guitar hero VS real guitar

[Saskwach]

As an afterthought, a different friend said Guitar Hero is killing the music industry as young people would rather play the Fisher Price version of Guitar as opposed to the real deal. Am I alone in thinking he is talking out of his backside?

see my post above yours, guitar lessons go down, music synth sales go up. Its a documented and somewhat horrifying, somewhat beautiful event

Documented? Link me, plz. This sounds interesting.
In my own anecdotal evidence I have to say that where once I had no interest even in thinking about guitars now I'm musing over buying one-once I have the obscene amount of money- and learning. Guitar Hero alone can take credit for that.
Well also a friend who plays guitar but only very slightly.

 

[Sibbo]

i reckon it depends on the way someone has meant it. Alot of other ppl have already said this but if they are saying that their good at the game thats fine but when they're comparing the game and the real thing that just makes them look like idiots.

Also with the idea that guitar hero and other such things will get rid of the real life skill, i can't see it doing so. It may stop some ppl/alot of ppl from playing who knows? If it does, at least it may get rid of some of the worse "guitar" players.

 

[McMo0^]

i think everyone gets the fact that playing a real guitar is a shit load harder than playing guitar hero, of course it is. Compared to 5 buttons you have six strings and 20 frets (least my acoutsic does, can't be certain about electric).

I know someone who can play hangar 18 on electric, and then someone who can play it on expert on gh 2. Guess who has more of my respect.

But lest we not forget that not everyone can play guitar. Guitar hero is designed for all those people who can't, simulating something they will never have because they simply aren't capable of playing guitar. If he was bragging about the fact he could play raining blood on guitar hero at expert, well done him, it is an achievement. Let them have their moment. The best thing about guitar hero "legends" is that they pick up real guitars and look like you've given them a brain that needs some surgery. I know people can play both, but leave those who can only play guitar hero alone. You've achieved more than them and everyone knows it, all their doing is trying to have a taste of your glory.

 

[FaceInTheSand]

When I pick up a Guitar Hero controller and play along with songs that I've already learned on electric - or even not - everything breaks my head. The rhythm of the guitar line you hear, never quite matches up with what they ask you to play. The way the solos are the same 5 buttons as the verse, but faster. The extreme whammy bar-age whenever a note is held for longer than a micronanosecond, irrespective of whether it sounds good.

At first, I thought I was so much better than this stupid game and promptly gave up. But, I was envious of those who could ace Guitar Hero.

The reason is, that Guitar Hero is not a guitar simulator. It's Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers.

And I'm awful at DDR.

 

[Mojozing]

I dont think they can be compared, at all. Ive been playing the guitar for about 10 years now and you wouldnt believe how completely shit at guitar hero I am. However, Im not really impressed with people who are good at it, if I put just a fraction of the time and effort Ive put into learning the guitar in to it, Id be awesome.

Being able to play "Raining Blood" on GH is as much as an accomplishment as playing it on a real guitar. Maybe even more so, considering how few people can do it.

No way. As McMo0^ said, there are a mere 5 buttons you have on guitar hero, but 6 six strings and 22 frets on an electric guitar, giving a total of 132 notes. When guitar hero features 132 buttons on the fret board at takes other things into consideration such as chords and rhythm, then the two could be compared.

 

[monodiabloloco]

Unless they are puffing up because they won, bragging about being good at a game is stupid. No one cares. Well, unless you are a professional paid gamer.
However, if they are rubbing it in because they beat you, that's OK. Talking smack and reveling in victory is all part of playing against your friends.
Keep in mind that people are proud of their accomplishments no matter how lame we may see them. Also, being a braggart because you can play guitar and they can't makes you an ass.
I can play guitar fairly well. I still don't rub that in my bro's face every time he schools me or destroys my score at GH.

It's really dependent on the situation. Some guy that thinks he's a rock star 'cause he five starred every song on expert is an ass. A guy who is proud that he did it and tells you about it without being a dick.. nothing wrong with that. Hell, if I could beat a single F! song on expert, I would shout it to the world.

 

[tiredinnuendo]

Telling people that they should play the real guitar instead of Guitar Hero is like saying they should stop bragging about their skill in Madden or CoD4 and join the real NFL or the real military. In short, these are the things non-gamers say to make gamers feel more like geeks than they already do. So well done there. It's just another form of showing off how much bigger your d*$% is than theirs.

Video games are about escapism, and doing things that you don't normally do. Playing Guitar Hero, as I understand the game, isn't about thinking you can play the guitar, it's just a way for anyone to feel like they can interactively experience music.

- J

 

[zen5887]

Okay so a few things here..

If you were a pro football player would you pay out someone when they started to brag about how good they are at FIFA07? Just like just because your a pro footballer doesnt mean your good at FIFA.

The same with guitar hero. They way im seeing this is you think less of the person beacuse he can nail Raining Blood. Its a totaly diffrent skill which requires totaly diffrent abilitys. I guess there are a few things that cross over.. Finger dex and timing but thats about it

 

[strangemusic]

I'm a bassist, and one of my housemates is a guitarist, we're both fairly accomplished... we both enjoy the hell out of Guitar Hero/Rock Band and can do most songs on Expert (save for that nasty last tier in GH3! Damn you, Raining Blood/Cliffs of Dover!), and our conclusion is that the Guitar Hero "guitar" is a separate instrument entirely, and being good at it has nothing to do with being good at actual instruments save for practiced fret-hand dexterity/strength, maybe. As such, anyone talking down to people who can do well at GH "because it's not a real guitar" has no valid argument. Conversely, anyone who thinks that they would be good at real guitar by virtue of being good at GH is crazy. I can confirm this: I've tried to learn a few lines on the guitar, and my bass-programmed brain does nothing but trip over itself every time... haha...

 

[cleverlymadeup]

Is it considered arrogant and/or rude to chastise someone for bragging about being skilled at guitar hero, when you are proficient at the real guitar? I get especially riled up when people brag about playing "raining blood" on expert when I've known how to play the song for 3 years now, and I kinda want to see if I was making more of an ass out of myself than usual.

actually i think it's hilarious to bug guitarists about stuff like that, cause they aren't realizing IT'S A GAME

if you don't understand that, get a freaking grip on yourself, seriously. IT'S A GAME and doesn't make you a musician. yes they are saying they are really good at PLAYING A GAME not PLAYING AN INSTRUMENT

tho for some real funny stuff check out scott ian from anthrax failing at guitar hero on a song he wrote
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DlnP-LJBzUc

by the same token do race car drivers get their panties in a twist by saying how awesome you ran the manaco grand prix? i'll guarantee they don't

same goes for nba players and nfl players with ppl playing nba 2k or the latest madden? no they don't

so honestly if you get your panties in a twist about someone playing a game, get a life

 

[NotPigeon]

I'd just like to give my two cents and just say that the one thing that annoys me more than anything else related to GH is people who say "You're wasting your life, learn to play a real guitar!"
That's a stupid argument. It's just a fun game, it's fun to play, and I guarantee that the majority of people playing it are well aware that they're not learning to play an actual instrument.
I have Guitar Hero, and I do play it every now again, but I also have an actual guitar- I'm by no means good at it, but I'm about as good as you can expect with only a year's worth of experience- and enjoy playing it. It's really two completely different things- Guitar Hero enables you to play along on a plastic controller to rock songs, and there's nothing wrong with that. The one thing that a guitar can do that GH can not, though, is enable free expression. You can't write music on a Guitar Hero controller.
The point here is that there's no validity to saying that you shouldn't play Guitar Hero because you could play a real guitar instead, although admittedly this thread was about something slightly different.
I believe there was an XKCD on the subject...
Found it. [http://xkcd.com/359/]

 

[Abbadiel]

I think you're right, the guys that brag that they completed Throught the fire and the flames on expert at 98% are fucking insane, really, it's only a casual game, something to play around with your friends or while bored.

 

[Larenxis]

Well, anyone bragging isn't cool, but Guitar Hero and guitar are not the same thing. I know people who are awesome at guitar but suck at Rock Band, as well as the reverse. It's incomparable. Just because it has a fancy controller doesn't stop it from just being a game. I wave a wii controller around like a boxer, but that doesn't mean I can beat you up in real life.

 

[Bodb]

It's not something to be proud of in public. If they act like it's a way greater accomplishment than it is, let them down gently. If they're arrogant about it, burn them. If they're complete douchnozzles who think it makes them better than other people, bludgeon them with the nearest heavy object. It's for the good of mankind.

 

[thisnameok]

when people brag, yes its very annoying, but if he was just bragging to his friends that also play GH then so what, he wasnt trying to 1-up a real guitar player.
but to me its like when my friends are bragging about how great they are at Halo, then i tell them "well why dont you join the military then if you are so good at shooting people in a game"
so basically yes, you are not wrong that you got annoyed about him bragging, but ive had friends that play real guitar telling me how jealous they are because i can beat raining blood easily, i dont brag about it, i just play to have fun, now if they made a Piano Hero and i heard people bragging about how they can beat Fur Elise on expert, then i might find myself in your shoes

 

[magnus gallant]

yeah, ive been playing bass for a few years, and its fun, and im not bad at it. i also play guitar hero, im not great at it, but i found it helped my fingering a bit, i find it does require a certain amount of skill to play guitar hero really well, but its not like you can write your own songs and play in front of people, so i guess what im saying is although guitar hero takes skill and raining blood is impressive on expert, your still just a big video game nerd haha

and on a side note, in case anyone thinks im a jerk for that last comment, ogre battle 64 is my favorite game of all time, so have at it hahaha

 

[copiae]

The problem with many of the analogies given in this thread is that they neglect the artistic and creative side of both creating new and playing existing music on guitar. There is a joy in creating great music from scratch and, for me, a sense of release that is hard to describe. But, when i hear someone bragging about how good they are in Guitar Hero i feel like they are indirectly cheapening the guitar experience. Its the equivalent to how an artist would feel hearing some guy brags about his ability to paint by numbers. Truth be told, it does take some skill to paint by numbers, but it is but a pale imitation of learning how to paint and creating work yourself, even when all you are doing is copying someone elses work.

That aspect aside, Guitar Hero is insanely popular for a good reason. Its a fun game, and getting expert on some songs is pretty tough - so in itself, such an acheivement is good. However, comparing Guitar Hero skills to real guitar skills is kinda like comparing the ability to pick up girls in a dating game to picking up girls in real life.. its much more fun in real life, and the rewards for success are infintely better.