On Musical Education

[chaosvizier]

Today's educational topic is music.

To summarize: Music is good.

Now, I like music. I played instruments in elementary and high school. I sang with choirs. I enjoyed musicals. I even just got myself one of them iPod doohickies and used it to get music off of some tubes somewhere.

Comments

[jennielf]

sadly, i am one of the three that ask - what is guitar hero? and this rock band of which you speak??

Why would i want to play them?

[chaosvizier]

They're games, currently out for Playstations and XBoxes. Much like Dance Dance revolution, where you move your feet on a "dance pad" to different positions based on the screen's instructions, with Guitar Hero you hold a controller, which happens to be shaped like a guitar. As the screen commands appear, you hold down the appropriate buttons with your left hand (finding the guitar's "frets") and then activate the control with your right hand ("strumming"). The song plays on screen in the background, and you hear the song unfold (or skip, if you make an error) as the play progresses.

That's a pretty cold and clinical breakdown of the game. In retrospect, I also said, "Why would I want to play this game?" I have since changed my mind about that; it is strangely engrossing. Maybe more so if you know the songs at hand, but even if not, like I said, I found I learned about songs I never knew, and got to enjoy them. Most curious.

[entropical87]

I still think The Safety Dance was done by Men In Hats.

If we lived in a just world, this would be true.

My love for GH is endless. ENDLESS. Even though I cannot play in a way that isn't ineffective flailing on anything above about the first three sets on hard. But medium is totally my bitch.

I fear getting Rock Band. If I buy it I'll probably sit in front of a television screen unwashed and sleep deprived for days at a time.

[chaosvizier]

Oh Safety Dance, how we love you so.

I have definitely bitchslapped GH's medium skill tree well and truly. My progress along the Hard skill tree is hit-or-miss, but at least I no longer fear The Orange Button. Except on Green-Orange splits. My fingers just don't do that well.

I really love Rock Band's song list. Plus, the downloadable content really adds to the overall quality and quantity of things to do. It is most excellent.

[chaosvizier]

That's the spirit! Grab that guitar! Smite all opposition! Rock out like you've never rocked out before!

I've managed to convince my girlfriend that Rock Band is a good thing, and she enjoys playing when we have RB parties. Eventually I suppose I'll have to get my own set, instead of mooching off of other people's equipment for my rock fix. Heh.