Can you learn to play guitar by playing Guitar Hero?
As a guitar player, my relationship to the wildly popular Guitar Hero video game has been an interesting one. I regularly have people ask me if I’ve played Guitar Hero, expecting me to be pretty good at it. As if there’s some sort of magical relationship between this little plastic controller and a real guitar. Even more ridiculous? I have had more than one person tell me in all seriousness that they’re really good at Guitar Hero, so they’ll probably be really good at guitar.
Last weekend I finally had the opportunity to join the ranks of those who have rocked out on the little plastic guitar. I did pretty terribly the first time, probably because I was laughing so hard. I got the hang of it, and while I’m a far cry from “good”, I definitely get why Guitar Hero is so popular.
Right now you’re thinking “who cares?”. Besides the obvious “who cares, this game has been around for like 5 years”, another question lingers: how does Guitar Hero compare to “real” guitar, and can you learn how to play guitar by playing it?
First of all, let me get the obvious out of the way. You will never learn how to play guitar by playing Guitar Hero. That said, there are a few things you can learn from playing the game that you can apply to playing the guitar:
1) Timing: few things will blow the cover of a novice guitar player more than bad timing. Learn this skill and you will set yourself apart from the beginner pack. Believe it or not, you can improve your timing by playing Guitar Hero. (Be warned, though - there is a little bit of a lag time, or latency, between the controller and the game, so it has a slightly different musical feel than guitar.)
2) Song structure: One cool thing about Guitar Hero is that you literally watch the song go by as you’re playing it. Playing the game can be a way to immerse yourself in some classic rock songs. Consider it a musical education of sorts. See how these great songs are put together and apply what you learn to your own playing and songwriting.
3) Parts: Besides “seeing” the song go by as you play the game, you hear a guitar-heavy mix of the songs. This gives you an idea of what the guitar player is doing in these songs, which can help with ear training, and ultimately your own playing.
The verdict? When it comes to learning guitar, nothing can take the place of practicing a real instrument. While games like Guitar Hero hardly resemble playing guitar, there are some musical things going on while you play. Most importantly, playing Guitar Hero is getting more and more people excited about playing guitar. And that is a good thing.
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Posted via email from marklee’s posterous
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