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Gentlemen and ladies, the future of guitar - unless we do something.


Thermionik

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Therm.....I thought the same thing about the standard electric guitar. It didn't happen....On youtube recently I saw an unplugged Jimi Hendrix, an unplugged Keith Richards......these guys made their mark with the electric....but they are pretty good acoustic players just the same. When they are sitting on the sofa.....at home.....you think the bring out their electric??? Their guitar hero???? LOL>......the acoustic will live on.....and greatly so.....

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I see it as a way to get a new guitar for cheap.... I can't tell you all how many times I see a listing on Craigslist saying: "I rock at Guitar Hero and figured I could play guitar too.. I can't so my loss is your gain" and then there is a barley played new (typically electric) guitar for 1/2 price of retail.

 

My 13 year old son and 14 year old daughter love the game but get a bit pissed at me when they are playing a song and I walk in with my guitar and play along. Apparently it screws up their playing. ;)

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My kids love Guitar Hero and they just got Rock Band 2 for wii. I see it as a step up from "Air Guitar". We all play together. I sing because many of the songs are from the 80's and 90's. My kids don't know the lyrics. We just got a jet plane for our band. Now we can do a world tour. My daughter outfits the band in different clothes and my son is the lead shredder. It is total fantasy and we have a blast. I tell my son at different times throughout the day........need to work on those scales. He then picks up the real guitar. It is all good.

Rob

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Thermionik, I share your concern. True story. Guy is playing at an open mike in local cafe. A young teenager in the audience asks him to play his favorite tune. The player's not too familiar with the song, but gives it a try anyway. Finally, the kid says, "man, you suck. I totally kick *** on that tune on Guitar Hero".

 

It's nice that there are guys like Rob, who can both have fun with their kids playing these games AND teach them how to play a real instrument. A lot of kids though don't have that, or for that matter, any access to a real musical experience at all. What they do have is a computer and a lifetime of playing games on them. My fear is that the simulation becomes an easy substitute for the more difficult and demanding reality.

 

I've only played Guitar Hero once, with my 15 year old nephew. He was all proud of himself because he could hit those keys faster than his old uncle, who after all was supposed to be a player.

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Thermionic, what if anything are you suggesting we "do?" The dumbing down of America has been a runaway train for decades. Just ask any music teacher in the school system how today's kids compare to those of the past. You'll hear adjectives like "dumb", "fat", "un-coordinated", "undisciplined", "uncontrollable", and "disinterested." Yes there are still some brilliant young musicians being produced, but the signal to noise ratio is approaching unity.

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Well now brians356, I am old and cantankerous and, now I am Old, I will wear Purple!

 

My suggestions run along two tracks.....

 

(1) The gene pool of life needs some chlorine.

 

Stop the nanny-state thing, take down all the safety notices, remove all the health warnings. Eventually the stoopid will die out before they breed, and the bright young things will shine through.

 

(2) Education, education, education.

 

Teach by example, shoot anybody who says "don't do as I do, do as I say", take anybody who says "if you can't do, teach" and call their bluff - put them in a school as a teacher to replace a teacher for whom the inspiration has died, straight swap.

 

And brians356 - look global, it is not just an American problem, this dumbing down, most so called 'civilised' countries are in the same boat. Falling like Roman Empires, collapsing from within - no need for an enemy outside the gates, self indulgence leading to self destruction.

 

Meanwhile, places with poor and hungry populations, working hard just to stay alive and watching very little TV, are climbing up the pecking order to fill the gaps left at an ever increasing rate.

 

But..... back on topic. Just try and inspire them to pick up a real guitar with some feel to it and play some music which comes from their own heart and soul, rather than a sampled, digitised, sanitised version of somebody else called up by pressing some buttons.

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If you want to see something disturbing, Google YouTube "Air Guitar Championship 2008". The event was held in Sweden (not knocking Sweden). Packed house........people shooting videos to remember this awesome event. Hell these guys probably have roadies and groupies too. My brother sent me the link over the holidays. I viewed the video (half of it, could not take any more) then emailed my brother and thanked him for taking 3 minutes from my life that I will never get back.

Rob

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On the other hand ... A former brother-in-law just told me about his nephew who started out on Guitar Hero and was inspired to get a real guitar and is now advancing quite nicely as a young player. So perhaps us old curmudgeons can still relax, we'll probably be six feet under before the sky actually does fall.=P~

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Despite the fact that my son, an accomplished player, loves his guitar hero

 

My personal wish is that GH players along with SLUSH record an "Unplugged" album!

 

But hey it;s just another fad!

 

Like Hoola Hoops

 

and

 

Space hoppers

 

and

 

Cabbage patch dolls

 

and

 

Lava lamps

 

and

 

Rock and Roll!

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Interesting comments on this one so far.

Here's some more, ahem, fuel for the fire.....

 

Guitar Hero has sold 23 million units worldwide.

 

Britney Spears has 30 million album sales in the US, over 80 million worldwide.

 

The Rolling Stones have sold in excess of 200 million albums worldwide.

Chicago sold 120 million albums worldwide (22 gold, 18 platinum and 8 multi-plat)

The Allman Brothers Band have 11 gold and 5 platinum albums under their belt.

Guns and Roses have over 40 million albums sold in the US, 90 million worldwide.

Greenday's sales are running to 22 million US, 65 million worldwide.

 

No reason for the choices, just covering a few bases,

but the music seemed to get out there somehow without Guitar Hero.

 

And I've said it before, and been flamed for it too.....

Just because you don't like somebody else's work, don't dismiss it as crap.

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My take on it is this:

 

Kids today are only exposed to pop and rap crap.....stuff that has no musical instrumentation in it whatsoever! The sounds and often the voices are computer generated like most action movies.

 

Because of the record companies and the media outlets, new bands, good or bad are not heard.

 

It may not be the real thing but at least guitar hero and rock band are introducing younger generations to bands like the Stones, Aerosmith, Hendrix, The Who, Skynyrd, Metallica, etc.

 

At least it's music with instruments in it.

 

Also, record companies have been ripping off artists for years by forcing them to sign off their catalog and so forth..... Aersmith has made more money off of Guitar Hero than they have on all of their album sales combined. GOOD FOR THEM! I hope Metallica does the same thing!

 

And if 2 out of every 200 kids that play the game ask for a guitar for Christmas, get it for them! They may see the fret board as Hendrix saw it, or the melodies could inspire them to write lyrics like Dylan, or maybe they'll just want to be cool and put on a great show like the Stones. Who cares! At least they won't be the product of some suits in a room analyzing numbers and dictating what music is played on the radio.

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My son started playing the guitar hero when it first came out a few years ago. It got him interested in playing the real thing. Now a few years later he is progressing nicely on the real guitar, he has sat in with me at local venues and played some back-up rythm on a few songs. "he owns three guitars now the latest is a fender strat he got for christmas, already shows early signs of G.A.S."

 

Now the kicker to this story.... I asked him before christmas if he wanted the new guitar hero version (think it is 3 or something) as a gift.

His answer to me was quote "Dad I play the real thing now, why would I want that?" almost made me choke up.....

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My son started playing the guitar hero when it first came out a few years ago. It got him interested in playing the real thing. Now a few years later he is progressing nicely on the real guitar' date=' he has sat in with me at local venues and played some back-up rythm on a few songs. "he owns three guitars now the latest is a fender strat he got for christmas, already shows early signs of G.A.S."

 

Now the kicker to this story.... I asked him before christmas if he wanted the new guitar hero version (think it is 3 or something) as a gift.

His answer to me was quote "Dad I play the real thing now, why would I want that?" almost made me choke up.....[/quote']

 

Nice story. Really. But keep in mind he has a dad who plays to give him an example. He understands what it takes and the difference between that and GH. Thank goodness for that, because many young people today don't have that.

 

Learning guitar (or any musical instrument) requires discipline and dedication as much (or more) than talent. What good talent if you don't have the discipline to sit down and practice? We are in an age where not only is information and fun are instantly accessible, but it requires very little effort on anyone's part to access it. It's essentially a passive thing, requiring little in the way of thought, concentration, perserverance, dedication. I don't know how it is where the rest of you are, but here in the Bay Area music programs are practically non-existent in the public schools (except in the wealthiest districts where parents can contribute).

 

There was a very interesting series of articles in the San Francisco Chronicle last year detailing concerns many people have about the way kids are learning about the world. The focus of the article was on outdoor activities such as camping, hiking and sports, or just taking a walk in the park. Complete with statistics and interviews of teenagers. It was clear in the article that many teenagers have come to see these activities as a waste of time and basically uninteresting. Why go to a state park to see wildlife when you can find out all about it on the internet? Of course, one misses much of the actual experience of discovery and being there, but that seems to matter less and less.

 

My own grandchildren, who live in a beautiful part of the country, are far more interested in playing games on their computers than actually doing something outdoors, or in doing anything that requires any more effort on their part than clicking a button. They read well though, but can't spell worth a damn, and have an attention span that can be measured in milliseconds.

 

Call me old fashioned or pessimistic, but I truly fear we are raising a generation of very passive, easily manipulated people. And yes, I know that's what used to be said about the television generation, but I truly think the computer is much more insidious since it seems to substitute for nearly everything. And that's my rant for today.

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Well now brians356' date=' I am old and cantankerous and, now I am [i']Old[/i], I will wear Purple!

 

My suggestions run along two tracks.....

 

(1) The gene pool of life needs some chlorine.

 

Stop the nanny-state thing, take down all the safety notices, remove all the health warnings. Eventually the stoopid will die out before they breed, and the bright young things will shine through.

 

(2) Education, education, education.

 

Teach by example, shoot anybody who says "don't do as I do, do as I say", take anybody who says "if you can't do, teach" and call their bluff - put them in a school as a teacher to replace a teacher for whom the inspiration has died, straight swap.

 

And brians356 - look global, it is not just an American problem, this dumbing down, most so called 'civilised' countries are in the same boat. Falling like Roman Empires, collapsing from within - no need for an enemy outside the gates, self indulgence leading to self destruction.

 

Meanwhile, places with poor and hungry populations, working hard just to stay alive and watching very little TV, are climbing up the pecking order to fill the gaps left at an ever increasing rate.

 

But..... back on topic. Just try and inspire them to pick up a real guitar with some feel to it and play some music which comes from their own heart and soul, rather than a sampled, digitised, sanitised version of somebody else called up by pressing some buttons.

 

 

+1000.

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I share your concern Nik, but..........

 

GH has certainly inspired my 12 yo to take up the guitar and my 4 yo thinks electric guitars are cool - as a result of "helping" his older brothers on GH. So I have no problem with my children playing it. Beats all the killing games which do annoy me alot.

 

But I do get a bit annoyed with this Wii stuff. Many people think it's great to be able to play tennis or another sport on the Wii. Fine, but why not go and do it for real? I'm lucky in that all of my children are active with the older 2 boys playing alot of sport - hockey to County level as well as rugby and cricket. So they're allowed the games.

 

As for the future, I'm far more concerned about everyone thinking Leona Lewis and that other one who won X Factor recently, are good singers. They make me sick. Sure they can sing a scale but why do they have to warble insessantly all over Snow Patrol and Leonard Cohen songs.

 

I can't find it on You Tube but look out for Annie Lennox singing Many Rivers To Cross. It's on a different planet!

 

"The public wants what the public gets". Your typical X Factor viewer is now programmed to believe what Simon Cowell wants them to believe because he's a very clever bloke and makes a great deal of money from that tripe. He's even made the country think that Cheryl Cole is classy! Hats off to him!

 

If GH helps get children (of all ages) play the guitar, then it gets my vote Nik.

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So - Wii cricket is a no-no' date=' but air-guitar with buttons is a good thing?

 

Perhaps Wii cricket starts a kid on the road to real cricket.

 

[/quote']

 

Agreed. Perhaps it does and if so, it can only be a good thing. My children were inspired by watching the likes of Freddie Flintoff, Michael Vaughan and Shane Warne as I was by Ian Botham.

 

More specifically, I've had a friend try to convince me that Wii tennis was good exercise!? What do I know, I've not tried it and I don't play the real thing any more.

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