Wyman Hits Bum Note
Bill Wyman’s recent comments condemning video games such as Guitar Hero and Rock Band have opened up the video game debate once again: why pretend to play rock music when you can buy a real guitar and start a band of your own?
The former Rolling Stones bassist whinged: “It makes less and less people dedicated to really get down and learn an instrument. I think is a pity so I’m not really keen on that kind of stuff.’
Now, I don’t believe this to be totally true. I play Guitar Hero simply because it is good fun, just like it’s good fun to go to the pub, go to the cinema, play football or read a good book. I have no musical talent whatsoever so actually learning to play the guitar is something that I would have to invest a lot of time into, and for what? So I can pretend that I am Slash or John Squire in my bedroom and annoy the hell out of my missus? Because that will be about my level.
These games are a fantastic way of introducing kids (or even adults) to music that they may not otherwise open their ears to. Kids play these games and may realise that it is cool to be in a band and may then decide to take up the guitar, bass, drums or singing properly and see if they have the talent to actually hone their skills. I cannot see that there are kids with natural musical talent that would choose to stop playing a real instrument in favour of either Guitar Hero or Rock Band.
These games are to guitars as karaoke is to singing – a form of entertainment using the most influential medium of all: music. They should be accepted and embraced, not vilified. It’s just good, old, harmless fun.
