So, consider these points:ġ) Guitar Hero teaches basic rhythmical concepts. And now I want to recognize and give credit to the good cultural points of Guitar Hero and other music video games. So, even though I know I’m not alone in my trepid attitude towards Guitar Hero, I’m still a bit embarrassed by feeling this way.Īs a result, I’ve taken the first step-admitting that I have a problem. Plus, the 2009 New York Times article, “ While My Guitar Gently Beeps”, has explored the contempt for music video games in great detail and provided some psychological insight into attitudes resembling my own. Recently, the adult cartoon South Park aired an episode that illustrates this issue in characteristically irreverent but poignant ways. My musician friends, others in the blogosphere, and the pop-culture media are voicing a similar concern. I relish the thought of younger generations learning to play real guitars and other instruments, but I’m afraid that kids who could be learning to play real instruments will instead spend their time learning to tap buttons on fake instruments. In fact, after 30-plus years of playing, I still consider myself an amateur.

I’ve been a performing musician for years, and I have first-hand appreciation of the hard work and practice it takes to play an instrument. No, my reluctance is a reflection of my own personal issues and biases. It’s a pop culture and gaming milestone that has opened doors for an entire genre of new-age musical video games. Guitar Hero is more than a game actually. My reluctance is not a reflection of the game, which is by all measures popular, fun, and imaginative. I just can’t bring myself to buy the guitar controller required to play the game. The Guitar Hero game I’ve had at home since last Christmas is still wrapped in cellophane. It’s not that I play too much, quite the contrary.

Game guitar hero