Its funny how some people automatically have a negative attitude to Guitar Hero, and yet they never did to Air Guitar. Comparing someone pretending to someone actually playing would be silly... Maybe its because Guitar Hero could have the same feeling that electronic keyboards had with musicians in the 80s.
Either way, I wasn't going to waste my Guitar Hero expertise and enjoyment by not picking up the real guitar. It introduced me to some fine songs and artists, trained my forearms up no ends, strengthened my pinky, and let me play blistering solos without learning guitar. It is the new Air Guitar for the world, and its a game. Its not actually playing. For me, the reason I even picked up a super complex instrument like guitar is because the game showed me how the human body learns, grows and evolves the abilities it needs to cope with whatever you throw at it. Seeing how quickly this happens in the game gave me inspiration to always have a guitar in my hand.
Getting 100% of notes hit without overstrumming on expert with an excellent solo (Even Flow, Pearl Jam etc.) really does give you a boost of adrenaline and excitement. Its this feeling thats turned so many players into guitarists for real!
Its funny how some people automatically have a negative attitude to Guitar Hero, and yet they never did to Air Guitar. Comparing someone pretending to someone actually playing would be silly
I suppose my real point is, because I was already playing guitar when the game first came out, it had no appeal for me. I could see how that would be different for someone who has never played. In fact, since I have picked up the guitar I've had little time for video or computer games of any sort. I used to be really into the computer-based fantasy role playing games, but I don't think I've really touched one since I started playing guitar. So, for me it hass less to do with the fact that it's simulated guitar playing than it is the fact that it's just a game.
That being said, I'd say Guitar Hero is an awsome concept for a game. And look- it has evidently inspired lots of folks to take up music for real! And that's not a bad thing! Compared to the subject matter of a lot of these computer games these days, you can do a lot worse than Guitar Hero.
So, I am not panning gGuitar Here as a game. I'm just saying that for me personally at this point in my life that GH, as well as any other computer or video game, doesn't have any appeal. I guess I'd really rather be playing my guitar than a video game.
Regards,
Mike
"Growing Older But Not UP!"
interesting how Guitar Hero can be a catalyst towards trying a real guitar. props to that.
sometimes I wish there was a training device for living.. Life Hero would be awesome. I need help sometimes.
I'd try that.
325 something
Life Hero would be awesome. I need help sometimes.
What about "The Sims"? :lol:
In Space, no one can hear me sing!
the Sims meet the Osbornes would work.
Fun thread!
I had a couple of years of piano lessons when I was young, and then I played Horn in HS band, but I rarely practiced because I sounded horrible, and I didn't want to subject my neighbors to that. :oops: But I did pick up the basics of notation and such, so it was a decent background.
In the early 90s I started messing around with composing music. Played around on my little keyboard and ended up with about a dozen pieces. Then the keyboard broke, and I moved on to other things.
Last June my wife, in a fit of boredom, had her old classical guitar restrung, thinking to try it again after 30 years. I thought it would be cool to learn a new instrument, and if we wanted to play together, I'd need my own. Since she already had the acoustic, I thought I'd get an electric, and I ended up buying a green Yamaha Pacifica 112J, which I have since been told numerous times (by people who know a lot more about it than me) is a very nice guitar. It sounds good to me, and is easier to play than the classical, so I can't blame the equipment for my ineptitude. :?
My wife soon moved on to other things, and since we live 50 miles from the nearest city of any size, I've pretty much focused on just learning to play as a solo instrument, trying to find arrangements that would sound interesting by itself. (I have no desire to sing, and no one except maybe the dogs would ever want to hear me sing). Never had lessons or played with anyone else; being isolated has made it difficult to develop in those directions. I can do a few things OK, but 7 months in I feel like I can't do very much yet, including playing much of anything all the way through. When I visited my parents for Christmas, I picked up my guitar from the shop on the way over, and when they saw it they asked me to play something -- but I found that I actually had virtually nothing I could show them, except a (poorly-done) rendition of "We Three Kings" I had been playing around with for a month.
I'm a child of the 70's/80's, so naturally my main love is Classic Rock, especially the melodic, multi-layered sounds from bands like Boston and Asia. Unfortunately, the only "live" music to be had anywhere within an hour of here is country/western, and I've never cared for the twang, so no real chance to see a live guitar performance of music I like. (OK, there was once a solo singer/lounge lizard at one of the restaurants we've been to who played some rock; you haven't lived until you've heard a half-speed, acoustic version of "Back in Black" :roll: ).
To make up for my lack of talent, I've invested in equipment:
Behringer 30-watt solid state modeling amp (more than I need, but I like playing with the effects)
Dunlop Compressor (my sustain needs serious help)
Boss OD-1 Overdrive
Line6 TonePort UX-1 (haven't used it yet, but when I get good enough to compose/record, watch out!)
To get the thread back on topic: Never played Guitar Hero. :mrgreen:
great post.
don't feel isolated. you always have us. :)
when I lived out in the countryside back in the 70's there were times when I didn't have to go anywhere for days on end.
I could sit on the back porch and strum and pick to my hearts delight. I played along with the records we had. the rock bands discovering country styles had started. I remember blue grassey songs by Garcia on 'Old and in the Way' album,ie.
tey got me to develop my own flat picking style. no one was around to say different, so I got good at it. no reason you can't develop your own techniques.
there are no wrong answers perhaps with guitar playing.
when I lived out in the countryside back in the 70's there were times when I didn't have to go anywhere for days on end.
I could sit on the back porch and strum and pick to my hearts delight........
Man, that sounds so good right about now. My wife and I have chatted about doing that, but this *thing* I'm going through has greatly postponed any such dream. I spent most of my childhood living in small towns, but these towns were so small that I only had a back yard to go through before I was on miles of endless trails. I imagine hiking a couple of miles in to this natural meadow I know of and hanging out playing the accoustic would be quite awesome.
One other spot comes to mind, this one in upstate NY on a otherwise miserable farming existance I had for a year. Some weird tall and steep hill in an area known for it's rolling hills. I loved hay raking duty up there. You could see for miles and miles. I don't know how many deer I almost ran over with a tractor. It was like one of those road side view stations where you dropped your quarter in and got to view for 3 minutes. That would be my ideal spot for an abode. Well, maybe a summer place. I digress. Still, it's quite amazing what I took for granted back then.
Roy
"I wonder if a composer ever intentionally composed a piece that was physically impossible to play and stuck it away to be found years later after his death, knowing it would forever drive perfectionist musicians crazy." - George Carlin
my hopes remain that I will be able to move back to the countryside again. I know a few acres and a farm home wait for me.
I remember blue grassey songs by Garcia on 'Old and in the Way' album,ie. tey got me to develop my own flat picking style. no one was around to say different, so I got good at it. no reason you can't develop your own techniques.
there are no wrong answers perhaps with guitar playing.
I love this site. You can always learn new things if you know how to read every post. Thanks for the comments and thanks for the link.
On the topic of Guitar Hero ..... I hate it. Can't play worth a darn. My son is good at it and he is an acomplished bassist, but for me, I can play the songs much better on a real guitar. I sound like crap when trying to play the game. Only way I can do it is learn the patterns of the notes and play without looking at the TV. :lol: All in all I think it is a good thing. It inspires people to play and is a big shot in the arm for classic rock.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
I remember blue grassey songs by Garcia on 'Old and in the Way' album,ie. tey got me to develop my own flat picking style. no one was around to say different, so I got good at it. no reason you can't develop your own techniques.
there are no wrong answers perhaps with guitar playing.
I love this site. You can always learn new things if you know how to read every post. Thanks for the comments and thanks for the link.
Javi. thanks for posting the link. that is one cool album. the early 70's in American music was interesting. at first I was bummed that some bands that rocked went soft rock /country. but then it grew on me.
You guys are soooo funny. I love guitar hero... because it makes me feel like a real guitar player! I SUCK at Guitar Hero and when I can't hit ANY of the notes (and watch my 5 year old nephew nail them) I think about how I can ACTUALLY play the song! Makes me feel good!
Anyway... turned 30 a few years back and asked my wife for an acoustic for my birthday since I had already accomplished everything possible in the air-guitar arena. Got a lower-end Takamine (which isn't a half-bad guitar) and took some lessons but my teacher was just going through the motions with me... we did the basic kid's music books, but I was getting bored and I didn't have a lot of time to practice (well, I probably had more time since I play more now and I have two kids now!). I bounced around to another teacher and was kinda just floating.
As many of you know, I buy and sell guitars like you change your socks. Always looking for the "perfect" guitar while keeping my guitar budget the same (buy one for $500, sell one for $500). I've probably owned 50 guitars over the last 6 years. All electric.
During my time I've run into a bazzilion people who play so I've picked their brains for tips and help, and I've become a self-taught kind of player. Really I am a rhythm player because I don't have the dedication to practicing to become a lead player. BUT, I've learned a tremendous amount about how guitars are built, repaired, refinished, wired, and set up. My wife refers to me as the "guitar hobbyist" since I'm always tinkering with my guitars (when I should be playing them!).
Right now I'm playing a Carvin Single-cut Goldtop, USA Strat, and Hamer Flying V into a wicked cool Traynor tube amp. I'm playing classic rock & metal. Working on a Judas Priest tune right now, but my main goal is to play La Villa Strangiato by Rush at some point in my life.
The instrument is a hobby and release for me... It definitely "hurts so good" to crank the amp to 9 and just belt out chords with a Guinness. Cheers! :P
-=- Steve
"If the moon were made of ribs, would you eat it?"
my hopes remain that I will be able to move back to the countryside again. I know a few acres and a farm home wait for me.
You should surf up Australia. (Mt WARNING , COOLANGATTA)
I've been here full time since...geez, I think 1994. GREAT music scene and that "acres/farm/countryside" dream is cheaper than you can imagine! Right now ONE US dollar buys 1.55-ish AuD. The financial crisis has hit us, too...but we had a gov't surplus...which is now zero thanks to our own "stimulus package"...but I guess that's bettern' not having the loot to start with. 20.5 million population...70% energy independent...growing food for 90 million.
There's a Country Music Festival each year in TAMWORTH and a Blues Festival in BYRON BAY. Hey, there's even a MARDIGRASS in NIMBIN!
Cat
"Feel what you play...play what you feel!"
Its funny how some people automatically have a negative attitude to Guitar Hero, and yet they never did to Air Guitar. Comparing someone pretending to someone actually playing would be silly... Maybe its because Guitar Hero could have the same feeling that electronic keyboards had with musicians in the 80s.
I kind of view Guitar Hero (and all the similar games) as being similar to painting by numbers. With either of those you aren't really playing an instrument or painting a picture. Some of the people who do either of those will go on to the real thing but most of them won't and just use it as a way to pass (waste?) time.
I've started and stopped playing the guitar quite a number of times. I originally started taking lessons in the 70's when I was in grade 4. I took lessons with a classical guitar teacher in the local Anglican church basement. I had a Sears acoustic guitar. I grew tired of playing stuff like el Manicero and quit. I liked music a lot still but I figured that playing an instrument wasn't something for me. I did a fair bit of DJ'in in high school.
Quite some time later when I was in grad school as an older adult (in my early 30's) I made friends with a guy from Japan who was (and still is) a fabulous guitar player. He turned me on to some very amazing Japanese musicians such as Char). He also inspired me to try the guitar again. I had absolutely no time in grad school for that but after I got out I got a guitar (a semi-hollow body built from old Coral Firefly bits by FatDog - http://www.fatdawg.com ). I played for a while and could play some simple stuff but work got pretty busy and I wasn't getting where I wanted as fast as I wanted so it got put down for a few years (ok a little more than a few).
After my wife and I moved into our new house the guitar was there during the move reminding me that I hadn't been practicing and I started to play again off and on (though mostly off). It was a few years ago that I started to take private lessons and that really helped. I finally started to really "get it" with the help of my teacher. The biggest difficulty for me has been learning "how to learn". None of what you need to do to learn the guitar is like anything else I've really ever done. The areas I'm good in like math, physics, and computers (some of which I make a living at too) didn't seem to need the same kind of practice.
So, I guess it's been a total of 34 years (grade 4 to current age 44) with most of it not playing though it's been only the last 4 years that I've been really playing and practicing diligently and continuously. I'm mostly playing blues and blues based rock with a smattering of other stuff that my teacher throws at me (both for broadening and as songs some of the other guys in our jam group want to play).
My main guitars these days are an 2000 or so Godin LGX-3 (deep wine red single cut away mahogany body, maple cap, bolt neck, 3 single coils) and a 2006 Edwards E-SA-125LTS (ESP's Japan only brand version of a cherry red Gibson 335 - http://www.espguitars.co.jp/edwards/sa/E-SA-125LTS.html ). I've got a few more (a Seagull M6 acoustic, the FatDog semi-hollow with P90s, a travel guitar, and an Edwards '59 LemonDrop LP that I'm about to fit P-Rails into) but that's what I'm playing with the most.
Pop music is about stealing pocket money from children. - Ian Anderson
