iVideosongs: In the pocket
Jamming on the Rush song, "Tom Sawyer," is a 10. Having Alex Lifeson of Rush show you how to play it, is one louder.

That's what we do. iVideosongs is all about this new kind of musical experience, a personal connection that happens when you learn your favorite songs from the original artists who wrote and performed those songs.

The artists are legends and legends in the making. We also have some titles featuring killer studio musicians, because not every artist is involved yet and some others have passed to the great gig in the sky. In every case the songs are complete, accurate and shot in stunning, lush, high definition video. The combination rocks.

iVideosongs is an affordable and practical alternative to expensive private lessons and the poor quality song fragments, phrases, tab and tips scattered around the Internet. With artist and instructor titles, and also tutorials downloaded from iVideosongs, you can indulge in the experience any time you want, as often as you want, anywhere you want.

Beauty in a complete song.

Think you'd play more often, and enjoy it more if you knew more songs?

We'll show you how to play the complete song. Each iVideosongs title is broken into segments, so you learn the intro, verse, chorus, bridge and outro. Plus each includes an accurate performance, so you can check your progress against the complete track.

Oh, we can show you how to play a chill riff, bend strings, play outside the Pentatonic box and a boatload of other tips and tricks too. But it is a lot more fun to learn those techniques while you're mastering a song.

Rock it piece by piece.

It's tough to learn a song front to back. Even for two minute thirty second ditties let alone for all the guitar parts in "Sweet Home Alabama." So we break each song into bite size pieces. Learn the intro. Get it down, move on to the verse and then the bridge and so forth. Once you've got each section nailed, string them together…and you've got the complete song.

The song is everything.

So we get it right. That means every title is spot on accurate, just as it was originally written and performed. Then it's up to you if you want to improvise and do your own thing with it.

Under the influence.

Was Rush channeling Huck Finn and Becky Thatcher when they wrote "Tom Sawyer" or did they have something else in mind?

iVideosongs' artist titles include an interview segment, where the inspiration for the song gets revealed. Or the artist talks about what was going on in their head when they wrote it. Its cool insight that often casts songs in a new light, and suggests a new meaning to lyrics you might have heard a million times.

The rhythm method.

Leads and percussion and keyboards too. Plus songs for acoustic and electric guitars, keyboards and drums. No cowbells though. At least not yet.

Power players.

iVideosongs has titles for beginners and intermediate level players too. Songs matched to your skill level today and where you want to be tomorrow. All designed to get you there in the fastest, most enjoyable way possible.

Three chords and the truth.

Blues. Country. Pop. Classic rock and newer stuff destined to be classic. Take your pick, you can't go wrong.

How you want it, when you want it.

iVideosongs is on your schedule. Because titles live on your computer, iPod or other device, you can play them any time you want, wherever you want. So you're not on a music teacher's schedule, or anybody else's.

Rich and lush.

iVideosongs titles are shot in rich high definition video. The lighting and production are fantastic. The effect is stunning, intimate and personal.

iVideosongs beta.

The iVideosongs beta is all about getting your feedback. We started with an idea we're passionate about; now we want your help to make it better. The same thing applies to the beta catalog – it's a sample of our titles and we'll be adding more to our site each week. However we really want to know what you'd like to play. Drop us a note at support@ivideosongs.com for general comments or at suggest-songs@ivideosongs.com for catalog requests. Or comment on our blog. We're looking forward to hearing from you.

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Management: we're with the band!

Tim Huffman is co-founder and CEO/President of iVideosongs. Tim is a Grammy-nominated recording artist with deep experience in both music and technology. A 25-year music industry veteran, he has recorded or performed with members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Kansas, The Atlanta Rhythm Section and a variety of other artists and bands. A serial entrepreneur, Tim created the award-winning Blues Guitar Explorer instructional DVD and has built a succession of successful businesses.

Tim leads the iVideosongs house band and is the primary liaison to artists, publishers, record labels, partners and distribution outlets for iVideosongs content. He also takes an occasional turn as an instructor for iVideosongs titles.

Aaron Hawthorne is COO of iVideosongs. He oversees all aspects of production associated with our content. He has created and manages our team of motion/graphic artists and audio/video engineer/editors that are responsible for the ever growing library of iVideosongs titles. Aaron has several major audio recording credits working on projects with Grammy winning musicians and artists. Aaron has also worked on major technology initiatives for The World Series 2004, Super Bowl 39, Apple, Panasonic, and NASCAR.

Charlie Farrahar is CFO of iVideosongs. Charlie has over 25 years of managerial finance, administration and accounting experience in both the public and private sectors. In addition to starting his career with a national public accounting firm, Mr. Farrahar has been CFO for a publicly-held company traded on Nasdaq. His most recent experience has been in the private sector assisting privately held companies grow and become financially sound.

Tim Ricciardi is CTO of iVideosongs. Tim is a software architect and developer. Founder of Technology One, an ecommerce software development and consulting firm, Tim was previously the co-founder of KPI Technologies. He has the awesome responsibility of connecting customers with the cool iVideosongs content.

Robert Schettino, who manages marketing and communications for iVideosongs, has deep experience in digital content and software. Previously, he was chief marketing officer for the social media software start up, BuzzLogic, where he led the marketing, positioning and communications initiatives that brought BuzzLogic to prominence. He joined BuzzLogic from Hyperion, where he led the global communications and corporate marketing initiative central to Hyperion's emergence as the leading business performance management vendor. Prior to joining Hyperion, Schettino created award-winning communications and branding programs for Intuit, The Discovery Channel and Cox Communications.

Andy Morton is co-founder of iVideosongs. Andy is an entrepreneur, passionate musician and resident classic rock junkie. He also got the idea to videotape his music lessons back in the day when he was still struggling to learn basic forms…an idea that helped germinate what has become iVideosongs.

Andy, who has run a small business for 30 years and played guitar for nearly as long, believes the guitar is more fun on most days. He is currently working on John Mayer and James Taylor tunes on one of his 20 vintage guitars.

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iVideosongs' All-Star Instructors

Danny Grady is an instructor for iVideosongs. Danny's been playing guitar for 25 years and teaching for the past 10 years:

• Danny says ZZ Top's Billy Gibbons, especially his turn on "Gimme All Your Lovin," and AC/DC's Angus Young are major influences. Finger picking virtuoso Lindsey Buckingham and Joni Mitchell are also influences. However the ad lib solo at the end of Prince's "Let's Go Crazy" pretty much sealed the deal for him and launched him on his musical journey.
• Danny loves to teach modern rock, but says that "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" is his favorite iVideosongs title, mostly because of the amazing stuff Clapton does on it.
• On why he teaches: "Even though there are only 12 tones and some folks swear everything that can be done with them has been done with them, it's exciting when some brave artist manages to marry simplicity with emotion….and in the process find something completely new. It's exhilarating to hear it, to understand it, and to help others understand it."
• An "ah hah" moment: "Tim Huffman (iVideosongs founder) always tells me 'song is king.' Live your musical life by that maxim and you'll always be fine."
• Words to live, or at least, play by: "Learn hard stuff and stuff that is uncomfortable to play. But make sure to make time to learn stuff you absolutely love too."
• Danny is a founding member of the band, Injected, which scored a top 20 spot on the modern rock charts with its hit, "Faithless", and contributed songs to the "Fast and Furious" and "The Scorpion King" movies.

Steve Rieck is the quality control manager and an instructor for iVideosongs. Steve has had a life-long love affair with jazz, blues and rock. A Jazz Guitar and Professional Music graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he's been on the professional faculty of some of the South's premier music programs, including the Pulse Performing Arts Center, the Music and Arts Center, the Instrumental Musical Academy, the Atlanta Music Center and the Georgia Academy of Music.

• Steve's been on the faculty of the Atlanta Institute of Music since 2005, where he teaches classes in jazz performance, sight reading and harmony. His major influences tend to rock icons such as The Police, Eric Johnson and Robbie McIntosh, and also Jazz virtuoso Mike Stern.
• His favorite iVideosongs titles include his instruction of the Steely Dan tune, "Do It Again", Stevie Ray Vaughan's version of "The Sky is Crying" and the Elvis classic "That's Alright Mama".
• On why he teaches guitar: "I love to help students feel the power of creating as well as listening to great music. This was the best gift my teachers gave to me and I get to pass it on."
• Steve has composed and arranged music for his own jazz-fusion band and also performed with luminaries such as Cory Christiansen. He's played on hundreds of recording sessions, including with Michael Landau, and his work as a producer and player is featured in the iTunes Music Store. In 1998, he won accolades in Billboard Magazine's songwriting contest, for his composition, "Consequences."

Rob Schumann is an instructor for iVideosongs. Rob has been a member of the faculty at the Atlanta Institute of Music since 2002 where he teaches courses including Rock Performance and Classical Guitar. He's a music arts graduate of Kennesaw State University: Some fun facts about Rob:

• Rob's major musical influences include artists Andy Timmons and Andrew York, and bands Dream Theater, the Dixie Dregs and the Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. His interests are equally eclectic, ranging from rock, funk, blues, pop, metal…and classical.
• Rob is featured on an eclectic collection of iVideosongs titles as well, including the Brad Paisley tunes, "Alcohol" and "Celebrity", the Kansas song, "Dust in the Wind" and a White Stripes favorite, "We're Going to Be Friends".
• Rob's "ah hah" insight: "I really benefited from learning a wide variety of styles. For instance, the sustained melodic style of Carlos Santana really influenced my approach to soloing. And my college experience of memorizing and performing challenging classical arrangements aided my development of practice technique."
• Word to live and play by: "Listen to a variety of styles and look for the aspects that can be learned from each of them. The most satisfied players are those who truly enjoy music, regardless of the style."
• Rob often plays with artists from the Greater Atlanta area, and is a member of the Atlanta Guitar Trio.

Alex Winfield is an instructor for iVideosongs. Alex is an Atlanta Institute of Music graduate and dedicated teacher of rock guitar for the past 10 years:

• Alex claims very broad musical influences, starting with a classical background and extending to the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkle, King Crimson, Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley…yet the lead riff on the Stones' "Paint it Black" hooked him and got him inspired to develop his playing skills
• Alex' favorite iVideosongs title is the Kansas anthem, "Dust in the Wind". He's also featured on iVideosongs titles including Blues Traveler's funky "Run Around".
• On why he teaches: "It's about raising the bar, about inspiring the next generation of artists and their contributions to live performance. By helping aspiring musicians maximize their potential, we contribute to the quality and advancement of music in general."
• An "ah hah" moment: "The CAGED model really opened it up for me. (check out the iVideosongs tutorial on this technique). The other was the process of translating melody lines from other songs to guitar, which really pushes the player to think broadly about their music."
• Alex is a founding member of the band, Five Star Iris. Five Star Iris albums include "Hooptyville" and 2007's "Live Fools".

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iVideosongs Team

Heather Harris
Charlie Chastain
Kevin Morton
April Dukes
Josh McKague
James Lytle
Andrew Rourke
Jeff Sandstrom
Randy Bugg
Ryan Clevenger
Matt Gilbson
Jeremy Altman
Brendon Petty
Andrew Maysilles
Eli Harris
Daniel Bruce
Kris Burton
Chase Andrews
Chad Swartz
Duane Codrington

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iVideosongs Band

Steve Rieck
Rob Schumann
Danny Grady
Alex Whitfield
Jared Hamilton
Daniel Montgomery
Jason Sylvain
Pat Malone
Richard Meeder
Scott Meeder
Thomas Bose
Trammell Starks
Danny Dukes
Josh Crosby
Ashley Appling
Jon Chalden
Tracy Hamlin Landry
Kurt Hawthorne
Brad Large
Tim Gibson
Jeff Chandler
Joe Reda
Wayne Viar
JR Roberts
Cliff Couser
Eddie Breza
David Smith
Richard Stelling
Michael Fulop
Shane Landers
Joe Lee
Jason Cobble
Scott Nicholson
Joseph Patrick Moore
Mike Gleason
Jeff Scott
Terry Young

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