Photo by twodolla
I’ve got nothing against having a bit of fun with a computer game now and then, but I feel I need to speak out against the pernicious and ill-conceived waste of time that is “Guitar Hero“.
Let’s take a minute to examine what Guitar Hero actually is. According to Wikipedia:
The Guitar Hero series (sometimes referred to as the Hero series)[1] is a series of music video games first published in 2005 by RedOctane and Harmonix Music Systems, and distributed by Activision, in which players use a guitar-shaped game controller to simulate playing lead, bass guitar, and rhythm guitar across numerous rock music songs. Players match notes that scroll on-screen to colored fret buttons on the controller, strumming the controller in time to the music in order to score points, and keep the virtual audience excited. The games attempt to mimic many features of playing a real guitar, including the use of fast-fingering hammer-ons and pull-offs and the use of the whammy bar to alter the pitch of notes. Most games support single player modes, typically a Career mode to play through all the songs in the game, and both competitive and cooperative multiplayer modes.
So we’re clear then, this expensive toy attempts to mimic the playing of a guitar. That would be fine if somehow the playing of the game had any benefit in terms of improving one’s ability to play a real guitar. But Guitar Hero does not do this. It does not even, in my experience, encourage non-musicians to take up playing the guitar. And even if it did, these eager new guitarists would soon find that their so-called skills developed playing the stupid game are not in the least transferable to the real life instrument.
No surprises there really. I mean does anyone really believe that pressing some coloured buttons on a cleverly-wired plank of wood in time to some coloured dots on a TV screen will make anyone better at playing the guitar? I hope not.
In fact, I know some excellent guitarists who have tried to play Guitar Hero, with very mixed results. Picture the scene towards the end of the party, the dancing has fizzled out, the tunes on the stereo have been turned down low so as not to disturb the neighbours, and various guests have raided the kitchen cupboards in search of something to satisfy their alcohol-induced craving for food.
Some bright spark decides to get the games console out and fires up Guitar Hero. “Come on Dave”, he cries, “you’re the guitarist, show us all how it’s done”.
So Dave picks up the guitar-shaped controller and starts pressing buttons in time to the prompts on the screen.
So far so good.
But then he starts making mistakes and it’s not long before he gives up and some idiot who’s spent the previous 2 weeks glued to the TV in his bedroom practising to play the game gets a new high score. The guy is so impressed that he gloats that he’s a better guitarist than Dave, who has chosen not to waste his time perfecting the pressing of plastic buttons, but has actually been playing his Les Paul original and writing some cool songs that others will be enjoying at the gig he’s putting on with the rest of his band next Saturday night down at the club.
Who’s the real loser here? It certainly ain’t the developers or distributors of the game. But the guy who’s poking fun at Dave is kinda missing the point.
Guitar Hero does not enhance musical ability in any way shape or form. There is no transfer of any skill from coloured button to fretboard. In fact a high level of skill in one will detract from one’s ability in the other.
Guitar Hero is damaging the musical ability of our nation and we must stand and fight before it’s too late.
I urge you all to chuck your games consoles in the trash and buy a real guitar. You’ll be glad you did, and your country will thank you for it. So get down to your local music store, or log on to Amazon and buy yourself a nice guitar, the best you can afford, and learn to play guitar.
P.S. Yes, I’m Dave and I suck at Guitar Hero. If you’d like to catch me and my buddies playing our latest songs live, head on down to the Blue Oyster Bar in downtown Manhattan every second Saturday. It would be great to see you there!