A new service called Chords for iTunes, by iPlayMusic, provides an easier way to learn to play your favorite artist’s music. An open beta phase, which begins today and runs through September, makes available 26 chord videos for free on Mac computers for popular songs including two Jimmy Buffett songs: “Come Monday” and “Pencil Thin Mustache”. An expanded selection of videos will be introduced this Fall.

“For most music hobbyists and musicians, the only thing that beats listening to their favorite music on iTunes is being able to play along with it,” said Quincy Carroll, chief executive officer at iPlayMusic. “Whether you are learning to play an instrument for the first time, trying to advance your musical skills, or just looking for new songs to enjoy with family and friends, our chord videos can be both fun and instructional.”

Powered by patent-pending technology, the iPlayMusic software perfectly synchronizes each video with a select song that can be slowed down or sped up while maintaining pitch for learning at any pace. To ensure the legal use of all music featured in Chords for iTunes videos, consumers must already have purchased and stored one of the 26 songs in their iTunes library or on their computer.

Through proprietary production techniques, videos can be added quickly to the iPlayMusic Download Store as users request more songs. In addition, all chord videos are optimized for mobile devices and are extremely portable in their visual display of animated chords and lyrics. Easy export features within the software allow for viewing on Apple TV and mobile devices such as the iPhone or iPod for use anywhere, anytime.

To access Chords for iTunes, simply install the Mac version of iPlayMusic’s software (at www.iplaymusic.com/download), click on the Shop button and start browsing. If a selected song is not already present in your iTunes library, the iPlayMusic software will prompt you to purchase it from the iTunes Music Store. Once the song is in place, simply click the playback button and let the jamming begin.

The beta program is only available on Mac computers.

Another month, another column by Justin. This time it’s about the 1976 show that Jimmy Buffett played aboard the Tom Sawyer:

By 1976, Buffett was on album number four for ABC/Dunhill, “Havana Daydreamin’.” It had dropped in January that of that year after being delayed for reasons still unknown. During a show in September of ‘75, Jimmy had mentioned that he wanted to relase the album on Christmas day. That didn’t happen, and it was likely because of the last second switch from “Please Take Your Drunken 15 year old Girlfriend Home” to “Cliches,” no doubt because “Cliches” was not quite as risque. Regardless, the album continued to build momentum for Jimmy, and he and the evolving Coral Reefer Band began to play some bigger gigs and even headlining some shows. Jimmy had opened for Joe Cocker at a couple of Florida Festivals in March and Loggins and Messina in Florida in June. He played to 40,000 at the Superdome in New Orleans on the 4th of July as part of an all day bill that included the likes of the Charlie Daniels Band, Emmylou Harris, and John Sebastian. He played a few more festivals along the way including the Banjo, Fiddle, and Guitar festival in Long Beach, CA in April and the Night in the Country festival in Baton Rouge, LA in October. But sandwiched in-between all of that was a special one night cruise aboard the Tom Sawyer on July 11.

Continue reading here and be sure to leave Justin a comment if you enjoyed reading it.

The show was back on the road tonight as Jimmy and the band finished the third leg of the Summerzcool Tour with the second of two shows in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

The set list was primarily the same as recent shows with the exception of a few songs. “Pencil Thin Mustache,” last played in October 2008 in Mountain View, CA, was inserted into the second set. Also added to the second set was the premiere of a brand new song, “Nobody from Nowhere.”

View the entire set list here.

Did you attend the show? Share your thoughts on our Discussion Board or post your photos in our Photo Gallery.

The 2009 Summerzcool Tour continues July 5th with a special show in London, England. There’s still plenty of time to get your tickets now!

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band continue Summerzcool tonight with the second of two shows from the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. Thursday night’s show marked the 50th time Buffett had played at the venue.

The show will start shortly after 8 pm ET and you can listen live on Radio Margaritaville on Sirius 31 / XM 55 or on the web for free at radiomargaritaville.com. Be sure to tune in at 7:30 pm for the pre-show.

You can follow along with the set list and chat with other parrotheads during the show on our discussion board.

We’ll also tweet during the show, so follow BuffettWorld on Twitter.

Grab tickets for this show or for another upcoming show here!

Both the Boston Herald and the Boston Globe have reviews of Thursday night’s Jimmy Buffett show at the Comcast Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. According to the articles it was Buffett’s 50th time playing at the venue.

Boston Herald: “For Jimmy Buffett fans, show is Paradise”

“What’s up with this recession?” Jimmy Buffett asked in his third song, “Summerzcool,” last night at the Comcast Center. “I refuse to participate!”

Well, OK, who can’t get behind that?!

But wait: He’s a pseudo beach-bum-cum-multimillionaire. Of course, he’s not too affected by the recession.

The barefoot and ber-muda-shorts-clad Buffett brought a two-set, 2-hour show (also called Summerzcool) to the Mansfield venue for the 50th time. He was joined by his 10-piece Coral Reefer Band, as well as, briefly, James Taylor’s daughter Sally.

Boston Globe – “Buffett’s breezy, feel-good vibe still resonates”

Last night was Jimmy Buffett’s 50th concert at the venue he still calls Great Woods, and odds are good a chunk of the 17,000 or so fans at the Comcast Center attended all of them. And who can blame them? Buffett is more than a tunesmith. He’s a walking lifestyle, a tuneful outlook, the barefoot figurehead in a laid-back philosopher’s club whose grass-skirted, Hawaiian-shirted members make annual pilgrimages to a virtual reality with its own breezy theme song. About a frozen drink.

Odds are also good that the 50 shows haven’t varied much from one to the next, and that’s precisely as it should be. Some artists trade in innovation and evolution; Buffett’s product relies on feel-good reliability. Even a pair of topical new songs, “Summerzcool’’ and “We’ve Got a Lot to Drink About,’’ address the recession with a signature bit of advice: Have a cocktail.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band will play a second show at the Comcast Center on Saturday.

Update – A third review, this one from the Sun Chronicle: “Once again, Buffett brings paradise to Mansfield”