I can’t believe I haven’t asked this before now. I know a lot of folks who are into music games also actually play one instrument or another. So, I’d like to know: do you?
As I’ve undoubtedly mentioned before, I kind of play a little bit of everything; I got started on the bass in high school, but I was really into weird, advanced techniques like those perfected by Stu Hamm (at one point the bassist for Joe Satriani) and I kind of got burned out on it. So I moved on to guitar, which I am moderately competent at, and drums, which I am not. I mean, I can keep a rhythm (occasionally, barely) but where I’d consider playing rhythm guitar in a band, I’d never dream of trying to play the drums for real. (That said, music games have absolutely improved my drumming by an order of magnitude. My friend Lee, who is very much a real drummer, actually said he could tell that playing music games has had a noticeable effect on my drumming, which is kind of neat to hear.)
So, how about you? Do you play “for real”?
It’s unfortunate that with all of these games out, constantly I’m asked if I play “real” guitar. As if by simply saying “guitar” will make me consider my Rock Band Hofner replica as an actual instrument. But i digress.
I currently play the acoustic guitar and have for some years now. I had an electric at one point and also played trumpet for 7 years up through my sophomore year of high school.
–As a side note, I’ve toyed around with using the freestyle mode on Rock Band’s drum trainer before- creating simply back beats to play beneath me when I’m playing guitar, so I guess to the smallest extent…. haha
And the RB mics have come quite handy a well.
Yes and no…
I deal more with production, post-production and remix work, I don’t actually play any “real” musical instruments… however, I am a DJ, and I do consider my record decks and mixer to be a perfectly valid musical instrument *ducks for cover*.
I know a lot of people out there won’t agree when I say it, and I can understand that one, however a lot of people don’t fully understand the complexities involved with being a DJ. Granted, I’m using someone elses music, but then for the time during a mix (between track 1 and track 2) everything I do on the decks and the mixer changes the music. Since it has to maintain it’s degree of musicality (is that a word?!?!?) it can be thought of a musical instrument – afterall, if you’re playing the guitar, you don’t want to follow one bum note after another. It takes as much skill, practise and knowledge of music as playing any other instrument, and as a result, I consider myself a musician.
Another thing I’ve played around with is Ableton Live – it’s like a synthesizer, but you load it up with samples, and then the playing is triggered through the software. Sure, the software handling some of the more complex tasks (like ensuring all your samples are on time and in tempo), but again, you still need to understand the raw sounds you are working with….
Am I musician? Yes. Do I play a musical instrument? Yes, but many will disagree – and it’s an arguement I’ve been having with people for more years than I can count….
As an addendum – I tried to learn guitar, bass, keyboard, drums, trumpet, violin and double bass and failed at all of them, and I can’t read or write music!
I’ve played guitar and bass for about 20 years (started in high school). I’ve also played enough drums to consider myself…well, decent enough to record my own drum tracks when necessary. I play a little piano, and by a little, I mean a very little. I took theory in college (studied under jazz teachers that really got me more into fusion) but honestly, I’ve forgotten most of it. Over the years I’ve played in a lot of bands and played a lot of gigs from fusion stuff, to rock, to jazz, to funk, to a straight up wedding band (great money for little work).
I learned how to play guitar in High School. And that was about 17 years ago. Dont play much these days. I Still have my Strat that my Parents got me my junior year, and its hanging on the wall. I Dabble a bit with Drums. Like the others here, i can keep a beat. I did own a bass for a while, but it never expanded much more than picking along with the rhythm guitar. I do think that the drums in music games while not exact to the sngs, still serves a good purpose of learning and keeping time. I think my drumming has gotten better, but i’m still horrible at fills.
I play the drums and that is it. Been in various bands and blah blah blah. Would like to learn how to competently use turntables. I have an aquaintance who has two decks and a chaos pad and it the s*** he spins sounds altogether pretty cool. ANYWAY, playing drums to RB or GHWT, in my opinion, is harder than actually playing drums to a track. The games force you play what is on screen rather than how you FEEL the song should be played. It sounds gay but it is true. You do not get to put your “isms” in the song. The day you get to play (over the original drum part) a song and have it somehow graded would be awesome. AND YES, YES, YES, TURNTABLES ARE A LEGITIMATE INSTRUMENT.
You know, Bob, I’ve thought the same thing about being able to play drums in games a bit more freely (outside of dedicated fill sections, I mean). It doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to do. Maybe it wouldn’t work in the “main” game section, but it doesn’t seem impossible to include a mode where the game gives you some basic notes you have to hit, and beyond that just sort of tracks how well you’re keeping time.
Maybe that’s not really possible, though, given that things like triplets might not be on the beat but are still very much in time. (E.g., the snare during the later choruses of “Message in a Bottle” on Expert.)
Joe, I think if some company really put thier dollars towards it, it could be possible. I have certain “isms” that I do when I play that sort of signify my sound as a drummer. I always end up F’ing up parts in RB and GWHT because I get carried away and play what feels natural to me as far as how I think the drum part goes. You already showed us the evolution of the guitar controller. I think now somebody should focus on drums and/or percussion. That could be argued for all aspects of a track (bass, vocals) I guess. Someday, Joe. Someday…………………………
I own a real guitar, but I’m still very inexperienced. Although I’m regularly practicing at least a little bit, it’s very slow-going. But I’m patient and recognize that I’m obviously not going to get this right away. Practice is required and practicing is what I’m doing.
Much like Dry County I also play the guitar but I’ve only been playing for 2 years and I’ve mostly been teaching myself. I have an electric-acoustic and an electric guitar. I want to dabble in other instruments like turntables and drums but I always forget how expensive instruments are.
I guess I actually am a beast born of music games. I theoretically play drums (if I actually set up a metronome or had audio equipment set up next to my drums) and play decent bass. A few years back I found this awesome arcade game called Percussion Master, which really influenced my choice for the first real musical instrument of my own, a drum set. What really directed me to become more musically inclined was when they added bass to Guitar Hero II. Playing along to War Pigs’ bluesy bass line and that serpent in Beast and the Harlot’s bridge were probably the biggest sparks to start -that- fire under me. In Sept 08 I had finally bought a shiny new red Ibanez bass. Today I’m furiously trying to nail down JPJ’s bass in New Fang. Also, through regular sessions in the Rock Band series, I’ve progressed from getting by on medium drums to holding my own on hard and keeping up very well with Chad Smith.
[Edit] Also, I would pick up guitar, but only if I win one from any of the contests I keep jumping at.
I’ve played in real bands, but not on any of the usual instruments. I’m a blues/rock harmonica player. Tried guitar, and didn’t have the patience, and don’t begin to have the rhythm or coordination for drums. But I’ve fallen in love with playing drums in Rock Band, and that has definitely improved my rhythm in real life. So I have a blast pretending to play instruments I’ll never really get competent at, then go off and do the real thing on the one I can handle pretty well. It’s a fun mix.