Guitar Hero and guitarists

[Theo Samaritan]

I do find that if you extend your questions past GH into other rythm games then the skills you learn can be brought on through into real playing.

Take the DrumMania and Rock Band drumkits. While the kits themselves are incredibly simple, they do teach you the core ideas behind drumming which can then be brought on into the real thing - rhythm, beat, timing and control.

Also take into case Beatmania IIDX. This is the a sequel to the original DJ mixing game and while it appears the new wave of DJ games [http://kotaku.com/5060736/scratch-ultimate-dj-wikkiwikki+wahs-on-to-ps3--360] will just have a similar colour layout on a flat plain like Guitar Hero's guitar, the original Beatmania actually had a 7-key keyboard-like controller [http://data1.vgl.co.kr/contents/special/beatmania/ASC-003.jpg]. This same controller actually helped me turn into a somewhat competent keyboard and piano player, despite the fact that is not a perfect rendition of the real thing.

I think the issue is not that Guitar Hero simplifies guitar playing - hell some of the songs actually are harder to play than in real life, including the infamous Through the Fire and the Flames - but rather that it doesn't really have enough in common to the instrument its based off when compared to gaming drumkits and the beatmania controller.

 

[USSR]

I don't realize why there are so many haters for guitar hero.

The only logic conclusion is that most people who hate it, are just fanboys of non-rhythm games.

I'll be an honest one on here and say I started guitar after I got to the expert level of guitar hero, because it gave a better challenge. I can also honestly say guitar hero helped me with guitar, because without it, I know I would have given up after the first few weeks for hurt fingers, and not knowing how to hammer-on or pull-offs well.

Guitar hero is just another rhythm game, for fun.

Possibly next the haters will start disliking audiosurf for not being able to fly a musical spaceship in a "vortex-ish" realm.

..sorry, I get a bit carried away when people hate on rhythm games, nice thread though!

 

[Credge]

I've been playing guitar for about 7-8 years now and have been playing guitar rhythm games since Guitar Hero came out. I have no issue playing the songs in the game. I also have no issue playing the songs on guitar.

The songs in Rock Band/Guitar Hero are often much, much harder to play than they are in real life, including the guitar solos.

My dad, who has been playing bass for about 4-5 years can't play a lick of Rock Band/Guitar Hero. He can play the songs that are in the game but can't play the game at all. Not even on easy.

So, being good at an instrument doesn't make you good at the game. However, since I can't answer the rest of your questions from my experience, I can answer them for three people I know who played Rock Band and have either gone on to play a real instrument (or are getting ready to start) or who have incredibly high interest in playing them.

The first is one of my cousins. He has picked up the drums as a result of playing Rock Band.

The second is my other cousin. He is about to pick up a bass as a result of playing Rock Band.

The third is a friend of mine. He has picked up the drums and the bass as a result of playing Rock Band.

Edit: Also, there's another question you asked that I didn't see first time through.

One is a video game and the other is not. There is absolutely no reason to think "Why should I waste my time with this when I can learn a real instrument?" when the two just aren't linked. I can pick up a rock band control and play a song without ever listening to it. I can't do that with a real instrument.

Even further, the comparison is bunk when you examine the fundamental differences between the two. One is a video game. The other is not. That alone is enough. You can draw parallels between playing paintball and playing a first person shooter. Why fake it when you can do the real thing? Because they aren't the same at all.

 

[Credge]

What I don't understand I the people who play ages and get crazy GH skills. I mean, why be awesome at an imitation. I asked my brother this and he said "Because I can't play the guitar". That just makes no sense.

This is exactly the bit that puzzles me.

On the other hand, I can see the appeal of GH for casual gaming, which is different.

There are tons of reasons. You could argue the same thing for first person shooters. Why get steady aim in a first person shooter when you can join the army and do the real thing? It doesn't add up.

There shouldn't be anything puzzling about it. Not everyone wants to learn an instrument. Some people just want to play a video game. Some people just want to get a higher score. Some people want a visible marked improvement instead of a general feeling of improvement.

More importantly, some people just want to play video games.

There is absolutely no parallel between playing a real guitar and playing guitar hero. They are two vastly different things where the only thing in common is the shape of the tool used to do either.

 

[bkd69]

There is absolutely no parallel between playing a real guitar and playing guitar hero. They are two vastly different things where the only thing in common is the shape of the tool used to do either.

I agree with you, but I do find a marked similarity between playing air guitar and Guitar Hero.

 

[meglathon]

I find real guitar complex, but since I started playing thesim musical games, I grown more and more interrestedin actualy playing one, add that my bro is playing one, now im starting to think of buing one and lerning to play.

 

[Bagaloo]

Ok, we get it, guitar hero fans are vastly inferior to you God-like people who actually play instruments.

 

[Theo Samaritan]

Ok, we get it, guitar hero fans are vastly inferior to you God-like people who actually play instruments.

That comment was uncalled for.

 

[Hamster at Dawn]

I'm quite good at GH but that's a lot easier than playing an actual guitar. Learning to play real guitar would require actual effort, something I greatly lack. Basically, GH is like casual guitar. Think how casual games are a lot easier to play and have a lot less depth in comparison to real games but people still play them because they're still fun and take a lot less commitment.

 

[Bagaloo]

Ok, we get it, guitar hero fans are vastly inferior to you God-like people who actually play instruments.

That comment was uncalled for.

Maybe so, but theres always an inherant undertone in threads like these whereby people who can actually play guitar claim superiority over people who just play guitar hero for fun.

They are two completely different things; one is a videogame that requires a somewhat decent sense of rythem, the other is a full-blown hobby that requires a lot of time and/or money to follow.

 

[Koeryn]

Firstly:
1. Can you play guitar in real life? If so, does Guitar Hero appeal to you and if so, why?
Yes, I can. Maybe not amazingly, but after four or five years, I feel I mostly know my way around the instrument. And yes, Guitar Hero / Rockband do appeal to me, even if I HATE the Rockband controller (The drums kick ass though).

The other two questions don't apply to me so I'll ignore them. I will say, however, that Guitar Hero DID help me improve my guitar skills. After a few months of playing on Expert (Mostly trying to get a higher score in Freebird, which is now my second most disliked song of all time), I picked up my guitar and had a "Woah." moment as I was able to shred through songs that used to be 'too hard/fast' for me. It also helped me clean-up my technique a little, so I'm actually kinda grateful to it.

You would eventually end up with a bunch of kids who could only read tabs (if that) because their lessons would consist of them bringing in a CD and having the teacher help them figure out what notes to play.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those 'tabs only' kids. The difference being, I actually WANT to learn to read music, go through theory classes and what have you.

 

[huntedannoyed]

I have played guitar for about ten years now, played in bands for about 5 or 6 years - I love guitar hero. Why is the game so popular? Probably because it's fun. The only leg up that musicians have on the game (besides drummers, those game kits are very simmilar to the real deal) is that maybe they are more familiar with keeping time than the average gammer. So, if people who play real instruments can jam with their non - musicaly inclined friends on Guitar Hero, then good for them.

 

[BonsaiK]

What I don't understand I the people who play ages and get crazy GH skills. I mean, why be awesome at an imitation. I asked my brother this and he said "Because I can't play the guitar". That just makes no sense.

This is exactly the bit that puzzles me.

On the other hand, I can see the appeal of GH for casual gaming, which is different.

There are tons of reasons. You could argue the same thing for first person shooters. Why get steady aim in a first person shooter when you can join the army and do the real thing? It doesn't add up.

There shouldn't be anything puzzling about it. Not everyone wants to learn an instrument. Some people just want to play a video game. Some people just want to get a higher score. Some people want a visible marked improvement instead of a general feeling of improvement.

More importantly, some people just want to play video games.

There is absolutely no parallel between playing a real guitar and playing guitar hero. They are two vastly different things where the only thing in common is the shape of the tool used to do either.

Well, about that FPS/Army analogy: joining the Army is a fairly high-risk activity in terms of personal safety. An FPS allows you to experience shooting stuff without the added risks that one associates with the armed forces. Playing an actual guitar however is not all that much riskier than playing a plastic one. So that particular parallel doesn't really hold up at all.

I wouldn't exactly know how much real guitar vs. Guitar Hero has in common as I've never played Guitar Hero so I have no basis for comparison really, other than what I've seen on YouTube and while out games shopping. That's why I started this thread, to find out what people think about stuff like this. But it does seem to me as a casual observer that Guitar Hero does have some sort of element of guitar mimicry, however minimal it may be - I mean, that's the point after all, isn't it?

 

[bmf185]

I don't even like the idea of Guitar Hero. I have played actual guitar for eight or nine years and the thought that kids now think they are special if they can press buttons that sort of correspond to notes of a song sickens me a little. Sure, I've played it a few times, but I didn't think that it was fun or even interesting.

Put away the toys and learn an actual instrument, kids.

 

[BonsaiK]

Ok, we get it, guitar hero fans are vastly inferior to you God-like people who actually play instruments.

No need to get defensive: I didn't create this thread to criticise people who play Guitar Hero. I don't have anything against the game itself (which I've not actually played) or the people who play it. I'm just seeking to understand people's motivations to play Guitar Hero vs. actual guitar. I've obviously got my own point of view on it but I'm interested in what others have to say too, hence this thread.

 

[Alphavillain]

There's no real comparison between Guitar Hero and real guitar in terms of complexity. The great thing with real guitar is that even if you are technically crap (like I am) you can create great songs: it's a means of expression rather than a glorified videogame controller. And in terms of just the sensation of playing the things, GH controllers have a maximum of five buttons as opposed to the six strings of a guitar, which really says it all.

 

[Alphavillain]

I don't even like the idea of Guitar Hero. I have played actual guitar for eight or nine years and the thought that kids now think they are special if they can press buttons that sort of correspond to notes of a song sickens me a little. Sure, I've played it a few times, but I didn't think that it was fun or even interesting.

Put away the toys and learn an actual instrument, kids.

I agree. Plus, games like Guitar Hero are really about marketing water-down Rock God theatrics for middle class suburban kids. It's the ultimate sign that Rock Music Is Dead.

 

[Bagaloo]

Ok, we get it, guitar hero fans are vastly inferior to you God-like people who actually play instruments.

No need to get defensive: I didn't create this thread to criticise people who play Guitar Hero. I don't have anything against the game itself (which I've not actually played) or the people who play it. I'm just seeking to understand people's motivations to play Guitar Hero vs. actual guitar. I've obviously got my own point of view on it but I'm interested in what others have to say too, hence this thread.

I just get fed up with the amount of times people go on about how everyone who plays guitar hero is a wannabe guitar player.

The reasons I can see for choosing the game over the real thing are as follows:
1) Its cheaper.
2) It doesn't require as much time to get good at it.
3) It can be a very entertaining passtime, especially with friends. When you are just learning to play the guitar, it tends to be a lot of the time just you, alone with a guitar, repeatedly strumming the same chords / notes until you get it right.

 

[Tonimata]

1: I have recently started playing real guitar (got a Strat the oter day)
2: I have always had a fondness of Rock and Roll (and all of it's subgenres), but I think that, even though I'm not genius at it, it was Guitar Hero (or Rock Band in my case) that impulsed me to want to learn the real thing
3: I totally, totally did. And since I've been playing piano most of my life, most of the concepts are really easy to learn, although of course the axe requires an awful deal of precision and finger-articulation breaking. AND I AM FUCKING LOVING IT!