Most importantly, the system works. Johnson, formerly the music editor for the Official Jimi Hendrix Magazine, has decorated his office with images of the guitar god. Each lesson offers a variety of ways to learn. Here, flashing colored dots light up a computer-generated fret board like a Christmas tree, showing students where to put their fingers as the sound of a real guitar lick plays in sync. Students can highlight a segment of music and work on it over and over.
Beginners can slow the demonstrations down to a comfortable speed.
And because the lessons are archived, students can repeat them as often as desired. So what if they don't know their F-sharp chord from a hole in the guitar. Johnson couldn't be happier to spread the guitar gospel in such a worldwide way. His dad played six-string in a country band, backing up the likes of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. Johnson himself picked up the guitar at age 6 and, along with his younger brother, soon joined his dad onstage.