Guitar Lessons from the Stars, in HD

Think Guitar Hero's tough? Just try learning the real thing. Help's on the way, however, thanks to a new HD video service that features dozens (and soon, hundreds) of lessons from the likes of Graham Nash, John Oates, and Alex Lifeson.

TechCrunch has the scoop on iVideosongs, which unveiled its still-in-beta service today at DEMO '08 in Palm Springs. The site itself boasts detailed HD video lessons for about 50 songs, ranging from "I Walk the Line" by Johnny Cash to Avril Lavigne's "Complicated" (about 1,000 songs should be ready by the end of the year, and iVideosongs has signed agreements with all the major music publishers). Most of the videos feature in-house iVideosongs instructors, but a select few are taught by the artists themselves, such as John Oates on "She's Gone," Switchfoot's Jon Foreman for "Let Your Love Be Strong," and Rush's Alex Lifeson for "The Spirit of Radio." Want to try your hands at the piano or drums? Allman Brothers keyboardist Chuck Leavell will show you the ropes on "Jessica," and Jackson Browne drummer Russ Kunkell will let 'er rip on "Doctor My Eyes."

The downloadable, 720p-resolution videos (which run about 10-to-45 minutes per song) cost $4.99 for lessons taught by the in-house instructors, or $9.99 for celebrity videos. And here's the best part about the videos: they're DRM-free, running on any device (including iPods and Windows-friendly portable players) that support H.264 video files (you can use the QuickTime player to convert the clips to the proper format). No, you're not supposed to trade the videos with your pals, but iVideosongs simply trusts that you won't. Now there's a change.

Related:
iVideosongs Teaches You How To Be A Real Guitar Hero [TechCrunch]