Guitar Hero is the worst thing to happen to guitar players in the history of the world. Yeah it can be fun to play with your friends every now and then.
But so is playing real guitar with your friends. Imagine that!
But if you find yourself playing this alone, please refer to this article about how Guitar Hero Makes You Worse of a Guitar Player.
If you are a non-player and you are weighing your options between Guitar Hero and learning to play a real guitar, just remember:
“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.”
-Herman Melville
To Parents:
Please buy your kids real guitars instead of Guitar Hero. PLEASE! Sign them up for guitar lessons and give them the gift of a time-worthy hobby.
Which kid would you rather claim as yours?:
Or
After you start mastering the real guitar, learn how to succeed as a professional guitar player and actually make some money from doing something that you love! Check out our Studio Guitar Secrets: Making Guitar Your Career audio interviews download right now!
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12 responses so far ↓
1 Jon // Mar 30, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I actually disagree I know a few people who have become more interested in guitar since playing guitar hero because suddenly they are focussing on the instrument when listening to music and because of those people now have real guitars. My nephew has had guitars around him since he was born but never really been that interested even though my brother had me copying Eddie Van Halen moves when he was 5 but after playing Guitar Hero suddenly he is spending 15 minutes or so noodling on my brothers electric.
2 Sarssipius // Mar 30, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Some surveys showed that playing Guitar Hero might encourage kids to play actual guitar… Yet, I kinda share the same feeling than Jeff about this game… Ok, maybe mainly because I suck at Guitar Hero (yeah I played once, shame on me)!!
I wanna be open-minded and just say “let them play GH maybe one day they’ll play music” though I still think it’s a huge waste of time (and neurones too)
3 Jeff // Mar 31, 2009 at 7:32 pm
Yeah that is a good point Jon. It can be good to help open up kids to the real guitar. But like all things, moderation is the key!
4 Ernesto // Mar 31, 2009 at 9:05 pm
I have mixed feelings about GH too. Sure it brings exposure to some great guitar music.
Wouldn’t it be better if more people became influences by actually playing guitar? I say playing guitar is cool enough as it is. We don’t need more GH, we need more guitar players…
5 Gary // Apr 1, 2009 at 2:10 pm
Hi Jeff, not sure I could handle the first kid - I’d be too ashamed to play myself. I know a few guitar hero players who’ve never played guitar, so I guess they’re not wasting practice time.
I prefer investing my time in guitar practice. I get something out of it with time, but that’s just my preference.
6 Sammy // Apr 1, 2009 at 2:47 pm
I also disagree. I play Madden. So does that mean I should instead be outside coaching real football? What about car racing games? They’re all just for fun. Guitar Hero has never claimed to be a substitute for playing guitar. It’s just a diversion. Hating it is just guitar snobbery at its worst.
7 Jeff // Apr 2, 2009 at 8:16 am
Yes, Sammy, you should be outside coaching real football.
There is nothing wrong with Guitar Hero when you are hanging out with your friends and chillin’. It’s a great Party game. It is a really fun game.
But like you said it’s a diversion from the real guitar, and if you play the game ALONE and invest a lot of time in it and actually practice it, my opinion on it changes and I think you are really wasting your time.
The videos of the kids are just exaggerations. I do see Guitar Hero turning on a lot of kids to the real guitar and real drums and whatnot. And that is good.
Obviously the attraction to the game is its fun-ness and the fantasy of playing guitar…..so why not just take 30 minutes a day or more to learn real guitar? But I can also see that playing Guitar Hero is better than spending all your time playing a non-musical game.
And more importantly, this article isn’t too be taken too seriously. It’s just me joking around about a video game. I apologize if my guitar snobbery seemed too harsh for your tastes.
8 jimmy mac // Apr 10, 2009 at 8:11 am
Jeff , this is one of the best items of interest you posted. It encapsulates the problems created by technology. The entertainment value distorts the source of the entertainment - The Guitar !
Here again the creation isolates the performer from the original intention- Personality!
The voice of an instrument is gone in a game however the ego persists in its need to be good at something that’s not important to be good at to begin with.
The first kid is scary too but in a different way.
Can anyone say - intimidating ? Oy!
Bottomline, we are living in an age where with pro-tools and an average IQ you can create a great guitar track - cut and paste away. With Guitar Hero you create a sense of performance
of a certain quality that is only exceeded by the ignorance of thinking its real. Lets hope that doesn’t happen. BTW- I work in the same building where Guitar Hero is developed and they are really nice people - 3rd ave in Foster City CA.
Have a great Passover
9 jimmy mac // Apr 10, 2009 at 8:12 am
Jeff , this is one of the best items of interest you posted. It encapsulates the problems created by technology. The entertainment value distorts the source of the entertainment - The Guitar !
Here again the creation isolates the performer from the original intention- Personality!
The voice of an instrument is gone in a game however the ego persists in its need to be good at something that’s not important to be good at to begin with.
The first kid is scary too but in a different way.
Can anyone say - intimidating ? Oy!
Bottomline, we are living in an age where with pro-tools and an average IQ you can create a great guitar track - cut and paste away. With Guitar Hero you create a sense of performance
of a certain quality that is only exceeded by the ignorance of thinking its real. Lets hope that doesn’t happen. BTW- I work in the same building where Guitar Hero is developed and they are really nice people - 3rd ave in Foster City CA.
Have a great Passover
-jm
10 Jeff // Apr 11, 2009 at 11:00 am
Good points Jimmy! That is pretty cool you are in the same building with them. Yep technology definitely has its disadvantages as well as its advantages. There is even software that will write a song for you based on a melody you sing, made by Microsoft, called SongSmith I believe. Yikes!
11 Dan Sindel // Apr 15, 2009 at 3:49 pm
lol, you will get carpal tunnel/repetitive motion disorder much quicker playing GH than a real guitar…
12 Cheap Guitars // Apr 27, 2009 at 7:53 am
I play guitar and thought gh was stupid! This last xmas my son wanted gh and being my little buddy(6 years old) he got it.
I have to admit that I have had a blast playing gh with him. It has got him playing a small Dean acoustic I got him two years ago that he had shown little interest in.
I am so happy he wants to play. I messed up with my older son (18) by making him practice. He hated it and I finally gave up and told him to play it if he wanted to….he hasn’t touched a guitar in 3 years.
My little one likes gh a lot, but I think I enjoy it more just because he is always saying…dad lets play:):):)
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