While Guitar Hero and Rock Band have certainly gotten a lot of people interested in music, how can these gamers be converted from playing with plastic toys to learning an actual instrument? Summer camp sure doesn’t seem to be the answer.

Optek’s Fretlight guitars, though, are taking a step in the right direction, even if it’s not necessarily the solution to bridging the gap.

The guitars, in keeping with the visual stimuli of the music games, incorporate lights that indicate what chords/notes to play and when. And, they look and play like normal guitars – an important thing to note. No cheap plastic, no colored buttons. Just plug the guitar into a USB slot and you’re good to go.

In fact, at first glance, it’s hard to see what exactly is different about the Fretlight. The lights aren’t visible; they’re nestled behind the smooth black fret board, thus avoiding any gaudy “toy” look.

But the real draw is the combination of the lights with the software. There are programs for chords, tabs, and videos, all of which can be slowed down and looped, simultaneously showing up on the guitar as little red lights.

A small annoyance with the lights is that they are a bit dim. I had to turn down the room light in order to clearly see what I was supposed to be pressing. This wasn’t that big of a deal, though.

Despite that, the software contains many nifty features, and, to someone who has never picked up a guitar that wasn’t connected to a game console, they’re extremely helpful features as well. Unfortunately, users have to use Optek’s videos and tabs, though Optek CEO Rusty Shaffer states that the company is working with MTV to license more videos and songs.

Nevertheless, chances are good that users can find something they know. That’s when they turn to the lights to tell them what to do, and that’s where some of the snags come in. While basic chords are easy to follow along to, anything beyond that becomes somewhat hard to keep up with, even at a slower tempo.

I found myself having to pause often in order to get my bearings, which doesn’t entirely jive with Mr. Shaffer’s claim that the guitars “cut out the book and take the head bob out of learning to play.”

However, the company also plans to open up a Youtube-esque site, which would enable people to upload their own coded songs and videos so that others can play along on their Fretlight. From there, Mr. Shaffer outlined plans to create games that would critique a person’s playing. That would be an interesting way to draw out potential musicians from the gaming crowd, though that option lies further down the line.

Ultimately, the only way for someone to properly learn the guitar after a long Rock Band session is to start at the beginning with the lessons – something that I’m not sure many Guitar Hero and Rock Band players may have the patience for.

Still, Optek has created a fine-looking and fine-sounding guitar with enough innovation and polish to potentially push the more passionate people from shooting for a high score to learning how to play an actual instrument, and that, at the very least, is commendable.