Hey guitar players! Want to jam? Want to learn some new tricks and chops? Well, you've come to the right place for all those things. PG Music's products are the best for beginners and more advanced guitarists alike.

The best place for the budding guitarist to begin is with Band-in-a-Box! Band-in-a-Box includes tons of features for Guitar Players. Click on these links to check out these guitar features in Band-in-a-Box:

• Animated guitar fretboard display.
• Guitar tablature display and printout.
• Built-in guitar tuner.
• Automatic guitar chord soloing.
• Digital audio track for live recording.

In addition to Band-in-a-Box, we also have many other programs designed to help guitarists learn and develop their craft. Click on the links to learn more about these products:

• Powertracks Pro Audio
• GuitarStar!
• The Video Guitar Lessons Series
• The Jazz Guitar Master Class
• The Multimedia Performance Series
• The Master Guitar Solos Series
• The 101 Essential Phrases and Riffs for Band-in-a-Box Series

Are you just starting to learn guitar? Have you never even picked up a guitar, but have always wanted to learn to play all of your favorite songs? The best place to start would be volume 1 of the Guitar Master Class. It's designed specifically for the beginner:

• The Guitar Master Class

The Animated Guitar Fretboard. One of the easiest ways to learn new guitar parts is by having a friend or teacher show you how to play it on their guitar, and then copying them. But what do you do when your friends and teachers aren't around? The answer is simple, boot up the Box and jam with the band!

Tablature and Guitar Chord Diagrams. Everybody knows how to get a guitar player to stop playing - put some music notation in front of them. But how do you get a guitar player to play your charts with confidence? Easy, just put some guitar tablature in front of them.

Great solution, but where do you get the Tablature? Good news, Band-in-a-Box has it. The versatile Tablature feature in Band-in-a-Box makes it easy to create and customize your Tablature for viewing on screen or printing out. Here's how:

• Open the Notation window
• Select The Guitar track and the Tablature is displayed automatically, or select the Melody or Soloist track and set the track type to Guitar to see the Melody or Soloist in Tablature
• Change the finger position on the animated fretboard and Band-in-a-Box will shift the Tablature accordingly, displaying correctly it in the chosen position. Now you're ready to print.

Tune into Band-in-a-Box with The Virtual Guitar Tuner. It's easy to get the whole band 'in tune' when you're jamming with Band-in-a-Box. The Virtual Guitar Tuner's large video display makes tuning a snap for guitar, bass or any other instrument.

Check out these great Features:

• Pitch Meter - the easy-to-read bar graph interface ensures accuracy
• Fine Adjustment Control - quickly calibrate the VGT to agree with the other tuners you use
• Hum Filter - eliminates hum giving you a clean signal for accurate tuning
• Chromatic Tuning - the VGT detects and displays the most recently played note making alternate tunings are a breeze
• Numeric Pitch - numeric display of the incoming frequency
• Tone Generator - select the note you want and Band-in-a-Box will generate an audible tuning reference

Now you are ready to jam or record with Band-in-a-Box and you will be perfectly in tune. The Virtual Guitar Tuner can be used inside Band-in-a-Box or as a stand-alone application for those times when the band actually shows up.

The Guitar Chord Solo Feature. It's amazing to watch the way some guitarists like Joe Pass and Larry Carlton include chords in their guitar solos. How do they choose the right chords to play? Band-in-a-Box knows, and can show them to you when you use the Automatic Guitar Chord Solo feature.

This feature creates guitar chords for any single note, melody or solo. Now you can easily make and learn professional guitar chord solos to your favorite songs! Load in any song with a melody (or generate one). Launch the Guitar Chord Solo feature from the Animated Guitar Fretboard window or from Band-in-a-Box's main screen, choose one of the Guitar Chord Solo styles and Band-in-a-Box then generates a guitar chord solo for that single note melody line, using the same guitar chords that the pros use. Chord types can be selected to use standard, advanced, or embellished chords. Watch as the chord solo is displayed perfectly on the Animated Guitar Fretboard or view/print the notation and guitar tab! Slow the music down to learn at your own pace. Transpose it and practice in all key signatures.

The Guitar Chord Solo feature can be edited to define your own Guitar Chord Solo styles and can be applied to either the Melody or Soloist track. Learning guitar has never been easier or more fun.

Band-in-a-Box's Digital Audio Recording Track. What do guitar players want more than anything else? To hear themselves playing! Well once again Band-in-a-Box makes their wish come true. With the digital audio track in Band-in-a-Box for Windows®, guitarist can record themselves with a single mouse click. Finally budding guitar gods can easily record their licks with a professional backup band and even go a step further...burn it to CD or save it in an internet ready format.

The best part is that it is so easy to do. Simply plug your guitar into your sound card, press record and play. Now the fun really begins. Set Band-in-a-Box to overdub underlying tracks and add harmonies. Process the track with any of the 19 great-sounding, Pro Audio effects included with Band-in-a-Box.

Once the platinum selling composition has been recorded, render it to a wave file or compressed format and save it to a CD or post it on the internet to share with the world. Nothing left to do but sit back and wait for the royalties to come pouring in.

It's easy to see why guitar players love Band-in-a-Box. With all its great guitar support and cool features it's more than just a Band-in-a-Box it's a Studio-in-a-Box complete with a group of Hot Session Players. The next time a guitarist is looking for a way to record a favorite song or original composition tell them that Band-in-a-Box can't be beat!

Powertracks Pro Audio

PowerTracks Pro Audio is a fully-featured music recording and editing sequencer, with seamlessly integrated digital audio/MIDI recording, notation, and intelligent chord symbol interpretation from MIDI files. It also has many features tailored specifically to the guitarist.

Animated Guitar Window

Like Band-in-a-Box, Powertracks also has an animated guitar window, and it contains all of the same features as Band-in-a-Box. It also includes a useful "insert position" button. If you have a MIDI track entered, and you want it to be played on specific strings of the guitar, you can step through the part, and insert position changes into the MIDI file, ensuring that the notes will display in the correct position on both the guitar window and in TAB every time you play it. You can then use the "Convert Guitar Tracks" feature to assign channels 11-16 to the notes played on the six strings. This is the standard for MIDI guitar.

Notation, Lead Sheet and Piano Roll windows

Powertracks has powerful notation features, very useful for a guitarist. In the Notation and Lead Sheet windows, any MIDI music can be viewed in guitar TAB. In the Notation and Piano Roll windows, there are many useful tools for entering notes. Perhaps one of the best way for guitarists to enter notes is to use a combination of the animated guitar window along with either the Notation Window or the Piano Roll Window. If you open a notation window or a piano roll window, and position the timeline indicator just above where you want a note inserted, then you can ctrl-click on any note on the guitar fretboard, and that note will be entered into the notation!

Recording Your Guitar

Powertracks is certainly not limited to MIDI guitar. The audio recording features in Powertracks make it an essential tool for the guitarist who wants to record their own instrument. With 48 tracks at your disposal, you can record as many guitar tracks as you need. Once the tracks have been recorded, you can then process the tracks with effects. You can use either real-time DirectX effects (there are many that come with Powertracks, or you can choose from your own collection) such as compression or flange, or you can process the track with our collection of non-directX effects such as tremolo or distortion.

GuitarStar!

GuitarStar is the fun new way to become a Rock guitar star in the comfort of your own home. By simply pressing different keys on your computer keyboard, you can play a unique, killer guitar solo complete with a rockin' rhythm section to back you up. But the fun doesn't stop there; GuitarStar will also teach you how to play those rockin' guitar riffs. While the music plays, each note is displayed in notation, guitar tablature and on the on-screen guitar fretboard. To get you started quickly we've included video tutorials with pro tips to tell you exactly how each riff is played.

GuitarStar features a variety of rhythm section grooves (drums, bass & rhythm guitar) in several genres and includes tons of killer guitar riffs that can be played along with the rhythm sections. You become the star by triggering the riff you want by pressing various keys on your QWERTY keyboard.

When a riff is triggered, GuitarStar automatically displays the music in both notation and guitar tablature. To make learning the riff even easier and more fun, the notes for the riff are also displayed on the on-screen guitar fretboard. For even more help in learning to play these killer riffs, watch the video tutorials where master guitarist Harris Van Berkel explains exactly how to perform each riff.

Video Guitar Lessons

For the beginner to the advanced player, these products have something for everyone:

Essential Blues Guitar Vol. 1: 101 Riffs

Essential Blues Guitar Volume 1 contains 101 Lessons, with over 5 hours of video guitar lessons with Blues Guitar master Danny Casavant.

Essential Blues Guitar Vol. 2: 20 Tunes

Essential Blues Guitar Volume 2 is an invaluable addition to the "Essential Blues Guitar Volume 1: 101 Riffs." This contains 20 complete 4-5 minute Blues Guitar tunes with soloing by Danny Casavant. This is a great way to put all of the riffs you learned in Volume 1 into practical use!

Essential Rock Guitar Vol. 1: 101 Riffs

Essential Rock Guitar Volume 1 contains 101 Lessons with over 5 hours of video guitar lessons with Rock Guitar master Harris Van Berkel. Each of the 101 Riffs is a full 3-4 minute video lesson, with the riff transcribed in notation and TAB.

Essential Rock Guitar Vol. 2: 20 Tunes

This program features 20 complete Rock Guitar tunes. Each song is 4-5 minutes in duration with great Rock Guitar soloing by Harris Van Berkel. Watch the videos, on-screen notation, and guitar tab as they display in sync with the audio. You can also separate the rhythm section part from the lead guitar part, so you can choose to either listen only to the solo guitar for in-depth study, or you can listen to only the rhythm section, so you can practice what you've learned.

Essential Jazz Guitar Vol. 1: 101 Phrases "High Comping" Phrases

Complete with Video Memos and Band-in-a-Box files, this package has everything you need to learn to play great Jazz guitar comping phrases with voice leading and harmonized lines. Each phrase includes a video memo with award winning Jazz guitarist, Oliver Gannon.

Essential Jazz Guitar Vol. 2: 101 Phrases "Low Comping" Phrases

Learn to play great Jazz guitar comping phrases in the style of Freddy Green and other comping masters. Each phrase includes a video memo with Oliver Gannon. Watch these videos over and over as Oliver describes and shows you exactly how he is playing each phrase. It's like having your guitar teacher always on-call.

Essential Jazz Guitar Vol. 3: 20 Tunes (Comping)

Essential Jazz Guitar Volume 3 contains 20 complete Jazz Guitar tunes featuring Jazz Guitar comping ("chording") by Jazz Guitar master Oliver Gannon. Each video is 4-6 minutes long and shows the guitar fretboard with right and left hand action as well as on-screen notation and tablature, synced to the music. This is a great way to put together everything you learned in volumes 1 and 2!

The Jazz Guitar Master Class

The Jazz Guitar Master Class is a fully featured instructional music program containing interactive guitar lessons. Master jazz guitarist Oliver Gannon is your teacher in a software program designed to illustrate basic skills to the beginning guitarist and to enhance the skills of more advanced players.

In the two volumes, you'll be studying 60 lessons with topics such as Chord Voicings, Inversions, Right Hand Techniques, Comping, Scales, Modes, Arpeggios, Common Progressions, Improvisation, Chord Melodies and more. Each lesson has an accompanying exercise and a tip on how to practice it. The lessons refer to the 10 program tunes, which feature common chord progressions in a variety of styles and tempos. There are also reference sheets and practice (backing) tracks.

Develop pro skills by studying the extensive guitar exercises. Each exercise is accompanied by an 'exercise tip', containing ideas on practicing, hand positions, tempos and more. Advanced multimedia features directly link each lesson to a suitable exercise. Loop, Pause, Advance and Backup controls make learning and practicing easy. With the Jazz Guitar Master Class you don't just hear how it's played, you see how it's played!

The Multimedia Performance Series

The Blues Guitarist and The Rock Guitarist are professional, fully featured music programs containing studio recordings of great electric blues and rock guitar music. Listen to hot session players perform great sounding rock and blues music, while you learn the riffs, licks and tricks!

We've recorded each instrument (guitar, piano, bass and drums) on separate tracks, allowing you to listen to each part independently. Powerful multimedia features let you study the arrangements, hear the music, and play along with top studio musicians.

The Blues Guitarist and The Rock Guitarist have great "chops" - nearly an hour of hot blues in each program, plus tips and techniques. With seamlessly integrated MultiTrack audio, MIDI, chord symbols, tablature and music notation, The Blues Guitarist and The Rock Guitarist turn a typical sound card equipped PC into a electric guitar performance powerhouse.

The Sor Studies

The Sor Studies is a professional, fully featured multimedia music program containing superb professional classical guitar performances of Fernando Sor's celebrated studies for guitar. We've recorded live, complete performances by a top classical guitarist - many with full-motion closeup videos - bringing new technology to classic masterpieces.

An Invaluable Learning Resource: This definitive collection of studies for the classical guitar is an essential learning resource. It is accorded the same significance in the study of the guitar as that given to Bach's Well Tempered Clavier in the study of the piano. All performances are taken from the earliest available facsimiles of the music - the VOB collection. PG Music's innovative multimedia presentation of the material adds exciting dimensions to the study and appreciation of Sor's timeless works.

The Master Guitar Solos Series

The Master Jazz Guitar Solos

The four volumes of the Master Jazz Guitar Solos are fully-featured interactive music programs with professional jazz quartet/quintet arrangements. Each song features a jazz guitar solo played by a top studio musician, as well as accompanying piano (comping), bass, drums, and strings.

This program is an interactive learning aid, designed to help you learn to solo like a professional jazz guitarist. Musicians studying improvisation typically learn by copying other soloists' performances. Since guitar is a "visual instrument", it is easier to learn to play by watching the fretboard than by reading the music from a staff. The on-screen guitar fretboard shows you exactly which notes and chords are being played on the guitar. There are guide notes for typical positions for the key, and note names, to help you learn the fret/string positions.

Master Flatpick Guitar Solos

The Master Flatpick Guitar Solos program is a fully-featured interactive music program with professional flatpick arrangements of 50 songs. Each song features a flatpick guitar solo played by top studio musician Marty Cutler, as well as accompanying piano (comping), bass, drums, and strings. There are almost 3 hours of flatpick guitar soloing in this program.

The Guitar Master Class

The three volumes of the Guitar Master Class are a great place for the beginner to intermediate guitarist. In Volume 1, teacher Oliver Gannon covers the essentials - such interesting topics as: guitar history, chords, time and key signatures, the chromatic scale, and reading music. In Volume 2, you'll learn the scales and the typical chord progressions for 6 major keys and their 6 relative minor keys. You'll also learn how to play chords and melodies for tunes in all 6 major and minor keys. In Volume 3, you'll learn how to play transposable Barre chords, transposable scales and of course, transposable melodies. Each lesson focuses on a specific key. This final volume is a great preparation for the Jazz Guitar Master Class series.

101 Essential Phrases and Riffs Series

101 Jazz Guitar Phrases

In the 101 Jazz Guitar Phrases you get 101 great Jazz guitar riffs, each complete with a Band-in-a-Box file and Audio Memo. These 4-bar Jazz guitar phrases are a great way for you to learn exactly how the pros play. Hear the music, see the notation and guitar tablature and watch the on-screen guitar fretboard to see exactly how the phrases are played. These were recorded with a MIDI Guitar Controller so the displayed fingerings on the Guitar Fretboard Window will be exactly how they were originally played. Quickly change the key and tempo to learn the phrases in all twelve keys. Includes Audio Memos for each file giving you an on-call, personal instructor who plays and describes each phrase in detail.

Check out the 101 Jazz Guitar Phrases Riff-a-Day page, where you can demo all of the riffs in the program for FREE!

101 Essential Riffs for Country Guitar

These are the 101 hottest Country guitar licks, essential for every player to know. Each phrase is a short Band-in-a-Box file with a descriptive memo. The phrases range in difficulty from easy to advanced including lots of bends and quasi-steel guitar licks. Each lick was played on guitar and displays correctly on the Guitar Fretboard Window.

Check out the Country Guitar Riff-a-Day page, where you can demo all of the riffs in the program for FREE!

101 Essential Riffs for Bluegrass Guitar

A great way to learn the most often used Bluegrass riffs. Each of these 101 phrases displays correctly on the Guitar Fretboard window. When you're learning them, you can toggle through the notes manually, or slow down the tempo and loop the lick. This is a fantastic way to get your Bluegrass chops together.

Check out the Bluegrass Guitar Riff-a-Day page, where you can demo all of the riffs in the program for FREE!

Other guitar resources

Here are some links that may be of use:

• Guitar Chords
• All about guitar sites
• All about Fingerstyle guitar