert level, and the beginner tracks really are suitable for newcomers to each instrument. Nowplayit has done well to pick personable artists, such as KT Tunstall and Blur's Alex James, whose friendly natures make learning the tune and rhythm less foreboding. The in-house tutors are similarly avuncular.

The lessons are quick and practical, and they go a long way to making learning an instrument more entertaining and more fun - something that might help a recalcitrant teenager who's struggling with conventional guitar or piano lessons. Of course, you'll need to pick an artist they're interested in - there are 300-odd videos on the site, and more are being added.

Free previews of most of the lessons are available on the website, and the files are easily downloaded (you need to set up a 7digital.com account to pay for them, but the process is easy). They work in iTunes and other media players, and on iPods and some other media players.

It's true that celebrity tutorials have been available for a long time, in magazines and on video, but it's good to have so many of them available to choose from, and in such high quality.

Vista compatible: Yes