Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions: Apps and Gadgets to Stay On Track

 Learn to Play the Guitar

That Fender’s been sitting in the corner gathering dust long enough. With these fun tools, you have no excuse for not fretting it up.

Fretlight Guitar
Starting at $399; www.fretlight.com 

Memorizing finger placement for chords is one of the major roadblocks for newbies, but there’s a guitar that will show you the light (literally). Available in Standard Electric, Traditional Electric, and Vintage Electric styles, the Fretlight Guitar includes lights on the frets, and they glow red to indicate where to place your fingers. The guitar comes with software for learning chords, scales, and songs, and an included USB cable lets you connect to a Mac or PC.

Rocksmith Guitar Bundle for Xbox 360
$199; www.gamestop.com 

If light-up chords aren’t enough to get you practicing, an Xbox game surely will. Rocksmith works with any guitar, though the bundle comes with the Epiphone Les Paul Jr. Simply plug into your console and start playing; the game adjusts the song selection based on your skill level. If you’ve never strummed a chord, the game starts you out with tablature and how-tos. Advanced players can choose songs from The Black Keys, Nirvana, Pixies, and more.

Tech to Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions

• Intro
• Learn a New Language
• Get Fit
• Manage Your Money Better
• Get Organized
• Learn to Play the Guitar
• Quit Smoking