The iRocker is a set of tools for guitarists you can load on your iPod. For beginners, iRocker includes a virtual chordbook with 200 chords and fingerings, plus a guide to scales. 5 different chord progressions / riffs are provided for playing along. More useful to most of the readers here, though: iRocker includes a set of guitar tuning recordings with a variety of tunings, and a basic 10-speed metronome. iRocker comes from Talking Panda, who brought us iBar (probably more my speed, history of whiskey and whatnot.)

US$29.95; you’ll need a late-model iPod; Early models and Shuffles are unsupported.)

An intriguing concept, though of course your PDA or Treo can be a full-featured metronome, and a real tuner has more than just recordings. And is it just me, or does this make you want to load up your iPod / music player with lots of Jamey Aebersold recordings? (Ask a jazz player if you didn’t get that.)

Have you come up with clever uses for your iPod, music player, or other portable device? What do you load onto it when you’re on the road? Let me know, and I’ll do a roundup. (Later this week: why I find an old iRiver player more useful than an iPod.)