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Guitar gods are a stuck-up bunch. You’d think true musicians would want their music exposed to as many people as possible, regardless of how those people (legally) access it.
Well, some musicians don’t like certain outlets through which people access their music – especially when those outlets are rhythm games.
I’ve seen many musicians criticize Guitar Hero and Rock Band. These musicians think that video games aren’t the proper way to expose people to music. The prolific, perpetually pasty guitarist/singer of The White Stripes, Jack White, said it’s sad when people are exposed to new music via video games. White doesn’t like that some people get music through these rhythm games, and I can only assume it is because of his rock star notions of modern consumerism and selling out. (But White doesn’t seem to have a problem with licensing his music to sell IPods and Coca-Cola. Hmmm…)
Licensing your music for use in rhythm games? Lame! Licensing your music to sell mass-marketed carbonated beverages? Totally rad!
As a musician myself, I kind of get where White is coming from. Most people would rather have pop culture spoon-feed them music, rather than actively look for the music themselves. This practice leads to a lot of subpar bands gaining huge popularity just because they fell into the consumer’s lap.
But I disagree with White when he says it’s sad that kids get their music through Guitar Hero and Rock Band. These games have songs by some damn good bands. Guitar Hero and Rock Band expose kids to legendary bands they might have never listened to, as well as some fringe bands that they’ve never heard of. I see nothing wrong with a kid experiencing Metallica’s “One” for the first time while playing Guitar Hero 3, or discovering the post-hardcore brilliance of At the Drive-In while rocking out in Guitar Hero: World Tour. Kids that like these bands enough will want to find out more about them, as well as bands that are similar to them. And isn’t actively pursuing and discovering music what White wants?
Musicians also harp on rhythm games because the plastic instruments that come with the games are nothing like real instruments. In the same NME article I linked to above, Jimmy Page – the guitarist of Led Zeppelin, as well as the Zeus of guitar gods – says that people don’t learn anything about real instruments by playing rhythm games. Musicians also argue that Guitar Hero and Rock Band deter kids from playing actual instruments.
While there is no substitute for strapping on a real, mahogany Gibson Les Paul, I think Guitar Hero and Rock Band teach players something about music, even if it is at the most basic level. I’m a guitarist, and playing Guitar Hero on Expert has improved the dexterity in my fret hand (the hand that presses the notes on the fret board) and given me a better sense of timing. These games haven’t turned me into Eddie Van Halen, but my abilities on a real axe have slightly improved.
It is also silly to think that all kids are substituting real instruments for plastic ones. If anything, Guitar Hero and Rock Band encourage players to pick up real instruments. If a Guitar Hero player likes hitting color-coded notes on a TV screen, who’s to say they won’t like following those same notes in tablature or on sheet music? I think Guitar Hero and Rock Band pique a player’s interest in real instruments more than they deter it.
Guitar Hero and Rock Band are not bad for music – quite the contrary. People who play Guitar Hero and Rock Band might become fans of some cool bands they’ve never listened to, and they might even take an interest in a real instrument because of the games. And even if they don’t – who cares? Guitar Hero and Rock Band are video games, foremost. And just like other games, the primary purpose of Guitar Hero and Rock Band is to deliver a fun experience to the player.
So, all of you snobby musicians that don’t like the idea of instrument-based rhythm games – lighten up. Guitar Hero and Rock Band are just games, after all.
