
Any Guitar Hero comment thread is bound to draw out at least one person claiming that gamers should forget the game and try the real thing. It looks like all the cranky musicians have something to be thankful for, as it appears many Guitar Hero fans are doing just that. CNET reports that guitar teachers are seeing guitar students apply because of the game, even if they don't admit it directly. According to San Fran guitar teacher Jay Skler, "My adult students, they don't want to cop to it, but they're all, 'Have you played the game?'" Not every teacher agrees, some say that Guitar Hero will "kill music." Still, others like Skyler believe that at the very least the game gets young people interested in music they may not have been exposed to otherwise, rock and roll in particular.
So, has Guitar Hero or Rock Band given you a new interest in music? Have they driven you to learn the real thing? Of course, you know our answer.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
11-29-2007 @ 3:08PM
Tony said...
These games will never have the ability to "kill music" and the concept is almost delusional. Without music, no one would even have things to play in these games.
I play the saxophone and a few other instruments. I actually know how to read music, unlike a lot of people I know who play guitar... and I still play Guitar Hero and Rock Band regularly. They're just fun lol.
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11-29-2007 @ 3:17PM
Neon Jebus said...
Tony is right...this game can only help bring in new musicians. Though most will drop out once they learn it's going to take many years to be able to play even a small handful of their favorite songs.
But Tony is a woodwind player...and since I am low brass (Tuba) I can't like him...unless we are to gang up on some trumpet players...then we're cool! Man I miss being a band dork...it was a great time!
11-29-2007 @ 3:08PM
Tr3y MoNey said...
I'm ready for them to come out with Piano Hero! I always wanted to learn the musical notes. That would make me persue actual lessons perhaps.
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11-29-2007 @ 3:11PM
Zac LaCombe said...
Of course it makes kids want to pick up a guitar. Everyone loves that sense of laying down a face-melting solo.
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11-29-2007 @ 3:20PM
Neon Jebus said...
I love the sense of laying face down in a pool of my own vomit! Just like a real rock and roll star!
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11-29-2007 @ 3:23PM
Anticrawl said...
Hrm, I was big into music in my younger years. Played alto/sophrano sax, bass guitar and electric piano as a kid till my later teens but I lost interest(coupled with the fact some of my extremely expensive instruments were stolen).
Guitar Hero/Rock Band though have gotten me interested again, I'm also interested in the game itself. Which game would you all suggest price asside and considering the guitar by itself. I also would rather original tracks than covered songs. All that considered which do you all think is the better game?
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11-29-2007 @ 3:23PM
cranium said...
more like rock band gettign people interested in drums
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11-29-2007 @ 3:24PM
frrs said...
I'm certain GH makes everyone want to play what they're seeing on screen BUT it's not all fine and dandy. Just as much as people join, many leave because they thought they could be learning these solo's in minutes, not years.
It's sad but it's true.
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11-29-2007 @ 3:40PM
Joe said...
I was interested in Guitar Hero way back in 2005. My dad bought me an acoustic guitar instead.
I took lessons, and I told my guitar teacher it was because of Guitar Hero that I wanted to learn guitar.
And while I suck shit at it, I'll pick my First Act once I find my tuner.
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11-29-2007 @ 3:40PM
iHomer said...
I'm going for my third lesson tonight :)
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11-29-2007 @ 3:46PM
guimauve.msn said...
I picked up a real guitar 4 months ago after Guitar Hero II started getting a little old. I've been practicing 1 to 2 hours a day and even though I bought Guitar Hero III I can't bring myself to play it as much because the real guitar is more fun.
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11-29-2007 @ 3:46PM
colin17 said...
I've been playing drums since I was a kid but I played Guitar Hero 2 and couldn't wait to play guitar. I'm really happy they made a cool drumming game out of rock band with some good songs but they're are still gonna be people thinking they're freaking neil peart.(how do you spell his last name??)
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11-29-2007 @ 4:02PM
zlionsfan said...
You spelled it right.
I don't think Rock Band or Guitar Hero will take someone from no interest in real instruments at all to sticking with a real instrument long enough to play it decently. I think you have to have had some interest prior to gaming; the game would then push you toward lessons.
11-29-2007 @ 3:54PM
jduke said...
I played guitar for about three years before I started playing Guitar Hero. Now I almost never play real guitar. I'm lazy, and I have a lot more fun with Guitar Hero than actual guitar.
Plus changing strings is a pain.
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11-29-2007 @ 4:09PM
akatsuki said...
It is only a matter of time for games like Guitar Hero to start incorporating real guitars. Yamaha makes a guitar that can light up the frets to show finger placement and it is not too many steps from that.
Add in a game element, and learning might not be so bad...
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11-29-2007 @ 4:17PM
Succorso said...
There is nothing better then hearing my 7 year old girl sing Surrender.
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11-29-2007 @ 4:49PM
wei said...
I can see how Guitar Hero cause people to take interest in the real guitar, but as far as I'm concerned, being an expert at Guitar Hero gives you no discernible skill in real, actual guitar. Sure, you learn how to move your fingers fast and hammer on and pull-of. But in terms of real strumming, fingerwork, real fret-work, and picking, you gain nothing. On the other hand, I think being an expert at drumming in Rock Band could make you a basic drummer.. or at least set you on the path toward becoming one.
I actually find playing the real thing a lot easier than guitar hero in many cases. Guitar hero makes some simple concepts in real guitar an absolute chore, and feels more like Simon than guitar. There's enough room for both in the world, as long as idiots don't think that playing guitar hero gives them any real skill. But if they want to learn the real thing, then more power to them.
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11-29-2007 @ 5:53PM
root said...
i bought an real axe after i played gh2.
so: gh dont kill the music..
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11-29-2007 @ 7:43PM
Darren said...
I have been playing guitar since 1984 - really badly at first, but getting better as time passed. At this point, I have played in a few bands and regularly perform at open mics, usually with a few covers mixed in with my own songs, and I dabble in bass and mandolin.
I LOVE Guitar Hero and Rock Band! They are loads of fun to play, and (since the controllers aren't anything like a real guitar) they are still challenging on songs I have already learned to play on real instruments. Most of my friends who play these games are also musicians. The idea that there is something shameful about enjoying a music-oriented game because it's not as hard as playing real music is ludicrous.
I may have started playing guitar before some of Rock Band's programmers parents even started flirting, but I will freely admit that I have heard music I had never heard before because of the games, and I have been motivated to learn new songs because of the games/
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11-29-2007 @ 8:30PM
ccc said...
In my case, I practiced Guitar about 4 hours everyday. When GH first hit I was hooked, now after two years or so I realize that I barley touch my real guitar more than once every 3 months or so. Thats all different now though, I'm back to playing the real thing daily once I grasped what had happened.
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