Guitar VS Guitar Hero

Hello there!

So this is going to be an article about music, guitars and guitar/music games like Guitar Hero 5. I purchased Guitar Hero 5 a few months ago because i got it cheap. And i purchased a Gibson Slash Les Paul Standard guitar about 14 months ago and have since been practicing and playing on it as often as I can.

Many of my friends have been playing the Guitar Hero games for a long time, but i refused to buy the game myself – the reason behind this decision was that i would rather want to spend my time to learn to play real guitar instead of playing a game. I have always wanted to play a guitar – since i was a little kid and listened to Guns N’ Roses, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Europe, Metallica and many more and got inspired by the music and the artists. One of my all time favorite guitarists is Slash (Guns N’ Roses, Slash’s Snakepit, Velvet Revolver). Not because he is the most skilled guitar players, but because he plays with a lot of passion.

Learning to play a guitar isn’t easy. It takes time and patience. But, it gives a lot back. The Guitar Hero games doesn’t give much back. Sure, you have fun – but what do you really learn? Not much.

I always thought the Guitar Hero games was easy to learn and master. But i was very wrong. Playing these games on a medium/high difficulty is very difficult and frustrating at times In the time it takes to master a Guitar Hero song on a high difficulty setting with a good score I can actually learn to play half of a real rock song on my real guitar. The choice is easy. The song I learn to play on my real guitar I can play on any guitar, anywhere, at any time. The song I learn in Guitar Hero I can only play on that specific Guitar Hero game, on two or three different gaming consoles, and I need a TV, a  PlayStation/Xbox360/Wii and a compatible plastic guitar with batteries and a USB dongle. Neat.

So my advice to anyone considering purchasing a Guitar Hero game – either for yourself or for your kid or spouse – I recommend purchasing either an acoustic guitar or an electric guitar with a cheap amp (you can get the beginner acoustic guitars just as cheap as a Guitar Hero game – and the electric guitar + amp combo’s for beginners cost virtually the same). Learning to play a real guitar is much more rewarding – and once you learn it, you know how to play guitars for the rest of your life. The choice should be simple!

And if you are worried about the noise of a real guitar – as I guess many parents and spouses are There is always the electric guitar + Vox amPlug combo. The amPlug is a small analogue amplifier that plugs into an electric guitar which gives you very rich and nice sound – all you have to do is to plug some headphones into it – and you can adjust the distortion and tone directly on the amPlug! It uses two AAA-batteries which lasts about 15-20 hours. Personally I have the AC30 amPlug – and every time I use it I’m amazed by the sound quality this little thing produces!

I will be making a second article on how to learn to play a guitar in a few easy steps in a short while. There’s many things that can be of good help when you’re starting with your first guitar. One example is the Guitar Pro application. More on this later

Which guitar would you prefer to play?