Poll: Guitar playing games or playing real guitar - which do you prefer?

[Fairee]

The usual two things to start off with - 1, I searched, couldn't find anything like this, so sorry if it's a repeat and 2, no flaming, everyone's entitled to their opinion, this is just meant to be about discussion.

Now, main topic. This morning, I managed to borrow my brother's XBox and try Guitar Hero 3. I've got GH for the DS myself, and I'm not too bad. Trying it out with the guitar controller though was tough, and I need a lot of practise. However, I also own a real electric guitar, so part of me thinks my time would be better spent practising that instead.

On the one hand, Guitar Hero is easier, you just press the buttons and flick the thing at the right points, and you have the backing track and the image on screen to tell you what notes to play when.

On the other hand though, if you learn to play a real guitar it is slightly more impressive, and can be played anywhere (as in, you don't need a console and a TV), but it does mean having to hold it correctly and press the strings etc which would take more effort and practise to get right.

So, which do you prefer? Games or the real thing? And has anyone been inspired to get a real guitar after playing Guitar Hero or something similar?

 

[Arkhangelsk]

I've played both, and with real guitar, I plan to get a future. With Guitar Hero I can not. It's limited what you can learn on Guitar Hero, but on guitar you can never stop learning, and it never stops being fun.

 

[sky14kemea]

I've actually tried many times to play a real instrument. xD But I'm just too unco-ordinated to hold down the strings (yeah I know lame excuse)
Anywho, at least on Rockband/Guitar Hero I can play on expert
But I might keep trying, maybe I just need a good teacher? :/

 

[Jumping_Over_Fences]

Real Guitar, I never understood the draw of playing Guitar Hero, or Rock Band (at least not taking them seriously). I actually find it harder to play those games because I know how to play the real songs. I honestly do not see how you can get a sense of accomplishment from learning how to follow the colored buttons on the screen.

You are not a Guitar Hero! You are not in a real Rock Band! And for the Dance Dance Revolution people (which is the same exact type of game whether people want to admit it or not) you cannot actually dance. You have mastered a video game, that is all. Get out of your fantasy world and actually try to do the real thing.

 

[Arkhangelsk]

I've actually tried many times to play a real instrument. xD But I'm just too unco-ordinated to hold down the strings (yeah I know lame excuse)
Anywho, at least on Rockband/Guitar Hero I can play on expert
But I might keep trying, maybe I just need a good teacher? :/

Dedication is your friend. I played for two years without a teacher, and have gotten better than most players, by simply practising for several hours a day. Getting good at guitar is a real commitment.

 

[Vlane]

Guitar Hero and that stuff is fun but nothing beats something like this. [http://www.geeks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/Strat.jpg]

 

[Spitfire175]

Playing guitar hero/etc isn't playing music, it's playing an overpriced ripoff videogame and looking like complete idiot.

 

[sirdanrhodes]

I ought to thank Guitar Hero. It convinced me to take up the bass rather than playing plastic toys.

A year on from starting, still lovin' it.

 

[Abedeus]

I've been trying to play the guitar and while I'm pretty bad at it (at least for now), I don't want to play Guitar Hero instead.

You might as well play Audiosurf and claim to know how to play the guitar.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

I play both, but real guitar way more frequently. Games like that just don't click for me.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

Switching between two notes smoothly for the first time on a guitar was infinitely more exhilarating than Guitar Hero ever was.

So, that's another vote for real guitar.

 

[Mongodyr]

I don't really think you can compare the two... For me, Guitar Hero/Rock Band is a game that me and a couple of friends can play while hanging out. Real guitar is a way to express my self.

However, for the actually playing... I'd say that I prefer the "real" thing. It just flows easier for me.

 

[NimbleJack3]

Guitar Hero. I don't have the manual dexterity to play a real one properly.

 

[McHanhan]

The games are great but nothing can substitute playing a real instrument. They both are forms of musical expression but a real instrument requires several talents while Guitar hero just emphasizes hand-eye coordination. You don't get to feel the music if you will.

 

[SmartIdiot]

Real guitar. Guitar Hero is fun and all but it infuriates me when a song comes on that I know how to play on a real guitar and they've reduced it to pressing a couple of buttons in sync with colours on screen.

 

[Iron Mal]

I personally prefer Guitar Hero because I can openly admit I can't really play the guitar that well (and I have tried learning on numerous occasions).

I find it weird that people who claim to be able to play a real guitar frown upon games like Rock Band (usually with retorts and jokes based around how they can play a real guitar), games like Guitar Hero and the such aren't really supposed to be a recreation of guitar playing (although it's understandable why some would think that), it's supposed to be an emulation of being a rock star (something that the aforementioned musicians seemed to have overlooked, the 'Hero' in 'Guitar Hero' is there for a reason).

That said, let the real guitarists play real guitars and let the gamers have their fun and settle for pressing buttons and using their imaginations.

 

[ProfessorLayton]

I enjoy both, but I prefer real guitar a million times more than Guitar Hero. Real guitar you can play whatever songs you want and you can join a band and you might even make some money or become successful. Guitar Hero is just a fun thing to play with. Some people just don't have talent, making it impossible to play real guitar and I can understand that. I don't hate Guitar Hero like a lot of people do because I've beaten every game since number 2 on Expert but I just strongly prefer real guitar. It's a lot more rewarding.

 

[Poketom]

I play a ridiculous amounts of Rock Band 2 but the people I normally play it with are in my real band anyway so I'd say both. Although after pretty much getting 90% plus on expert guitar on everything it did encourage me to try to learn guitar as well I'm a drummer you see and I'd been playing drums before rock band even came out.

 

[scotth266]

I've actually tried many times to play a real instrument. xD But I'm just too unco-ordinated to hold down the strings (yeah I know lame excuse)
Anywho, at least on Rockband/Guitar Hero I can play on expert
But I might keep trying, maybe I just need a good teacher? :/

Same. That, and music classes in my early schools were a joke. They didn't teach me diddly.