Rocksmith

[Oobgarm]

I know that the rhythm genre is essentially dead, but this game is surprisingly good, pretty fun, and it's actually teaching me to play.

I've had guitars for 10+ years now, and I never really grasped how to play well at all. Just fun to fiddle around with. This game is actually making me feel like I'm accomplishing something.

The first review I read was overly negative, but all others have been fairly positive. Looks like the real challenge is to defeat the video lag.


Anyone else give this a try?

[Ludwig]

Reminds me of something:
http://www.break.com/game-trailers/g...a-real-volcano

Well i doubt it will actually teach you how to play. Maybe how to imitate a song or two but that's not an achievement, you are also bound to learn theory for example.

If you really want to go to:
http://www.justinguitar.com/
It's great. I used to be very active there and still highly recommend this.

[Oobgarm]

So learning to mimic songs isn't an achievement? There's no better way to reinforce that you're actually learning something than to be able to copy what others have done.

I don't think that everyone learns theory.

This game does teach some technique, however.

[Bojay1997]

So learning to mimic songs isn't an achievement? There's no better way to reinforce that you're actually learning something than to be able to copy what others have done.

I don't think that everyone learns theory.

This game does teach some technique, however.

Everyone I know that has actually learned to play guitar and is now really good basically started out just mimicing songs. Theory is nice, but even many professional guitarists never learned that way. Heck, many can't even read music.

[Johnny_Rock]

I'm interested in the game but also apprehensive about it. I usually have a hard time practicing technical skills so this could be a fun way to get over that. So I guess I'm interested and hopeful about Rocksmith, but I'll probably either wait for a really good deal on it or buy just the cable and rent the game or something.

I do wonder though, could this work for other instruments if you can plug a 1/4" cable into? I think it'd be pretty amusing to play Rebel Rebel on an electric piano over Rocksmith.

[Oobgarm]

It's pretty well centered around the guitar, so I dunno about trying other instruments. An electric mandolin could be fun.

Being able to use my TV as an amp with effects I unlock is pretty cool, considering all I've ever had is a dinky practice amp.

[98PaceCar]

I've got it, but haven't had a chance to try it out yet. I'm hoping it will at least be a good practice tool. If I can pick up a few things it will be perfect for my needs. I know nothing about playing guitar, so i'm looking forward to giving it a shot.

I do like how people used to bitch that guitar hero didn't teach you how to play. Now that strides have been taken towards games being able to teach and use real guitars, people are bitching that it doesn't teach theory. I guess just sour grapes from people that learned the old way or something.

[ProgrammingAce]

Bought it today, played it for a few hours. The audio delay from my TV was god awful, so i have to get a set of headphones to play. After I did that, it was great.

I've been playing guitar poorly for over a decade, so i'm pretty comfortable with the fingerings and stretching. But the game is hard, just as it should be. When it thinks you're doing well, it'll crank up the difficulty. You'll be playing an easy part of the song, when all of a sudden the game will crank up the difficulty and throw you on to another section of the guitar. I've had to just stop playing a few times and let the song adjust the difficulty back down.

It's really kind of annoying that there's no way to choose the difficulty of the song, even in practice mode. You have to "qualify" for songs before you can play them on stage, so you'll practice the song and do great; but when you perform the song, it starts at a higher difficulty and only gets harder as it goes on.

It's fun, and it's definitely a learning tool, but you shouldn't go into it thinking it's guitar hero.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I don't think that everyone learns theory.

Most don't even touch it. Music theory is very abstract. Tough to grapple with, at least it is for me, without some underlying front-ended experience. I approached it from an intuitive and practical angle myself. Talent, skill and knowledge are all different. We don't even have a working general theory of art that is concise and universalized. The specific field theories are messy for that reason. They were built without a foundation.

[leatherrebel5150]

I've been playing it and I think it is pretty sweet. I think the adaptive difficulty is much better than just choosing a difficulty. What good is choosing a difficulty if you never learn anything new from it. The cool thing about the game is if you have a hard time with a particular part of the song it remembers it and you can practice that part outside of the song. The arcade games are a nice touch too, so you can play an arcade style game while learning chords, fret numbers, etc.

But this game is not for everyone and the negative reviews I've read come from people who are just gamers and don't have an interest in learning to play. For those who want just a straight up game than it is not for you if you want to learn some songs and basic guitar than try it.

[Oobgarm]

I spent a lot of time with it over the weekend, and I've come away pretty impressed.

My only complaint is the adaptive difficulty and how it may take a phrase and only increase the difficulty on certain parts (like power chords on some parts of a riff but single notes on others). Other than that, I think it's doing well for me. I'm still suffering from a tiny bit of lag even when using component cables, but I'm getting by OK I think.

I've noticed that the tuner isn't always right, as I've been so horribly out-of-tune with the music that's playing that I can't do well at all. I've got a Floyd Rose locking trem on my guitar, so I know it's not that. Maybe the songs aren't in prefect tune themselves, I dunno. Kings of Leon is the worst offender.

[lookfun78]

All I am going to say is when can I play bass like this.

[norkusa]

Is this game compatible with lefty guitars?

[Oobgarm]

Yep, there's an option for lefty flip.

[Lanzo]

Just picked this up today, and I really like it. I play lefty so I was happy to see that option. I've been playing on and off for 3 years. If your looking to learn guitar then this game will be frustrating at first, learning to pick and switch strings and such. I was impressed with the difficulty level as it started out too easy then it started throwing some chords at me, the lag on my tv isn't too bad at all. It seems to teach you chords but it says nothing about notes. It's basically numbers and strings (they even give you numbered stickers for your guitar).

On the topic of theory, too me mimicking songs means nothing, ya it will help you get your technique down but that's about it. If you really want to be good I think you need technique and basic theory. I have tried playing with people that don't and it's disastrous. You ask them to play a chord progression so you can jam and they look at you dumbfounded. Then you also have the anal theory guys who are completely by the book. Music is an expression so you shouldn't limit yourself to rules of theory. For me, knowing your notes, chords and scales is essential. Thats just my opinion, I have a few friends that disagree but thats usually because they can't take the time to understand theory so they give up. (both friends don't even play anymore either).

[Ludwig]

If you think there is a quick and easy way without learning, then i fear you will be disappointed.

Theory is what teaches you how everything works "under the bonnet", why chords sounds the way they do and why some things fit together and some don't. It's not rules set in stone. Hendrix for example actually knew plenty about it. The better you understand how it works the more you can focus on actually making music, that's my personal opinion.

About notation: Yes it's not mandatory (at least not for guitarists), and you can theoretical live without it, but if you are serious about music you should try to learn it along the way. It will make your life easier when working with other musicians.

My thoughts on the topic. Sorry totally forgot about this topic.

[Lanzo]

Just got done playing for 4 hrs straight. Lots of fun once you get used to it. The hardest part for me to adjust too is not really being able to watch me hands when I play as much. Especially for quick shifts. Good practice though.

[Richie]

I've no experience with Rocksmith, but I find it strange that anyone would downplay the importance of learning others songs. Especially since one of the defining characteristics of rock music is that it's derivative of itself.

And while I can read music, and have a pretty developed understanding of theory, studying has never provided me the inspiration listening has.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g44B_iaUvDk

[Ludwig]

You don't need to learn anything to be inspired, but you need to learn to be able to put your inspiration to good use.

[Richie]

At what point in the development of ones musical education is okay to start writing your own songs?