Comments on: Who needs guitars when you’ve got Guitar Hero III?

By: vip malixi

vip malixi — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 15:54:20 +0000

It just makes you respect rock stars more: what they’re doing is difficult! Though the great ones make it look easy, i.e., like they’re just playing a video game.

By: Scott Olstad

Scott Olstad — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 09:15:04 +0000

One month late to the party, somebody completely misses the point of the entire article.

However, for the sake of argument, I would probably feel better playing Through the Fire and Flames on the game. Not only would I have not wasted months of my life learning a single song on guitar (instead of the week it would take to master on Guitar Hero), but I would get to hear all of the other parts to the song as well, instead of just my guitar part.

But really, I’m not saying one is better than the other. What I’m saying is that comparisons between the two are dumb, because no pastime is more legitimate than another.

By: Adam

Adam — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 06:19:40 +0000

i agree with whoever is above me, playing guitar is better in general, Guitar Hero may be more fun at time, but you can’t learn anything on the game, which makes it pointless, in reguards to becoming good at something, sure you feel good when you can beat Jordan or Through the Fire an Flames on expert but first of that just means you have been playing too long, and imagine how much better you would feel if you could play it on the electric guitar. if you ould plays one of those song on both the game and an electric what would you have more fun playing it on?

By: Scott Olstad

Scott Olstad — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 03:57:41 +0000

I agree with you that you can’t compare the two. That’s the entire point of the article (disregarding the title that I didn’t write).

By: Timm

Timm — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 00:45:57 +0000

First, I will start by saying that I have played the guitar constantly for four years and run a site about learning guitar, soloing, chords, music theory etc. So I know what is involved in playing the guitar.

I am going to first side with the guitarists. In no way can Guitar Hero compare with actually playing the guitar. Playing Guitar Hero WILL NOT help you to become a better guitarist.

Guitar Hero is a video game. It is not meant to be a way to practice without playing your guitar. It is simply something you do for the fun of it. And it is a GREAT game.

If someone were to ask me which one is a better use of your time, I would say playing the guitar. Playing the guitar is more constructive, playing an instrument is scientifically proven to make you smarter and more creative.

When you have beat a video game that is all there is to it, but playing the guitar brings a sense of accomplishment.

So I will end in saying that their is no way of comparing them, Guitar Hero and playing the guitar are two separate animals.

Guitar Solo tips

By: Zach

Zach — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 04:14:54 +0000

Scott said it as well as it can be said.

I don’t think anyone should base their hobbies on anything other than what they enjoy doing.

Doing anything just so you can impress other people is no way to live. Enjoy doing what you do, and don’t worry about “what other people care about.”

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 01:12:10 +0000

I disagree. It took me very little time to get good enough at Guitar Hero to play the game on expert. My familiarity with video games made the transition relatively smooth and I was playing expert mode within a couple weeks. I realize this isn’t true with everybody. I’d imagine people who don’t commonly play video games will have a harder time adapting as quickly as I did, but the same is true for non-musical people and real guitars.

Also, I don’t agree with your statement that people who are good at Guitar Hero have nothing to “show for it.” Besides being really good a very popular social pastime, you’d also have all the hours of fun you’ve invested playing the game. Everybody enjoys different hobbies and to claim that one is somehow more legitimate than another is ignorant. So maybe people are able to play “Freebird” on expert mode instead of being that guy down the hall who can play “Good Riddence (Time of your Life)” on his acoustic guitar. As long as both parties are enjoying their choice of hobby, I don’t think one has “more to show for it” than the other.

At the end of the day, I choose my hobbies by what I like to do, not by what I think will impress others.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 21:18:05 +0000

It takes a very long time to get good enough at Guitar Hero to play the game on expert. If Guitar Hero players put the same amount of time into real guitar, no, they wouldn’t be at the same level, but they would certainly have something to show for it. The learning curve for real guitar is strikingly similar to its pixellated counterpart: frustrating to pick up, doesn’t take long to learn a little, then takes forever to get good. But on real guitar you have something to show for it, something people other than your video game buds will care about.

By: Cooper

Cooper — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 20:14:28 +0000

Are you kidding me?
GuitarHero is a game for tools who wish they had musical talent.

By: John

John — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 17:55:36 +0000

This is just terrible.