Musicians playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band

[jdc]

So after procrastinating for ages, I finally sold out/ caved in/ broke down and bought Guitar Hero 3. I can most certainly see the appeal that it has towards the masses. I'm having a bit of a problem with the game due to the fact that I am a bass player in real life. The fret spacing on my basses is absolutely monstrous when compared to the teeny little Fisher Price Les Pauls fretboard. My fingers naturally go for the big span and I keep missing the second neck button. I hit the third when I'm actually shooting for the second. I'm also having a hard time turning off the bass player's part of my brain and automatically try to play every note and fill as if I was playing my real bass.

I know that there have to be other DPers that are musicians (perhaps even bass players) and besides practicing day and night...if you had the same "problem", how did you overcome adapting to the smaller game instruments? I'd actually love to see a series of guitars /basses that are full scale. THAT would help immensely. LOL

[walrusmonger]

The people I know who played guitar or bass in real life had an easier time picking up and playing GH because they were both gamers and had better rhythm. All you can do is try to force yourself to remember that it's just a game:)

[Gunface]

I also have trouble with this. Especially when you know how the song actually goes. In my opinion it's harder to play the fake version than the real version most of the time.

Slightly off topic, to the kids that nail the Dragon Force song on expert: play guitar! You'd probably be good!

[Gunface]

I think it may have to do with how long you've been playing too. I've been playing guitar for about 17 years and I'm really set in my ways. It's hard to forget about fretting habits that have been with you for such a long time.

[eugenek]

I play the guitar and bass and I haven't had any problems with the games, but then again, I have relatively small hands. I do think the one advantage real players have is that you've built up your hand strength already so stretching your hands and pressing buttons with your pinkie is a lot easier.

[joshnickerson]

I'd just like to note, that since playing Guitar Hero, I've gained new respect for the people who can play the real instruments, since I know it's gotta be a lot tougher than tapping five colored buttons.

[HYB]

I'd just like to note, that since playing Guitar Hero, I've gained new respect for the people who can play the real instruments, since I know it's gotta be a lot tougher than tapping five colored buttons.

I find it harder to play GH than an actual guitar, but maybe it's just me. I play better with a standard controller since I have VERY small hands and I can't reach the orange button without hurting myself (the very reason why I had to quit playing the quitar in the first place).

Otherwise, I didn't have problems picking it up, but maybe that's because I didn't play the guitar for very long, and always from tabs.

[Neil Koch]

I'd actually love to see a series of guitars /basses that are full scale. THAT would help immensely. LOL

Ask and ye shall receive

http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/07/15/starpex-full-size-wood-guitar-controller-for-ps2ps3/

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

I'm a bassist and I find that GH and RB tend to lend themselves more to bassists being able to pick up and play. (rythm instrument = rythm game)

I personally prefer the tiny neck/fret button placement as I've never had a great deal of finger-stretch distance even after about 15 years of playing bass.

[theChad]

I play guitar (~5 years) and drums (11 years), and for me playing GH/RB guitar is a piece of cake, but the drums on the other hand are impossible. The biggest problem is not being able to calibrate them properly, so you can't listen to the song and play along with it, you just have to watch the screen. The problem there, with drums, is that you can hear what you are playing on the pads, so you can't just tune out one or the other. It's like bad phase music.

The guitar on the other hand comes pretty natural to me. I started playing on hard when I got the game, and quickly advanced to expert. I guess one of my main advantages is freakishly long and flexible fingers (thank you, Marfan's syndrome). Also, I can tremolo-pick like nobody's business, which means my favorite songs tend to be the ones that incorporate a lot of that (Misirlou, Knights of Cydonia...).

[Lerxstnj]

Yeah, I've been thinking about this a lot lately too. I am a guitar player that's been playing guitar as long as I've been playing video games. They are very different. I am pretty good at separating the 2 in my mindset, but I must use a pick when playing Guitar Hero. It just doesn't feel right without it. Luckily the controllers work really well with a pick.

[Kitsune Sniper]

I also have trouble with this. Especially when you know how the song actually goes. In my opinion it's harder to play the fake version than the real version most of the time.

Slightly off topic, to the kids that nail the Dragon Force song on expert: play guitar! You'd probably be good!

On a related note, I'm playing the Karaoke Revolution games and I'm having problems with some songs - namely, I keep singing the original versions instead of the versions in the game! Bizarre Love Triangle (in KR1) doesn't have the same rhythm as the album version so I keep messing up. Still fun, though!

[ProgrammingAce]

Yeah, I've been thinking about this a lot lately too. I am a guitar player that's been playing guitar as long as I've been playing video games. They are very different. I am pretty good at separating the 2 in my mindset, but I must use a pick when playing Guitar Hero. It just doesn't feel right without it. Luckily the controllers work really well with a pick.

I've beat most of the games on expert, and have played a guitar for years, but i can never play the little plastic buggers with a pick.

[Jimid2]

I also have trouble with this. Especially when you know how the song actually goes. In my opinion it's harder to play the fake version than the real version most of the time.

I agree - my kids and their friends approach it as a game and do quite well, but I get all fracked up with it; the guitar parts don`t play anything like a real guitar, of course, but my hands just want to do what they know they should do... The first time the kids unlocked Cliffs of Dover on Guitar Hero they pulled me downstairs to play it in the game because they`ve heard me play it so many times before on guitar; they were amazed that I kept screwing it up completely! LOL After not being able to finish it a handful of times I pretty much gave up in disgust... I haven't really played since except in full-house party mode when everyone's banging away at Rock Band and no one gives a frack... ;)

[Gunface]

Also, on easier difficulty settings, beats are missing. Sure the place they have you fretting is never going to be the same as the real song, but when the rhythm is different it really gets confusing. You'll pick when you're not supposed to because you're in rhythm with the music...I'll usually skip out on Guitar Hero for this reason when people are playing it.

[SegaAges]

So after procrastinating for ages, I finally sold out/ caved in/ broke down and bought Guitar Hero 3. I can most certainly see the appeal that it has towards the masses. I'm having a bit of a problem with the game due to the fact that I am a bass player in real life. The fret spacing on my basses is absolutely monstrous when compared to the teeny little Fisher Price Les Pauls fretboard. My fingers naturally go for the big span and I keep missing the second neck button. I hit the third when I'm actually shooting for the second. I'm also having a hard time turning off the bass player's part of my brain and automatically try to play every note and fill as if I was playing my real bass.

I know that there have to be other DPers that are musicians (perhaps even bass players) and besides practicing day and night...if you had the same "problem", how did you overcome adapting to the smaller game instruments? I'd actually love to see a series of guitars /basses that are full scale. THAT would help immensely. LOL

My good friend Eric who plays in Landing on the Moon had the same problem. Yes, shameless plus for my friend, but his band is on myspace. He was running into the same shit you talked about

[Nirvana]

I also have trouble with this. Especially when you know how the song actually goes. In my opinion it's harder to play the fake version than the real version most of the time.

Slightly off topic, to the kids that nail the Dragon Force song on expert: play guitar! You'd probably be good!

Haha. I totally agree with the first part. I hate it when it doesn't correspond to how the real song should play.

[GM80]

I play a little bit of everything, and I must admit that Guitar Hero drives me nuts. The button sequences rarely correspond to any musical reality, and I'm used to pressing a number of different frets and playing several strings individually ... so boiling it down to a set of five buttons and a strum bar freaks me out.

I can do most of the songs well on Hard, but Expert just destroys me because I start thinking about "actually playing" the song. Playing drums in Rock Band and the newer Guitar Hero set is quite a bit better, as it is somewhat analogous to the real thing.

[NE146]

Yeah man, I come from a family of musicians and have played guitar for pretty much 35 years of my 40 year life, and I do I love GH/RB :)


I know that there have to be other DPers that are musicians (perhaps even bass players) and besides practicing day and night...if you had the same "problem", how did you overcome adapting to the smaller game instruments?

Well.. it's easy. I don't think of them as instruments, I simply think of them as video game controllers LOL No seriously, that's all they are. I don't confuse RB/GH with playing a real instrument. I simply see it as a video game, and I get used to the custom video game controller it comes with. It's really nothing more than that :) If you think about it, GH/RB have a lot in common with Kaboom! on the VCS (falling objects, try and catch them). They're just twitch games.

Personally, I find GH (especially on "expert" difficulties) to be harder than playing it on the real thing. But that's because they're totally different beasts. I can play pretty much most every song on GH/RB fine on the real deal. But I struggle with them on expert difficulties often getting 3 stars (if that) LOL

[mikeweezer80]

I have been playing drums for about 12 years, and when i played guitar hero, the guitar parts were easy because i know plenty about rhythms so i could easily sight read guitar hero stuff (for the guitar). however, i tried playing rock band drums and let me tell you how innacurate that thing is. i tried play battery by metallica, a song that i have known how to play completely for years, and i couldnt get past the first few measures because the parts i knew wouldnt line up with the "real " part for rockband.

[NE146]

let me tell you how innacurate that thing is. i tried play battery by metallica, a song that i have known how to play completely for years, and i couldnt get past the first few measures because the parts i knew wouldnt line up with the "real " part for rockband.

Well again, it seems to me your primary problem is you're getting confused between playing actual music, to playing these video games :p

[jdc]

I got pretty far last night, made it to the Hell stage, mostly 4 stars. I did this by focusing less on listening to the song by tuning it out, and more on focusing on the scrolling dots. Some of you pinpointed what is screwing me up the most. It's the phrasing. It's all "wrong" in most instances. This is the reason why I'm getting extremely high scores and encores on the songs that I DON'T know, and getting garbage scores and 3 stars on the songs that I know really well.....Barracuda in particular (hangs classic-metal/rock-loving head in shame) LOL

The game is a real blast though. I've decided to collect the little guitars for my rec room wall, whether I can use them with a PS3 or not. Gotta get that Simmons Axe bass. If Guitar Hero and Rock Band gets even a small fraction of the people who like it to pick up an instrument in real life, then it's been effective. Just don't have some cocky 13 year old GHer tell me how he can play DragonForce...and assume that it's the same as on the real thing. I'll tell him to stuff his little plastic hammer on/ pull offs up his ass LOL

[jdc]

As far as that full sized Starpex "strat" is concerned......I just had a horribly wonderful idea for one of my beater basses......LOL

[Icarus Moonsight]

I play bass and guitar and initially I had big problems getting into GH. It happened fast, but when I finally got it anything below expert bores me to tears. I guess I adjusted.