So Just Because You Are Good At Playing Guitar Hero or Rockband...
Judy Ramsook
February 04, 2009
When I was a teenager, I fantasized about being a rock star just like most of the teenagers around me. And in this fantasy, I imagined being on stage, skilfully playing a guitar with many adoring fans before me.
But that was where my rock star fantasy ended. For as hard as I tried, I just did not have the knack for playing a musical instrument, let alone a real guitar. Enter the present where video games such as: Rockband and Guitar Hero might make you want to revisit your fantasy.
These games come loaded with tracks (later on you get to download more from the internet as your Guitar Hero/Rockband status improves) you play with the aid of your video game´s console controller.
And some players who have mastered the video gaming world of Guitar Hero and Rockband become convinced that since they are so good at the Guitar Hero/Rockband video games, that they are now ready to play the real instrument without taking a single lesson from a professional.
That too, is where their fantasy might come to a shocking halt. Certainly, there are people who have a natural knack for playing a musical instrument, but that does not mean all of us can do that or we might have the knack for doing so.
I have watched and listened as relatives and friends of mine play this Guitar Hero/Rockband video game. And as they succeed and move on to different songs in the game, I have also asked if they have ever played a real guitar or drum.
I get the same response all the time. No, but now that they are so good at playing Guitar Hero or Rockband on their favourite video game console, they are convinced that they can.
Video games are fun. I should know, I have played enough of them to know that, but just because I am good at helping Mario (from the Super Mario Bros. video game) leap to the highest point on a flagpole does not mean that I might want to perform that feat for real.
If all of us were meant to be rock stars, we all might have been just that. Next time you feel a Guitar Hero/Rockband fantasy coming on, try playing a real instrument the normal or hard way to see if you can make that fantasy come true.
If you do, and you find that you do indeed have a knack for it, that´s great. But if the experience leaves you feeling as though artists like: Jimmy Page or Jimmy Hendrix are/were a couple of the real talents out there, remember you will always have your copy of the Guitar Hero/Rockband video game.
The game that made you feel as if you could play any musical instrument without actually ever touching a real one.
But that was where my rock star fantasy ended. For as hard as I tried, I just did not have the knack for playing a musical instrument, let alone a real guitar. Enter the present where video games such as: Rockband and Guitar Hero might make you want to revisit your fantasy.
These games come loaded with tracks (later on you get to download more from the internet as your Guitar Hero/Rockband status improves) you play with the aid of your video game´s console controller.
And some players who have mastered the video gaming world of Guitar Hero and Rockband become convinced that since they are so good at the Guitar Hero/Rockband video games, that they are now ready to play the real instrument without taking a single lesson from a professional.
That too, is where their fantasy might come to a shocking halt. Certainly, there are people who have a natural knack for playing a musical instrument, but that does not mean all of us can do that or we might have the knack for doing so.
I have watched and listened as relatives and friends of mine play this Guitar Hero/Rockband video game. And as they succeed and move on to different songs in the game, I have also asked if they have ever played a real guitar or drum.
I get the same response all the time. No, but now that they are so good at playing Guitar Hero or Rockband on their favourite video game console, they are convinced that they can.
Video games are fun. I should know, I have played enough of them to know that, but just because I am good at helping Mario (from the Super Mario Bros. video game) leap to the highest point on a flagpole does not mean that I might want to perform that feat for real.
If all of us were meant to be rock stars, we all might have been just that. Next time you feel a Guitar Hero/Rockband fantasy coming on, try playing a real instrument the normal or hard way to see if you can make that fantasy come true.
If you do, and you find that you do indeed have a knack for it, that´s great. But if the experience leaves you feeling as though artists like: Jimmy Page or Jimmy Hendrix are/were a couple of the real talents out there, remember you will always have your copy of the Guitar Hero/Rockband video game.
The game that made you feel as if you could play any musical instrument without actually ever touching a real one.