DougW. 
Cibbuano
Krist Novoselic sucks at playing Nirvana on Rock Band
January 22nd 2009 02:17
And what happened?
Novoselic sucks at Nirvana.
No, not at the actual song, but playing on that weird guitar controller, trying to hit the buttons in the right order.
"I know about Rock Band, because Nirvana has some songs on it. I had never tried the game before, so I gave it a go. I worked through the menu and found the song "In Bloom." I picked up the little guitar-shaped controller and hit the stage.
I knew the bass line to the song, of course, but I couldn't quite master this new, different way of playing it.
The game reminded me of Space Invaders. I tried to hit the notes cascading down the screen, but could barely keep up."
Ha ha! Move over, old man - it's time for the new generation to have their way with your music!
"Meanwhile, this kid was watching me fumble with the game. I became self-conscious and took the controller off. I handed it to him, and he proceeded to jam on the song—and was really good! He had no idea that I was the musician he was emulating on the game, and I didn't tell him."
People have been critical of games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero, claiming that it gives a sense of false musicianship to kids that get good at a videogame, but I think there's another benefit, and Novoselic nails it.
By playing these games one instrument at a time, these plucky kids are training themselves to listen to one instrument, and then see how different instruments combine to produce music.
There are a lot of great songs out there, and playing them on Rock Band is a fantastic way to see how they're constructed.
Well, then the kids master songs like this:
...and the rest of us adults just whistle and walk away.
It brings the thought to mind - is playing the guitar a form of videogame? It's not as obvious as an actual videogame, but combine manual dexterity and hours of practice, and you'll still get rewarded, in some way.
Well, Rock Band allows these geeks who aspire to greatness share in the electronic roar of the digital crowd, the binge drinking of Mountain Dew and the hazy nights pleasured by groupies that exist only as long as your XBox is on.
*this image is from Spirit of Metal
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Comment by Jarrah
Back to the Eighties
It cracks me up when people hear me playing a song or something on guitar and they say "I can play that on Guitar Hero!" lol
I think it does help them with rhythm and beat though, and I guess Rock Band helps with singing.
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