a good thing about rock band/guitar hero...

[Bassmingo]

..apologies if this has been discussed before,

Has anyone noticed that with the rise of guitar hero and such games, that the individual tracks (called stems) are working their way online from the game? you can now listen to what the bassist was actually doing without the guitar covering it up.

the best known example of this is the death magnetic song that was remixed from the better sounding guitar hero version.

i'm not gonna link here as it may breach copyright (let me know if i can though) but after a bit of searching i've managed to get multitracks from the following:

metallica - tracks from RTL MOP AJFA and DM
STP - sex type thing
Aerosmith - sweet emotion
Nirvana - tracks from nevermind
SOAD - tracks from toxicity

i also have the multis for queens bo rap and stuff from sgt peppers, and muse's absolution as instrumentals.

you can edit, and remix till the cows come home!

its amazing to hear that cliff burton is not doing the gallop on battery....


...opinions?

[Matt Till]

Well, another good thing, the rock band drum set will probably help create some drummers. If you beat that game on expert behind the fake kit, if you got behind a real kit, within a week you'd probably be a decent drummer.

[Ampeg SVT]

Originally Posted by Bassmingo

..apologies if this has been discussed before,

Has anyone noticed that with the rise of guitar hero and such games, that the individual tracks (called stems) are working their way online from the game? you can now listen to what the bassist was actually doing without the guitar covering it up.

the best known example of this is the death magnetic song that was remixed from the better sounding guitar hero version.

i'm not gonna link here as it may breach copyright (let me know if i can though) but after a bit of searching i've managed to get multitracks from the following:

metallica - tracks from RTL MOP AJFA and DM
STP - sex type thing
Aerosmith - sweet emotion
Nirvana - tracks from nevermind
SOAD - tracks from toxicity

i also have the multis for queens bo rap and stuff from sgt peppers, and muse's absolution as instrumentals.

you can edit, and remix till the cows come home!

its amazing to hear that cliff burton is not doing the gallop on battery....


...opinions?

I also do the same so I can listen to the tone and little extra things you cant hear (ghost notes and some other things), however that is the only thing I use those tracks for and I just use youtube.

The actual game IMO and IME was garbage.

[Bassmingo]

yep, no interest in playing the games, dont even own a 360!

i'm crossing my fingers for the tool tracks that are in the next guitar hero though!

[Goatman]

Yeah, I can attest to this. I used the practice mode in GH to slow down and isolate the guitar and bass lines for "Only a Lad" so that I could tab them for my music class. Definitely a nice feature to a game that is, IMO, only really amusing when I'm nerd-partying with my who akwardly fumble the buttons

On a cynical note, though, another good thing about this line of video games is that it has taken all the young guys with no patience and passion about their music and given them an immediately-gratifying toy that prevents them from frustrating would-be bandmates.

Since these games came out, I've noticed a lot less musicians in the local jamming network who fit the screwball "I suck, I dont really wanna get better, I just got my parents to buy me a guitar so I can pretend to be a rock star in my pajamas" description.

Put simply, it separates the boys from the men (and girls from the women, of course) Has anyone else noticed this wedge effect?

[TFunkadelic]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

Well, another good thing, the rock band drum set will probably help create some drummers. If you beat that game on expert behind the fake kit, if you got behind a real kit, within a week you'd probably be a decent drummer.

Bleh, I hate guitar hero/rock band and games like it for this reason exactly. Guitar Hero and its spin offs have created a whole generation of kids who are more impressed with video game instrument skills than actual instrument skills. They seem to think playing the song on a 3 button "guitar" makes them a musician, when there's hardly any music to it at all, just pushing random combinations of buttons in accordance with visual cues that the game gives you.

For the price of the video game system, game, and controllers necessary to play, you could buy a solid REAL bass or guitar, and play with REAL people (or recordings). But what's the point of playing music if you're not trying to set a new high score?

The South Park episode parodying this phenomenon was ridiculously accurate.


Sorry, rant.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by TFunkadelic

Bleh, I hate guitar hero/rock band and games like it for this reason exactly. Guitar Hero and its spin offs have created a whole generation of kids who are more impressed with video game instrument skills than actual instrument skills. They seem to think playing the song on a 3 button "guitar" makes them a musician, when there's hardly any music to it at all, just pushing random combinations of buttons in accordance with visual cues that the game gives you.

For the price of the video game system, game, and controllers necessary to play, you could buy a solid REAL bass or guitar, and play with REAL people (or recordings). But what's the point of playing music if you're not trying to set a new high score?

The South Park episode parodying this phenomenon was ridiculously accurate.


Sorry, rant.

don't be sorry. this is a bone of contention with me as well

[TFunkadelic]

Originally Posted by standupright

don't be sorry. this is a bone of contention with me as well

I was at a party once, and two of my friends were playing the game, discussing the difficulty of the song they had just finished "playing." I pointed out that I could play it on an actual real life instrument. They stared at me blankly for 5 seconds like "real instrument? what do you mean?" and went back to playing.

[VinylRepairKit]

My biggest problem with these games is that there isn't enough emphasis on proper timing; you either get full points for hitting the note close to where it should be or no points at all for being drastically off (you can get a perfect score on a song while having a pretty sloppy rhythm).

I would enjoy it more and do better at it (I think) if the amount of points you get per note was relative to how precise your timing was.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by TFunkadelic

I was at a party once, and two of my friends were playing the game, discussing the difficulty of the song they had just finished "playing." I pointed out that I could play it on an actual real life instrument. They stared at me blankly for 5 seconds like "real instrument? what do you mean?" and went back to playing.

i got one better

i went to my friends house that is a huge gaming freak....now, i'll admit, i can get pretty hooked on gaming, and for that reason, i don't own a system. i live in phoenix and he lives in portland, and we have been known to kill DAYS in front of the gaming console when i go to visit....which i am completely fine with...... so anyway....

"DUDE.....you gotta check this out!" as he proceeds to show me his rockband setup......."you are gonna totally kick ass at this (we are 34 and he's talking like a 20 year old. not that there's anything wrong with that, just identifying age gap and lexicon)"

me: why? there's only 3 buttons on this thing....how do you play it?

him: i'll show you!

enter land of confusion. game starts.......nothing happening on screen that coincides with how you would actually play the tunes.....massive failure....10 minutes later, i hand him the "instrument".....and that was all she wrote.

what a joke......those games have nothing to do with musicianship.

[Matt Till]

Originally Posted by TFunkadelic

Bleh, I hate guitar hero/rock band and games like it for this reason exactly. Guitar Hero and its spin offs have created a whole generation of kids who are more impressed with video game instrument skills than actual instrument skills. They seem to think playing the song on a 3 button "guitar" makes them a musician, when there's hardly any music to it at all, just pushing random combinations of buttons in accordance with visual cues that the game gives you.

For the price of the video game system, game, and controllers necessary to play, you could buy a solid REAL bass or guitar, and play with REAL people (or recordings). But what's the point of playing music if you're not trying to set a new high score?

The South Park episode parodying this phenomenon was ridiculously accurate.


Sorry, rant.

I agree entirely, but you missed what I was talking about: The Rock Band drumkit. It really does teach basic drumming skills, it's surprisingly similar to actually playing a drum kit.

Now, the same certainly can't be said for the guitar controllers. You couldn't hand a guitar hero advanced player a guitar and expect them to play "More than a feeling" on guitar. But an "advanced" drummer could play along to most of those songs. (Though the fill system is ridiculous, you don't even have to be in time to get points)

I think they should make a game that uses the Rock Band drum kit to teach people to actually drum. It's impossible with the guitar, but the kit makes it pretty close to any other electronic kit.

[TFunkadelic]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

I agree entirely, but you missed what I was talking about: The Rock Band drumkit. It really does teach basic drumming skills, it's surprisingly similar to actually playing a drum kit.

Now, the same certainly can't be said for the guitar controllers. You couldn't hand a guitar hero advanced player a guitar and expect them to play "More than a feeling" on guitar. But an "advanced" drummer could play along to most of those songs. (Though the fill system is ridiculous, you don't even have to be in time to get points)

I think they should make a game that uses the Rock Band drum kit to teach people to actually drum. It's impossible with the guitar, but the kit makes it pretty close to any other electronic kit.

That's exactly what I'm saying though. It doesn't even require you to play in time. This is one of the most important aspects of being a musician, especially when you're a drummer.

[standupright]

Originally Posted by Matt Till

I agree entirely, but you missed what I was talking about: The Rock Band drumkit. It really does teach basic drumming skills, it's surprisingly similar to actually playing a drum kit.

Now, the same certainly can't be said for the guitar controllers. You couldn't hand a guitar hero advanced player a guitar and expect them to play "More than a feeling" on guitar. But an "advanced" drummer could play along to most of those songs. (Though the fill system is ridiculous, you don't even have to be in time to get points)

I think they should make a game that uses the Rock Band drum kit to teach people to actually drum. It's impossible with the guitar, but the kit makes it pretty close to any other electronic kit.

then wy not take regular lessons? why make everything a game...an escape from reality / personal interaction?

[standupright]

Originally Posted by TFunkadelic

That's exactly what I'm saying though. It doesn't even require you to play in time. This is one of the most important aspects of being a musician, especially when you're a drummer.

it doesn't even require you to understand the instrument....such as tuning the heads.

[Bochafish]

I personally think these games are cool. While it doesn't compare to the real thing, it's just a game, it's not supposed to. I think it has inspired a younger generation to get into music they probably wouldn't have listened to otherwise. I know kids that got a real instrument after playing Guitar Hero for a while. And I don't believe for a second that anyone who plays the game thinks Guitar Hero skills > Real Guitar Skills.

Why play a first person shooter game, if you can just go out and play paintball? Why play Madden when you can go outside and play real football. Why watch tv when you can become an actor yourself. etc etc. Games are Games and they have their place in entertainment. People who wouldn't have ever picked up an instrument can pretend they are playing in a real band, and I think thats cool.