RENO, Nev.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Father of Shock Rock, Alice Cooper, and the world’s easiest guitar to play, Fretlight Guitar, announced today the launch of Quitters Anonymous™, an online community for “tried but quit” guitar players.
80 percent of people who start to play the guitar give up within 90 days. Fretlight and Alice Cooper seek to reverse this trend, making it possible for anyone to learn to play the guitar, even if they have tried and quit in the past.
Quitters Anonymous™ will serve as a welcoming online community for people to share their own personal journey to learn to play the guitar. Members will receive exclusive video lessons, tips, tricks and more from guitar experts to help them stop quitting forever, plus chances to win autographed Alice Cooper memorabilia, concert tickets and exclusive meet-and-greets during Cooper’s U.S. tour, which kicked off June 1 in Albuquerque, N.M.
Cooper will appear in a series of satirical videos as a therapist helping recovering guitar quitters face their fears and embrace the guitar, a notoriously difficult instrument to play. As someone who initially struggled to learn the guitar, Cooper jumped at the opportunity to partner with Fretlight, which Guitar World Magazine has coined “the fastest and most effective way to learn how to play.”
Fretlight Guitars are premium acoustic and electric guitars that include the world’s only built-in LED learning system. Fingering positions for chords, scales, songs and riffs light up where players need the information most, right under their fingers. The Fretlight Guitar and learning system uses interactive instruction and video lessons to enable guitar players at every level to learn up to 10 times faster than ever before possible.
“The first step to overcoming quitting is admitting you have a problem,” said Alice Cooper. “You aren’t alone. Millions of us have struggled to learn to play guitar, clumsily looking back and forth between chord and scale books, our fingers and the neck of the guitar. It can become a house of horrors.”
“Unfortunately, new beginner players are at a disadvantage when learning to play guitar in the traditional manner. It’s very difficult. But really, it’s not their fault. They have been set-up for failure,” said Rusty Shaffer, inventor of the Fretlight Guitar and founder of Quitters Anonymous™. “Quitters Anonymous™ is a place where recovering guitar quitters everywhere can come together and encourage one another that learning with a Fretlight guitar is very different. We set you up for success the instant you put your hands on the Fretlight.”
By connecting through a PC or Mac, the Fretlight Guitar and learning system uses a combination of software and video instruction to dramatically simplify and accelerate the process. The video lessons can be slowed to a desired tempo, and looped so fingerings can be practiced at a comfortable pace, building muscle memory, retention and confidence.
Fretlight Guitars, including the complete learning system, start at $299.99 for the FG 507 Fretlight acoustic. The FG-500 series also includes five electric models: Standard, Traditional, Vintage, Classic and Pro, ranging in price from $399.99 to $899.99.
Alice Cooper is a true rock icon, having pioneered the use of theatrics and imagery onstage from the earliest days of the original band of the same name. Since going solo, he has continued to produce elaborate stage shows providing fans with both shock and rock of the highest caliber.
Inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame in 2011, Cooper has toured and recorded continuously, with his most recent album being Welcome 2 My Nightmare through UMe. Recorded with longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, who produced the original ground breaking, multi-platinum Welcome To My Nightmare album in 1975, the album picks up right where they left off, with Alice trapped in his own warped mind.
Cooper’s catalog of hits and anthems, including "I'm Eighteen," "No More Mr Nice Guy," “School's Out," "Elected," "Poison," and others, are included in his current "Raise The Dead" show, which also features his musical tribute to his fallen friends John Lennon, Keith Moon, Jim Morrison and Jimi Hendrix. His current touring band features the three guitar attack of Orianthi, Tommy Henriksen and Ryan Roxie, backed by bassist Chuck Garric and drummer Glen Sobel.
Additionally, "Nights With Alice Cooper," Alice’s nightly radio show, is available in nearly 100 cities in the USA, Canada, Australia, and the UK. The show features his favorite classic rock songs along with his insider anecdotes about many of the artists.
About Optek Music Systems, Inc.
Quitters Anonymous™ is a trademark of Optek Music Systems, Inc. Based in Reno, Nev., Optek Music Systems is the manufacturer and distributor of the groundbreaking Fretlight Guitar and learning system. Invented in 1987 by Optek founder and CEO Rusty Shaffer, the Fretlight Guitar has changed the way the world learns to play by combining advanced digital and LED technologies within the timeless form and function of classic electric and acoustic guitars. Fretlight Guitars can be purchased at select retailers or online at www.fretlight.com.
