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Guitar Hero?
By admin | November 14, 2007
I was a private guitar instructor for quite a while, and I had exposure to just about every level of student - from the 8-year-old kids who had never even held a guitar to the guys who walk in with so much talent oozing from them that they just plain made me jealous. I had seen just about everything a teacher could see in several years of teaching, but as I was checking my Google News alerts this morning, an article I saw brought me back to one of my favorite, albeit strangest, memories from teaching guitar.
I taught this boy around 11 years old, and for the sake of privacy we’ll just call him Billy. Billy had come in with no real knowledge of guitar, save what he had seen on television. Like most lads his age, he came in with dreams of rockstar-dom: huge stages, booming speakers, fog-enhanced lighting… I could see it early on. Unfortunately, like most boys his age, Billy didn’t realize how much blood, sweat, tears, and MONEY has to be spent to reach that sort of level. As our lessons progressed, so did his levels of frustration, and a few months in I knew I was losing him. However, one day he appeared with a brand new attitude! It was as if he suddenly was re-invigorated about the guitar, and with that renewed motivation came almost immediate improvement. I was thrilled, and Billy seemed to be enjoying himself so much more. I decided to comment about it to his mother, who in turn informed me that they had just purchased Guitar Hero, the video game, for him. Apparently he had spent enough time on it to lead him to believe he could actually create what was happening in the game in real life. I was simply excited that there was renewed interest in guitar, no matter where the interest came from, so we continued to move forward and Billy continued to improve.
About 2 months later, I received a phone call informing me that Billy would be quitting lessons, but thanking me for all my time and effort and assuring me that Billy’s desire to quit had nothing to do with the teaching, but rather Billy had started a business. Yes, an 11-year-old started a business. Turns out he had figured out how to design and code some customized guitar bodies in the game, and was SELLING them online! His parents quickly set up a small business, and off Billy went.
I got dumped for Guitar Hero.
After the initial shock wore off, I laughed for about an hour. I couldn’t believe that a video game could provide enough of an economic foundation to start a business BASED on the game, but seeing the monstrosity that Guitar Hero and its sequels have grown to, it no longer surprises me. I personally have never played the game, but I have heard how much fun it is and am quite curious. One of my students (not Billy) actually informed me that I should be “great at Guitar Hero being a guitar teacher and all”, but I never gave it much thought.
This just goes to show how enormous the Music Industry is - even when it incorporates virtual music. It is quite impressive really, and while I know that Guitar Hero skills and true guitar knowledge don’t necessarily cross over, it can only be good for guitar players, teachers, and enthusiasts that something like a video game has brought a whole new awareness and a fresh round of attention to this art. There are actually Guitar Hero contests now, complete with judges for stage presence, accuracy, and appearance, along with sponsors!
I will probably end up owning the game eventually, and who knows - maybe I’ll be gifted like my student said I should be!
Virtual fame, here I come!
Topics: Uncategorized |
November 14th, 2007 at 2:33 pm
Thats awesome. I thought the story would end differently, I wasn’t expecting a kid to be starting a business. I figured you were going to say he played guitar hero and went on to win some championship rather than become a great guitarist because he sucks….
November 14th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Haha, nice. Yeah Guitar Hero is pretty big, its got a following that apparently rivals Halo. To rival that game, thats pretty amazing.
But yeah, my biggest compliant about Guitar Hero is when I play songs on it, that I can actually play properly on real guitar, and I can’t on the game…is well just frusterating.