Guitar Hero & Rock Band missed a great opportunity
Wednesday, February 24, 2010 at 5:49PM Writing about "Cliffs of Dover" recently made me think about Guitar Hero, and how awesome it could have been. I think it's great that Guitar Hero and Rock Band have gotten kids enthusiastic about music they might not otherwise have been exposed to, but I wish these games actually taught people how to play an instrument instead of a plastic controller.
The thing that makes teaching such an interesting challenge is that you must find the sweet spot where something is challenging enough to keep the student engaged, but not so challenging that it makes you want to give up.
This is what video games do marvelously well, and what makes them so addictive. You have a perfectly graded learning curve, with new information being added all the time in just the right dose.
The technology certainly exists to create a video game that will actually teach you how to play an instrument. While there are games that were created for an educational purpose, none are as perfectly sequenced or on as grand a scale as Guitar Hero.
Imagine a game in which education and entertainment are perfectly blended, with the big budget and classic songs that Guitar Hero and Rock Band have. Imagine the gamers of the world putting those vacant hours every day into learning a real skill. We would have an army of real guitar heroes.
Reader Comments (3)
These games are fantastic. They "teach" elements of rhythm, tempo, hand-eye-ear coordination, and even basic music appreciation -- all crucial things to learn if you want to be a musician. So the actual fingering is different than a real guitar, or the drumset is laid out in a simpler fashion... That's no big deal! Any multi-instrumentalist will tell you that learning to make music with any one "device" inevitably helps you when you learn to play the next one. I'm thrilled that so many kids and adults are catching the buzz and using this as a way to have fun. They are learning something about music along the way, whether they are aware of it or not!
Thanks for your comment, Josh! Great points. Recognizing and remembering patterns is another great musical skill that these games excel at developing.
Still, I know kids who play Guitar Hero for four hours at a stretch and come back to their guitar lesson never having touched the real thing all week. It would be great to see a game that makes actually playing the guitar as addictive as playing GH.
On the other hand, some of the kids who are playing GH aren't in lessons, but might be inspired to learn (and are already primed to do so with all the hand-to-eye practice)...and I bet for adults (even those who actually play!) the game helps them let go and not take making music so seriously - maybe allowing them to live out a rock and roll fantasy. :-)
All that said - I'd rather jam with real instruments. Let's get together again soon - I had a blast in your studio!
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