Time Loves A (Guitar) Hero

When my seven-year-old twin boys started clamoring to get the video game “Guitar Hero” earlier this year, I always had a good answer: we have REAL guitars in the house, I would say; learn to play them instead of some fake video thing that teaches you nothing about music. And I stuck to that, right up to the time they convinced me to at least try “Guitar Hero” at a video arcade during our vacation. When they asked me after that if we could get it for our home, I’m, like. “uh, yahhh.” (Hey, it takes a big man to admit to his children that he was wrong about something.)

So now we have “Guitar Hero” (the Wii version) and Luke and Jamie are already aces. You simply have not seen anything cuter than two little blond boys dueling away on “You Give Love A Bad Name.” (My wife asked if there were any versions of the game with “nice” songs they could play along with. How adorable is she? But, no, there aren’t.) They have a great time with it, and even when they fight over, for instance, whether to play a song by Thin Lizzy or Iron Maiden, at least I know they’re fighting for a good reason.

“Guitar Hero” features rock songs, by the original artists, that play just like you’re listening to the record. Up on the screen, you’re looking at a simulated guitar neck, that the player “travels” along as the song proceeds. On the neck are colored dots where the notes and beats of the song are to be played. The simulated guitar the player uses has colored keys, pressed by the left hand (for right-handers) to match what’s on the screen. The right hand “strums” to hit the notes and beats on time. (If none of that made any sense, try this) The more notes you hit—and there are beginner, easy, medium, and difficult levels—the more points you get.

It’s fun. And it’s addictive. Not for my boys—for me. When we bought the game system, dear old dad also had to throw in a disc of Metallica songs. Some of you regular readers know I’m a big Metallica fan, and I figured this would be as close as I’d ever get to playing along with their music. I play real guitar, but at my ability level, I could never be a match for the band’s thundering complexity and speed on an actual instrument. So I strap on the fake guitar, set it on “easy,” call up “Creeping Death” or “Master of Puppets,” and I’m pretty much booked for the next couple of hours.

Are there any benefits, for either my twins or me, in playing “Guitar Hero?” Glad you asked. I think the answer is yes. While it won’t teach much about how to actually play melodies or leads, the game is rigorously strict in making the player keep up with the beat. You can’t play rock—or any kind of music—if you’re constantly lagging behind the tempo. This game teaches you that quite ruthlessly. So that, in itself, I think is a good ongoing music lesson the game teaches… or maybe I’m just rationalizing.

But it’s also great for developing mental focus. You have to concentrate so deeply to keep up with those notes on the screen as they move past you. When I finish one of my sessions, I’m really in a very focused place, mentally speaking. It’s a terrific feeling. James and Lars told me it would be that way when I joined Metallica, and they were right. So were Luke and Jamie.