The Guardian wants a re-design of the guitar.

[bucketshred]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/jan/06/popandrock


...I laughed my tits off when I read this.

[dave_mc]

the guardian's my favourite newspaper (to be fair, it's more "best of a bad bunch" than "favourite"), but its music coverage is horrible.

that being said, that blog might be a piss-take (though knowing the guardian, i wouldn't be sure).

[Stevepage]

Sounds like it was written by either:

1. a failed guitarist who complained too much that the 'metal things' hurt his perfect soft fingers.

2. Some one who has no idea what so ever about the guitar and the music it influences and has only ever played Guitar Hero

Furthermore, Music of the 21st century is still written on so called 'medieval' device and is still used within chart topping music. Without the guitar, guitar hero wouldn't exist and neither would this morons ill informed opinion.

[Philly Q]

It is, undoubtedly, a total piss-take.  The people who've taken it seriously in the comments under the article are dolts.

Funny though, they keep going on about how easy it is to play those push-button guitars.... but when I tried Guitar Hero I never managed to score better than 21%.  :oops:



(Having said that, if there was a way of plugging into a computer and "marking" your actual guitar playing, I'd be amazed if I got a score that high.  :| )

[rohlfo]

"you can still use the instrument for its main purpose – pretending that it's a penis or a machine gun. "  :lol:

I too suck, much to the ammusement of non-guitar playing friends, at guitar hero and such. As to 'modern' guitars with buttons and such - I still have issues with the idea of an automatic tuner built into a guitar...  :?

[Fourth Feline]

"you can still use the instrument for its main purpose – pretending that it's a penis or a machine gun. "  :lol:

I too suck, much to the ammusement of non-guitar playing friends, at guitar hero and such. As to 'modern' guitars with buttons and such - I still have issues with the idea of an automatic tuner built into a guitar...  :?

I remain incredulous ( as an older bloke ) - that this instant fix / computer game culture seems to overlook the very fact that the learning of any  musical instrument / craft is supposed to be satisfying because it takes serious work.  A lifetimes work in fact.  I would not even touch 'Guitar Hero' at my mates house - because there was a dis-used 'real' guitar in the corner - and I wanted to try some stuff I had been learning.

Beam me up Spock ...  :?

[Will]

Try expressing yourself on guitar hero ;) you know the times when you score points for hitting as many notes as possible in a set time.

Its worth pointing out that however many times you try it, pointing a real guitar upwards does not give you 'star power'

[dave_mc]

It is, undoubtedly, a total piss-take.  The people who've taken it seriously in the comments under the article are dolts.

yeah, it has to be, really. :)

[_tom_]

Its worth pointing out that however many times you try it, pointing a real guitar upwards does not give you 'star power'

Now you tell me!

[Philly Q]

Its worth pointing out that however many times you try it, pointing a real guitar upwards does not give you 'star power'

Ah, but it feels like it does.  That's the point.  :)

[WezV]

Its worth pointing out that however many times you try it, pointing a real guitar upwards does not give you 'star power'

Ah, but it feels like it does.  That's the point.  :)

I just got a nintendo DS... the guitar hero world tour game on that suggests you shout 'ROCK!!!' into the mic to activate star power.... made me feel a wee bit more silly than prancing around with a full size guitar hero controller does. 

On a side note i quite like the way they have worked the DS's mic into games, playing rock, paper, scissors on brain training is frustratingly fun but i was seriously stuck for a while the other day on zelda as it asked me to extinguish the candles.... how was i supposed to know blowing on the mic would do it!!

[Johnny Mac]

Its worth pointing out that however many times you try it, pointing a real guitar upwards does not give you 'star power'

Ah, but it feels like it does.  That's the point.  :)

The is a real reason for lifting the guitar up though, makes shredding easier on the left wrist, apparently!   :)

Guitar hero is just rhythm phil, a bit like toe tapping with fingers. I've got 89% on medium.  :o It gets boring after a while though. I've been asked a few times now by parents i know about what guitar to get as their kid is brilliant at guitar hero and now wants a real one. I tell them the beginners market is very well catered for at local guitar shops. I never hear how they do though as the shock of how difficult playing a real one is probably puts off their genius kids after 5 minutes and they go back to the virtual world of cartoon fans, cheering.

That article is a bit of a wind up but i do sense that he is pissed off that he can't play a real one.

[noodleplugerine]

It is, undoubtedly, a total piss-take.  The people who've taken it seriously in the comments under the article are dolts.

Funny though, they keep going on about how easy it is to play those push-button guitars.... but when I tried Guitar Hero I never managed to score better than 21%.  :oops:

+1

I sincerely hope nobody from this board took that seriously, its dripping sarcasm :p

(Having said that, if there was a way of plugging into a computer and "marking" your actual guitar playing, I'd be amazed if I got a score that high.  :| )

[mecca777]

Although the article is a joke, I do feel a bit old-mannish about this sort of thing at times. Can't be bothered to learn the guitar? No problem, press some buttons along to a Chili Peppers backing track. Hey presto, you're making music! It's all just a high-tech version of Vib Ribbon to me anyway.

And why is it only music games that provoke this kind of navel-gazing "is it the same as the real thing" article? Nobody at the Grauniad is writing articles about how they should get a tryout for Man Utd because they're unbeatable on FIFA '09, are they? Although if* the papers are to be believed, at least our youngsters still find the time to go out and do some real stabbings and shootings when they're not caning Halo 3 or Grand Theft Auto IV.

In the interests of full disclosure I will admit that I have given in to the temptation of playing EA Skate instead of going out on my board when it's raining, and dark, and cold, and I'm just not feeling up to it. But if you try to play the guitar when you're tired or hungover you only hurt your neighbours - the chances of breaking a bone or disappearing under a bus are pretty low... :)

* giant-sized "if" that you can see from space goes here

[Philly Q]

Guitar hero is just rhythm phil, a bit like toe tapping with fingers.

Yeah, it's an exercise in co-ordinating your fingers with what you see on screen (so in fact the sound of the guitar/music is almost completely irrelevant!).  Or in other words, as you say, matching the rhythm.  My problem is I'm always just ahead of (or maybe behind?) the beat, so I'm missing every note. :lol:

I'm sure if I had more goes and figured out just when to hit the keys, my scores would improve dramatically. 

But then again, my timing always was utter shite...