My Story About Guitar Videogames
This subject may seem a little strange on a guitar website but for me it's very related,
let me tell you why...
About a year ago, I played Guitar Hero for the first time.
I really LOVED it and was hooked on it as I've never been hooked on a videogame before
(actually, I never was such a gamer at all) ...
Not long after that I bought an extra guitar
controller because I liked having someone to join me.
Then I also bought a microphone and drums so we could play with the whole family
(it's a really nice partygame, check the 2nd video).
From that moment on I made sure that I had every single guitar videogame available (in Europe).
I have Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2, Guitar Hero 3 Legends of Rock,Guitar Hero 4 World Tour Band Kit,
Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero Smash Hits, Guitar Hero Aerosmith, Guitar Hero Metallica,
Guitar Hero Van Halen, Band Hero(the pop variation of Guitar Hero), Rock Band, Rock Band 2,
The Beatles Rock Band, AC/DC Rock Band Track Pack, Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 1 and
Rock Band Track Pack Vol. 2.
I even bought Guitar Hero for the Playstation 2 in order to play in the bedroom or kitchen
when my boyfriend is watching football in the livingroom !!!
This is me playing Linkin' Parks What I've Done 100% on Expert in Guitar Hero World Tour
I like playing Guitar Hero and playing Rockband as well.
The Guitar Hero controllers I have (World Tour Version) are compatible with the Rockband games as well
(except the first one).
Personally I like Guitar Hero for the gameplay and I like Rockband for the good looks (crowd and rockstars).
Because I loved the guitar videogames so much, I even began to think and talk about a real guitar!
In june 2009 (+/- 6 months after I first played the game) we received some taxmoney
and I bought a used electric guitar (Ibanez Gio) with amplifier.
I started to learn to play guitar by learning online and I really liked it and progressed well.
I'd seen this really cool multi effects processor, the Line 6 Pocket Pod
somewhere and just fell in love with it!
I was very happy when my boyfriend bought me one for my birthday in August
(how sweet of him).
With this device the electric guitar sounds much cooler and from that moment I enjoyed playing
my guitar even more than I did before...
Not long after that I found a really good and experienced teacher who's lessons are also really cheap
(usually they're quite expensive), so I started to take lessons from him.
Apart from the fact that it's good for me to get homework every week,
the thing I like the most about the lessons is jammin' together with my teacher.
He plays the guitar, the piano and the drums and he jams along with me when I'm playing.
I really like it a lot, especially because I normally don't have other people to jam with ...
It's also really great that my teacher has a professional studio (he's in a blues band)
and even is going to record songs on CD with me.
The amplifier I plug in my guitar during the lessons is also really great!
It's a professional one used for gigs and it can not be compared with any "practise-amp" at all.
I enjoyed playing my guitar even more than I enjoyed playing the guitar videogames,
so I bought a second guitar (Ibanez Performance).
This time it was an acoustic guitar, but also second hand like my first one.
A lot of songs are perfect for an electric but not so nice with an acoustic and vise versa.
I use my electric guitar (with pocket pod) for songs like:
Another way to die (Alicia Keys & Jack White) and
Steady as she goes (The Raconteurs).
My acoustic guitar sounds much better for songs like:
Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life) (Green Day) and
Hey There Delilah (Plain White T's)
I really love both of my guitars and I would be devestated if either one of them got damaged!
Currently I jam along with almost 70 songs (some with a capo) and I am practicing my barre chords.
I really love playing guitar and I could spend hours each day doing it
(unfortunately I don't have that much time).
I still love the guitar videogames, I just spend more time on "the real thing".
I think that's because you really see progress with it.
In my case I also have a goal (I'd love to play guitar in a band someday)
which encourages me a lot.
My boyfriend recorded this on the evening of 5 december 2009 (kind of a holiday
in The Netherlands) when my whole family came together at my place
(I'm sorry for the mess, but the kids got a lot of presents (incl. a mini-guitar as you can see LOL)...).
We're playing The Beatles Rockband and, as you can see, this is a great partygame.
(Almost haha) everybody enjoyed either playing this game or watching the others play.
My son Noah is playing the drums, I'm playing the guitar (what a surprise),
my brother is playing the bass and my mom (the blonde one) and my aunt are singing, enjoy...
(Note for my family: Sorry guys, but I liked this so much I just couldn't resist!)