What do guitar players think about video games like "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band"?
I recently read an article on Prince. He refuses to put his music in these games.
Here's exactly what he said to Tavis Smiley:
"I ain't mad at them. I hear it made, like, USD 2 billion and they came to us and offered us a very small portion of that."
"I just think it's more important that kids learn how to actually play the guitar."
So, are these games just harmless recreation? Or do these games "dumb down" the art form?
They are video games, not instruments. And while they may generate a love and interest in music to the uninitiated, they have little to offer the serious musician. Ultimately, they have more in common to Dance, Dance Revolution, or the popular 80s electronic game Simon, than a guitar or bass. They do, however, provide a vicarious appeal Dance Revolution obviously lacks, which is why I believe they are far more popular. Ultimately, I have no problems with the games, but I cannot bring myself to play them. This is most likely because they bring me face to face with, because of their highly simulacral nature, the fact that video games, for the most part, are not a means to any valuable end.
Guitar Hero's a blast to play and being an actual player I think makes the games easier because of the whole timing issue. And unlike Prince I feel that these games may actually lead more people to learn an instrument. They're just for fun just like Karaoke's fun, and insecure musicians hate that too.
As a player I did not find that the game added anything to musical technique, but neither did it detract. If you are serious about music the best past-time is watching great players of the genre you like on video. You Tube is great for that.
If you want to learn the words and memorise the songs then I do not feel that these games do you any harm, but they will not help anything to do with real music except perhaps your rhythm and timing. I hope that answers your question.
Not everyone can be a rock star just like not everyone can be a soldier, or a ninja, or gangster as are depicted in so many other games. I don't think that more kids would be encouraged to learn guitar if games like Guitar Hero didn't exist. In fact, I think they breed more appreciation for the music and the art form in general. If you can't play a fake guitar, imagine how much work real musicians put into their music.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band are fun games that are getting people interested in Music again. That's a good thing. Objecting to having your songs included in these games is like objecting to someone singing your songs in Karaoke. Not every Karaoke singer will get professional lessons and become a singer, but some will. Not every Guitar Hero and Rock Band player will become a guitarist, but some will. That's good enough for me. The goal of these games is not to produce musicians but for people to have fun with it (and maybe ignite the iTunes downloads).
I played guitar for 25 years now. I entered a "rock band" game contest at my local coffee shop. I failed miserably. It was fun though. They've got good songs for it at least.
I've been playing guitar for 8 years and I got whipped on Rock Band by one of my friends that had been playing guitar for like a year.
It was disheartening, but I still think Rock Band and Guitar Hero games are really freaking fun. They don't really attribute anything to music except maybe rhythm and tempo, but it's all about creating a memorable experience, which it does a really great job of.
Never played the game, but have been playing guitar since age 9. I tried to learn to read music, but always ended up playing by ear. I think these games could lead to an interest in playing the real instrument for some, but mostly they are a really fun way for those without musical tendencies and natural abilities to play along with their favorite bands. My husband has it, tried it a couple of times, and gave up, lol! No patience was his excuse...
I just think it's a fun game. You can be awesome at guitar and totally suck at guitar hero. They are totally unrelated except that it may inspire new people to play guitar.
Ive been playing guitar for years. I like Guitar Hero, but it is not even remotely the same as playing a real guitar. I was absolutely terrible at Guitar Hero for a long time >.> It doesn't dumb down the art of playing the guitar because its not the same. Its a game, enjoy it
I think if kids want to spend time learning about music they should buy a couple of books on musical theory, or chord diagrams if you're into piano or guitar. Mainly, pick up an instrument and learn to play it. Doesn't matter what kind of an instrument, just pick it up and learn to play it.
Guitar hero will come and go. The instrument will always be there, and unlike the game, you can use what you learn to create something your own.
I have found that people that have guitar hero always want to pick up and have a go on my guitars, and it is really easy to teach them how to play something simple on a real guitar, they already know timing. Afterwards they get all enthused about learning the guitar, and will go away and actually practice, for hours on end, just like they used to when playing their video games.
There's nothing wrong with the guitar hero games, if anything they're good for introducing young people to classic bands they might not know, and show them the fun of music and bands and rock and roll. Then, if they like the music they're playing and enjoy "rockin'" out, then maybe they'll pick up a guitar, which is a great thing.
By no means is guitar hero stopping people playing real instruments, it's encouraging playing real instruments, and showing young people (mostly) good music they mightn't of otherwise heard.
ive never played the game but i do play guitar to play guitar is a lot of hard work and alot of effort but once you get to a stage when you can play your favourite songs on it and play your favourite riffs or come up with your own the feeling is fantastic and if you ever get to a stage where you play infront of a crowed or even infront of schoolmates the rush you get cant be explained. if guitar hero inspires kids to get into the real thing why not im all for it
It gave me a greater appreciation for the music and how it's played. I know it's a game and not real, but it's so fun.
by anime_nanet 15 years ago
Hi hubbers.I just found a really nice game that emulates Guitar Hero and that you can play Online for free. You use your keyboard or you can even plug in the guitar from Guitar Hero if you have one.It has a vast selection of musics and is quite fun!<no links please>and if you like it sign up...
by Judith Regnart 15 years ago
Is the new "Band Hero" software compatible with the "Guitar Hero World Tour" equipment?Guitar Hero World Tour comes with a guitar, microphone and drum kit. The "Band Hero" is a spin off of Guitar Hero; essentially replacing the "world tour" game.
by Simon Cook 7 years ago
What are the pros and cons of letting children play video games?Depending on the expert you listen to Video Games can be good or bad. What are the pros and cons of letting children play video games? What are the parents responsibilities? Should the parent check out the game fully before allowing...
by Kiki 1012 3 years ago
I understand everyone needs a hobby or a past time, but should our adult males be playing video games more than our kids!! I have an older brother, he doesn't have any kids, yet instead of doing something constructive he will play the game,PS3, from dusk til dawn.
by Allen Donald 11 years ago
If you're over 40, why do you still play video games?I'm 44 and not ashamed to admit I own an Xbox and still really enjoy it when I get a chance to play. I think I'm of a generation that grew up with video games and I'll play them until the day I die.
by Tim Nichol 14 years ago
I don't mean your favourite band, or their music. Just the name of the band.Here..I'll start you off with a couple:1) Scraping foetus off the wheel.2) Trashcan SinatrasYou get the idea...Go!
Copyright © 2025 The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers on this website. HubPages® is a registered trademark of The Arena Platform, Inc. Other product and company names shown may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Arena Media Brands, LLC and respective content providers to this website may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website.
Copyright © 2025 Maven Media Brands, LLC and respective owners.
As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.
For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy
Show DetailsNecessary | |
---|---|
HubPages Device ID | This is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons. |
Login | This is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service. |
Google Recaptcha | This is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy) |
Akismet | This is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Google Analytics | This is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy) |
HubPages Traffic Pixel | This is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized. |
Amazon Web Services | This is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy) |
Cloudflare | This is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Hosted Libraries | Javascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy) |
Features | |
---|---|
Google Custom Search | This is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Maps | Some articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Google Charts | This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy) |
Google AdSense Host API | This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Google YouTube | Some articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Vimeo | Some articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy) |
Paypal | This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Login | You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy) |
Maven | This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy) |
Marketing | |
---|---|
Google AdSense | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Google DoubleClick | Google provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Index Exchange | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Sovrn | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Facebook Ads | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Unified Ad Marketplace | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
AppNexus | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Openx | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Rubicon Project | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
TripleLift | This is an ad network. (Privacy Policy) |
Say Media | We partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy) |
Remarketing Pixels | We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites. |
Conversion Tracking Pixels | We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service. |
Statistics | |
---|---|
Author Google Analytics | This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy) |
Comscore | ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy) |
Amazon Tracking Pixel | Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy) |
Clicksco | This is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy) |