Nothing Like the Real Thing

» WaPo: Some Heroes Want to Get Real (Mike Musgrove)

I was curious how this would play out ...

Though real musicians often regard rhythm video games like Guitar Hero with a dose of suspicion, if not contempt, it's tough to ignore a phenomenon that has created $1 billion in sales while getting young people excited about the thrill of hammering out rock-and-roll chords -- even if it's only on a guitar-shaped game controller.

The folks at Middle C aren't the only ones trying to lure video-game fans over the gap between the game and real musical instruments. Earlier this year, the International Music Products Association, a trade group, announced that it was partnering with Guitar Hero's publisher, Activision, in a marketing campaign to promote music lessons. Music instruction company Hal Leonard Publishing even offers a Guitar Hero book featuring transcriptions of the same David Bowie, Aerosmith and Nirvana songs featured in the games.

And some entrepreneurial tinkerers are trying to come up with ways to lighten some of the tedium involved in learning to play an instrument, plugging real guitars into computer games that are similar in spirit to Guitar Hero.

Though I've long since disqualified myself as an active guitarist, I share the disdain for any flipper-based game passing itself off as guitar-related. Oddly enough, I've got too many sour memories of how throwing a tennis ball around as a kid ruined whatever faint glimmer I might have had of playing baseball into high school. Likewise, the thought of flipping to "Crazy Train" doesn't exactly strike me as a serious refresher course for getting my chops back on that song. I'd rather work my way up with a quick reminder of some Ramones/Bouncing Souls material.

Now THAT makes me want to pick up a guitar!