With the release of Rock Band: The Beatles only hours away, a couple of famous non-Beatles affiliated musicians saw it only fit to express their displeasure toward music video-games such as the Rock Band and Guitar Hero series. On the eve of the Beatles’ next milestone to further immortality, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason and ex-Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman spoke out against the wildly successful franchises.
Mason told the BBC:
“It irritates me having watched my kids do it – if they spent as much time practising the guitar as learning how to press the buttons they’d be damn good by now.”
While Wyman concurred
“It makes less and less people dedicated to really get down and learn an instrument. I think is a pity so I’m not really keen on that kind of stuff.”
In a drastic emergency PR move, Harmonix spokesman Alex Rigopulas responded
“Most people try to learn an instrument at some point in their lives, and almost all of them quit after a few months or a year or two. This, I think, is because the earliest years of learning an instrument are the least gratifying. When people play Rock Band, however, they very quickly get a glimpse of the rewards that lie on the other side of the wall. We’re constantly hearing from fans who were inspired by Rock Band to start studying a real instrument.”
As if you hadn’t already guessed, speaking as a games enthusiast, I am on the side of Harmonix. In addition to the encouragement these games give as suggested by Mr Rigopulas, I feel rhythm games such as these which aim to replicate the experience of playing real instruments and teach the intricacies of the songwriting. As you follow one particular instrument throughout a song, your appreciation for the role that instrument plays is greatly enhanced, as well as the regular listening experience. Not only this, but playing your favorite songs on these games and progressing to the harder difficulties (as silly as it sounds) help improve the accuracy and finger-speed that’s required in guitar playing. Oh, and don’t get me started on the microphone.
To say these comments on the eve of a music game is predictable, but on the eve of Rock Band: Beatles? I think somebody’s just bitter that they themselves weren’t asked for commercial digitisation. Either that or they’ve been reading too many scare stories.
Jackasses.
I tried guitar when I was 14, and got no where, and gave up… I'm 42 now and have been an avid gamer my entire life. I have very GH and RB game made so far on the Xbox 360.
Where are my plastic instruments taking me?
I also have a Jackson RR3 and Crate amp setting nearby…
GH/RB led me back the fact that i always wanted to learn to play guitar all those years ago. Without those games, there would be no guitar in my house….
Wyman, what a hypocrite, The Rolling Stones have one song, and jsut relased a 5 pack for DLC for the newly released GH5. He says it's a pity??? I bet he doesn't say that when he deposits his royalty checks… Jackass.
I agree, musicians who make comments like this don't take the time to acknowledge the benefits that come from these games. They think that because it's a game it does nothing in regards to a person's desire to learn or ability to play an actual instrument. What they fail to understand is the average person isn't a rock star. They don't get to experience what it is like to play in front of thousands of cheering fans. Granted, a video game can't really provide that experience either, but at least it helps you use your imagination. They also fail to realize that the simple act of playing the plastic instruments is actually pretty fun, not to mention very challenging, which is why most people play video games in the first place. You don't see many race car drivers going off on racing games, admonishing people for not actually getting behind the wheel of a race car, do you?
While playing Rock Band or Guitar Hero won't make you a guitar virtuoso, it will help with key aspects of playing such as strumming rhythm and note fretting. I've been playing guitar for 12 years, but until playing GH2 I sucked at tremolo picking. Granted, I never had much desire to practice it, but now that I've been exposed to it a lot in GH and RB I find myself doing it a lot when playing my guitar. The games also helped a great deal when teaching my sister to play since she was familiar with strumming and fretting. It wasn't a huge adjustment to get her to play power chords instead of pressing buttons.
Hi all…
I am playing games on pc and i like to more about gaming…
I like this article because it's about gaming…
I play a real instrument(saxophone), but I enjoy these music games. My little sister loves playing Rock Band and those arcade drum games, and she now wants to learn how to play the real drums. She also plays a real instrument(clarinet), and I think she's now practicing more often now thanks to those Music Games.
and on a somewhat realated note… I heard that Wii has a music game with the saxophone… If I ever suck at that game, I would have a good laugh ;)
I love to play games and listen music, Both are wonderful in each way. But some games has wonderful background music, And i crazy about it