Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Todays "rockstars"
- Thread starter JacoLesFlea
- Start date
I would question that reasoning if someone in my band wanted to alter the set list.
The gaming/Guitar Hero crowd is not always the target demographic for live music venues. I know a lot of people that will come to a Guitar Hero night at the club but will never set foot in it for live music. They play Guitar Hero to challenge themselves, compete, and sometimes to stroke their own egos.
My kids friends love radio Disney, we're not working any Hannah Montana stuff into our set list though. Very few of her fans go to the bars and spend money there.
Not that I'm sayin... I'm just sayin...
Teachers are behind the curve. Always have been, always will.
When I was putting together a rock band, everyone focused on my long hair and that I would become a druggie or worse. Little did they know the entrepreneurial spirit that it takes to make a band. I learned many management and people skills.
Same with video games. The technology behind video games has infiltrated all levels of society. The armed forces used them for training.
Board games have been popular for many decades. If you animate a board game, does that make it worse? I don't think so. One of my friends ( a musician) get together non-musician family members and has a blast at family gatherings with Rock Band.
Anyone who makes blanket statements about anything is usually widely off the mark (or ignorant). Your choice.
Edit: And just because several people make the same blanket statement, doesn't automatically increase the validity of the statement.
I strongly disagree with this. Racing simulators and sports simulators in general have existed for decades in the video game industry (and some racing simulators are quite realistic when relevant controllers are used), however there has been no decline in either professional car racing or sports.
That may be, but a 1 "string" and 5 button guitar isn't exactly a simulation. Although I'd also argue that a lot of first person shooter games are a tad more difficult than shooting a real gun at targets, but that's another story all together.
One must not overlook that this younger video game generation has always been rewarded. These are the kids who have been taught that everyone is a winner. Most college grads have experienced this mentality growing up and their "motivation" has been replaced with entitlement. Again, I don't see the games as a huge problem.....yet.
- Apr 1, 2000
- 17,399
- 9,832
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
This is very true of many of the people I grew up with (and often, myself, unfortunately). Videogames in their current incarnation are not a cause, really. More of a symptom. Take a look at the majority of the older games, back when you'd spend quarters to play in arcades - those things were HARD. Some of them were practically unbeatable, because it made good financial sense to keep people losing, and popping quarters trying to win - nowadays with everyone buying videogames for home use they've gotten easier to reward the buyer for their purchase (no kid wants a game he can't beat). Oftentimes, a large amount of time spent can offset lack of skill in reaching the higher stages of a videogame (hello all but like 3 hunters in WoW ever, I'm looking at you).
The problem is, we've been sending messages like these to our kids for a solid two decades now, and it's getting worse. I'm really hoping the current economic situation forces a lot more people in my generation to step up and finally become adults, because the way we've been going, we're in danger of being 'kids' well into our thirties.
...But no, in and of themselves, GH/RB are not, and will never be, threats to musicians/musicianship. There are always musicians that just suck. They'll end up playing Rock Band and having fun with music, and they'll probably be happier for it, instead of being unhappy in some blues/cover band that plays in their drummers basements and never gets any gigs anyway because they're all terrible and know it, and just don't have the drive to improve. I'd rather see them happy, and see paying gigs go to good, hard-working musicians.
True. Quite a lot of people spend 10 hours a day 7 days a week with their butts glued to the sofa and never manage to scrape together the ambition to try anything challenging or worthwhile.
And America wouldn't be the same without them.
C'mon... You really think there will be guitar hero rockconcerts in the future? Where you look at some people playing notes on a freaking controller? If one really loves music they'll still be playing a REAL instrument, there's no need to worry about anything.
It's just a game man, and a really good one. There's really no need to worry about anything.
Not so much concerts as competitions and those are already happening.
How many hours a week do you spend playing GH? How many hours do you spend working on theory?????
That's an interesting way to look at it. If all those hobby musicians stop gigging and play Guitar Hero instead, things would indeed be easier for the rest of us.
I've heard of parents who have allowed their children to drop out of school to pursue 'careers' as professional GH/RB players. :-/
"To Me" guitar hero and rock band are essentially the music equivalent of target shooting or archery, but done to a song or beat. The people are not creating the songs they're playing to, they're merely triggering notes at appropriate times that allow the songs to sound correct.
But the difference is often difficult to get across to people who think they're somehow 'musicians' because they can play the games on hard levels.
"To Me" guitar hero and rock band are essentially the music equivalent of target shooting or archery, but done to a song or beat. The people are not creating the songs they're playing to, they're merely triggering notes at appropriate times that allow the songs to sound correct.
But the difference is often difficult to get across to people who think they're somehow 'musicians' because they can play the games on hard levels.
Hmmmm, never thought of it like that, but it could definitely help. I think the key word/phrase is that it won't affect musicians. I don't think you'll find too many musicians who will really let their chops slide due to these games. It's in the building/recruiting phase that will see anything.
Too bad these games won't get rid of those dudes who are legends in their own mind. You know, the type who talk themselves up as some sort of seasoned pro, but end up sounding like the equivalent of American Idol rejects??? I can only hope.
Surprisingly, I can see that. This new generation has very supportive parents, who are probably rebelling against the strict upbringing they had as kids. There's definitely such a thing as being too supportive. Definitely creates a strong sense of entitlement and legends in their own mind personalities.
GH & RB are fun.
My biggest concern with them is that there may be a rise in arthritis in a few years from all the people playing the drums with horrible technique because they were never taught the correct way to hold and play a pair of drumsticks. I visited some former roomates of mine not too long ago, and we played Rock Band for a little while, and although they were both quite good at the drums on that game, their lack of technique made me cringe. This could lead to some problems for the kids who spend hours a day on that game.
My biggest concern with them is that there may be a rise in arthritis in a few years from all the people playing the drums with horrible technique because they were never taught the correct way to hold and play a pair of drumsticks. I visited some former roomates of mine not too long ago, and we played Rock Band for a little while, and although they were both quite good at the drums on that game, their lack of technique made me cringe. This could lead to some problems for the kids who spend hours a day on that game.
