Guitar Hero and Rock Band: Are these Games Dumbing Down Music Education?

In the last few years Guitar Hero and the more recent Rock Band have become some of the most highly sought after video games by young and old alike. Consumers have lined up to purchase the sets that give them the experience of being real live rock stars before crowds of virtual fans. With game controls that mimic the appearance of actual instruments these games provide hours of enjoyment that include group parties hosted in the name of the game as well as virtual world tours where players can become international sensations playing in venues all over the globe. But do we want our childrens only exposure to musical concepts to be through a video game cranking out versions of Motorhead´s "Ace of Spades" or David Bowie´s "Ziggy Stardust"?

Once again humans' hunger for instant gratification has trumped in the area of music. In a society where everyone wants to do something well without the work these games have catered to that need. American schools have already seen a decrease in music education as the order of the day and it has now become an elective for most students. But do we want this for our next generation? For some, the plus side is that you need no musical ability to play these games because they don´t require you to be a trained musician. In Guitar Hero color coded controls are used to emulate the chords you would play on a guitar to get the desired sound. It involves a great deal of hand-eye coordination to play each song correctly. Good players are met with cheers while the bad ones are booed off their virtual stage. Since the introduction of these games, players have spent thousands of hours trying to perfect the "notes" of each song that the games feature.

Music has been shown to be an integral part of human development, which is probably part of the reason so many children love Guitar Hero and Rock Band. But while they are spending their time practicing these games, they could have invested in learning to play a real instrument and seen long-term results instead of temporary virtual success. I would only hope that these games could somehow stimulate a child´s desire to learn to play an instrument and become more than just a video game virtuoso. If game creators had saw fit to incorporate some type of musicality into their product, then Guitar Hero and Rock Band may have been a boon to music education because they could have become a tool used to help children understand how to play music. Either way, based on the astronomical popularity of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, music is vital for children as well as adults. And these games have the sales records to prove it.

(Photo: Jasper Greek Golangco)