There's been a lot of speculation in recent months about games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band and how they do or don't (depending on your opinion) contribute to people actually picking up and playing real instruments.
The thought process for the proponents is that the experience on a fake guitar will make a person want to experience the real deal.
While the other school of thought is that playing a real guitar is exponentially harder and therefore a lost cause on today's microscopic attention span having youth.
Have a
look at this Gamespot article that tackles these and other issues about the impact of Guitar Hero on today's aspiring musicians...
Quote:
"I have an overwhelming feeling that my business is safe for years to come when I see kids playing Guitar Hero," said Dan Emery, owner of New York City Guitar School.
"These kids are really enjoying playing Guitar Hero, and they're really being turned on to old classic rock" via the game, he said.
Emery said he actually sees Guitar Hero as perhaps the best recruitment tool his school could have asked for.
"I fully expect that (kids who play the game) will get into their 20s and they will have disposable income and they will decide to actually play guitar and they're going to call us up," he said.
The immense popularity of Guitar Hero does worry some of Skyler's fellow guitar teachers, who fret that the game may deter kids from being interested in picking up the real instrument. But Skyler doesn't share that concern, instead feeling that the long-term outcome will be positive.
"It's going to kill music," said San Diego bass instructor David Hilton. "It seems to me that as long as (Guitar Hero fans) can get really, really good playing this console--(and) it's not really easy to play (a real) instrument," that the guitar is dead.
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Being that I work for the largest manufacturer of musical instruments in the world, you can see my obvious interest in this article and the opinions held therein. In our industry, we've been kicking around this argument since Guitar Hero first came out not so long ago. I have to say, I'm of the hope this will be a good thing in that it will create a desire for future customers of our products to take the next step and to learn to play the real thing.
But the pessimist inside of me says that those are the hopes and dreams of someone who is too involved in the potential negative fallout from these games to think clearly. Kids of today are in it for the quick fix, the instant gratification...they'll never have the patience to sit down and learn the three chords it takes (and that is truly all it takes!) to be a legendary songwriter.
(See:
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Beatles
"Bounty hunters. We don't need their scum!" -Admiral Firmus Piett
