Top Five Reasons you Should Play a Real Guitar Instead of Guitar Hero

Geeks, the furiously creative people that they are, then began modifying real guitars into Guitar Hero guitars. Then came devices that would interface a guitar with a computer or video game system. All the while, non-video game people complained thatothers should be learning how to play real guitarsrather than spending their time learning how to play a game. Well, check that second link again. With technology like that we may someday be able to learn to play real guitars through interaction with a video game system.

I guess I don’t put as much time into practicing Guitar Hero as some people, but the amount of satisfaction I get from 1 hour playing GH is a lot more than I would get from practicing for 1 hour on a real guitar. I can play through lots of different songs, and have accompaniment from the game to really make it rock, something much harder to do in real life.

I understand people saying that playing a real guitar is more impressive, and I agree totally. I just don’t have time and money to spend on a real guitar, getting a band together, and all the other stuff that goes along with it.

Also, please check out the following comic, as it deals with this topic pretty well.
http://cad-comic.com/comic.php?d=20070509

Nick’s third point..
“It’s not like playing a real instrument is all that hard. If people would put the same amount of time and effort into learning a real instrument as they did practicing Guitar Hero, they would become good and have fun in no time. Sure it seems harder, but all you have to do is put your mind to it.”

Sorry, but some people just dont have the ability to beable to play a guitar. It’s not like driving or riding a bike if the person can not play guitar.

For me, I can play trumpet, clarinet, baritone/Euphonium, tuba, and some piano. however, I just can not get my hands to work with a guitar. I took lessons,a nd even a class in college, but could not do it.

Guitar hero and rock band were a lot simpler for me for the main fact that I had buttons that represented the frets, not the real frets. My hands revolt what I am wanting to get them to go with a guitar neck.

Now I agree that SOME people could do decently on a real guitar, but there are some people like me that have hands that just cant get the “deformed claw” look that hands need to get to play chords on a real guitar.

wow he actually read my email!

Sounds like five reasons not to play a real instrument and all you have to do is get to this “Playing real guitar requires much more concentration and skill.”
This is why I would rather play the game.

Great tips I’m learning to play “real” guitar I’ve been playing for a couple of months and already have the basics and a few songs down, I don’t see the point of games like guitar hero they annoy me like Nik because you could learn a real instrument instead.
I did see a video on youtube about a group of developers who have made a game like guitar hero only you play real guitar instead I’m not sure of how it works but it sounded good. I forget the video’s name now sorry.

That was the most retarded thing i have ever read. First of all maybe we just wanna have fun instead of taking lessons and making such a pressing commitment, plus how by teaching urself how to play music are you going to “magically” meet people form a band and become famous. Rock band and guitar hero give people who have a lack of musical ability the chance to rock out to some of their favourite songs with a few of thier friends. Seriously lighten up.

While I agree that learning a real instrument, like the guitar, is “cooler” than playing a virtual guitar, the reward is almost instantaneous with the virtual version.

Hard works pays off, ie the real thing, but the virtual experience, at least for me, is a whole lot more fun.

I can play Guitar Hero very well, but when I pick up a guitar I can’t do a thing. I can read music, and I play an instrument, but I don’t think I would have enough patience to learn how to play guitar. lol I probably will learn how to play it some day. Good tips!

playing a real guitar is very good for you but guitar hero is fun 1 thing i dont like is if i know the real cords to the song i start trying to realy play the song but im geting better

First let me begin by saying that I play a real bass guitar. I have played Gutiar three(I think), It was not as fun as playing the actual thing as well. Playing guitar is much more harder and is not as easy as it seems. Guitar Hero is nothing like that at all. It doesnt even have real Frets or real strings. So don’t tell me Guitar Hero is better then playing a real guitar.

I teach guitar and I have to say that because of guitar hero and rock band, more people are interested in learning how to play real guitar. This is a great thing for me, but I learn that most of these people lose interest after a short time, or they just want to learn one or two songs and not the instrument as a whole.

I play lead guitar…Mostly metal and hard rock, however, I can play a bit of everything. I get a lot more satisfaction out of playing the real thing… For some reason when playing guitar hero my fingers move trying to play the real songs on non existing frets…and yeah… it’s horrible. I don’t know if it’s because I suck at guitar hero, or if making my own music brings me more pleasure…

Personal I just recently got into playing an instrument (2 years ago) and I find it more difficult to try to play guitar hero then learn a song on guitar.
I would choose an 2 grand drum set over a $150 game.
I rather be actually noticed for doing something that might benefit my future then waste my life trying to beat that one song on expert. :D

Ok so i made a comment above about what i think,

And just to backup that comment some more,
What happened when you power goes out? cant play your guitar hero then can you? No you cant, but if you had a real guitar you can play that to pass the time and for entertainment until the power comes back! Unless its an electric guitar then you would need a small battery powered amp but you could still play it!

My towns been in darkness for the past 2 hours (10pm here) and i haven’t been able to use anything electronic but i have been able to play my REAL guitar :-)

Coming from someone who actually plays guitar and video games, I see nothing wrong with playing the game. I don’t personally play the game other than at other people’s houses, and I would much rather just play real guitar. However, I do play many video games. Mostly first person shooters which involve killing people. No one in the army is trying to tell me that I should sign up for the real thing instead of playing the video game.

While I’m making a bit of an extreme example, I can understand why people want to play the game. I find playing real guitar more rewarding, and the guitar hero pros pathetic, but at the same time I understand. Not everyone is going to have the same hobbies. Maybe the people that play Guitar Hero a lot like to go on bike rides or build model planes, I don’t know haha.

1. Because I find video games boring.

2. Because games don’t come left-handed

3. There’s a certain tactile feeling from plucking and bending a string that will never be replaced.

4. Oh c’mon… ever see Jeff Beck playing a plastic toy guitar?

5. The sound system has absolutely no tubes in it.

pbthllllllllt

-lefty
Thermionic Emissions

you rock! totally agree. I play guitar and laugh at the losers who can only play plastic. it’s more fun, too

1) “…it is also very intellectual in the sense that it has you thinking a lot more.”
redundant much?
how bout “it is also very intellectual.”

2) Guitar Hero’s gameplay relies on colors to represent “notes” as opposed to using real tabs. That was done for a reasons I feel are obvious; to make the game easier and more interesting.

Playing guitar hero is just like playing a single stringed guitar with 5 frets. You’re still “reading music”, but it’s representation appears to cater to the mind of a 3 year-old (color coded tabs lulz).

You’re right to say playing a real guitar is better than playing a musician simulator, but your “reasons” are stupid; and could hardly be called reasons why to play a real instrument in place of guitar hero. Maybe you CAN buy an acoustic guitar and a beginner book for the price of a GH game and guitar controller. But playing the music you’ll hear on guitar hero on an acoustic will sound no better than you’re hysteria driven high pitched voice when taking calls on live TV following an on-air gaseous discharge from your mouth.

Guitar Hero is a game. It was developed to be FUN… You play(v. to participate in games or sport;) to have fun. You play(v. to perform [music] on an instrument;) a real guitar to make music, get women (for men), and write songs about saving the earth and/or vegetarianism (for women).

Can you play your six-string guitar against people all over the world in a battle? A battle, during which you cut your opponent’s strings, turn their guitar upside down, and screw up their sheet music all while they try and win applause from a virtual audience.

No.

In Guitar Hero, can you battle with friends or a random kid in korea with a questionable number of fingers?

Yes.

In short, Guitar Hero is a game. A guitar is an instrument. While playing Guitar Hero, you’re supposed to pretend you’re some kind of godly electric guitarist. But that is because it’s a game. If you want to become a real god of the electric guitar, It’s gonna cost more than a game console, a disc of intellectual property belonging to Activision, and a miniature plastic guitar controller.

@peter: No… he does not rock. You’re probably the guy who goes to GameStop stores to laugh at people playing guitar hero to make yourself feel better about your, shitty as they may be, guitar “skills”. And I bet people who play guitar hero have more fun than the guy sitting in the back of the livingroom during a house party laughing at the two frat guys playing their drunken asses off while their girlfriends cheer em on.

Cheers!
-MicronXD

ps – I play both, kick a(ss on both, and have more fun getting laid than deciding whether or not I want to become a real guitar god or a virtual one.

mm been there, done that. i play guitar and bass for a band for about 6 yaers, we had our good times, now i just play for me, but i bought guitar hero because is fun to play not to impress anyone, is just a videogame.

yeah, what about those of us who play Guitar Hero and Rock Band who also play on “expert” level (i.e. “professionally”) on real instruments in real life?

Plus, I mean, it’s just a game, fella. Chill out. Would you rather people do some real life shoot-’em-ups instead of just playing a game? It’s just for fun, man.

Have to disagree with this article. I’ve played guitar for many, many years and put in 10 years of live band experience. Frankly, playing Guitar Hero (or better yet, Frets on Fire on a PC w/a library of hundreds of songs) is more fun for the most part. Being in a band is like being married to 3-4 other dysfunctional f*ckheads at once and the vast majority of your time is waiting around for somebody to show up late for practice, or hauling your heavy, expensive gear around to and fro . When you’re in a band, “rocking out” is just a tiny part of what you actually do. Oh yeah, and there’s no money in it.
Don’t bother with actual rock music; it’s a huge waste of time. With the game, I can just put the headphones on as loud as I want, and have fun for an hour or so, and then be done. No BS. Great.

What is with you tools telling people to play real guitar? We clearly know that it’s a game, and if we wanted to play an instrument, we would.

When somebody plays madden, you don’t go and say “Learn football”, when somebody plays COD, you don’t say “Join the army”. It’s just something to have fun with.

This guy has a point. I usually play video games because I’m trying to be cool. Why stop there? Instead of paying all that money for a real instrument I should just hand that money out to everybody I see. Would you like to see a bunch of people out stealing cars instead of playing GTA at home? But you’re right, instead of playing a Mario game I should just find me a bunch of shrooms and rescue as many princesses as I can. Great advice dude!

I have to say Because of Rock Band and Guitar hero I have picked up a real guitar. This is something I would never have done before. Both are fun! I get a lot more satisfaction back from real a guitar. Rock Band and Guitar hero work as a quick fun way to play in a “band” with other people that don’t have the skills for a real band. “Air Banding” is a good way to get fun out of a band if you can’t play the game or the real thing. I guess it all depends on what you want to do and how much time and effort you want to put into it. I do recommend to GH players that you should at least try a real guitar. You never know where it might lead.