Jesseweb.com

OK, so I was originally against the concept of the Guitar Hero game series.  As a guitarist, I felt the game was discouraging others from learning the guitar because they can easily experience the feel (to a degree) of playing a song and in front of an audience.  I felt it was also misrepresenting the skill required to play guitar (over simplifying it).  So I bought the game since they are no other good games out for the Xbox 360 right now (besides Gears of War).  My view was quickly chaged once I played the game.  Yes the game is fun and the music is good.  But what I also noticed was what the game brings to guitarists and non-guitarists.

Guitarists:

• Finger exercises - I havent played the guitar in a while and the fret movement, hammer ons, and pulloffs provide nice excerises before I am ready to actually pickup my real guitar.
• Timing - The game focuses on timing and this helps me focus on playing notes on the beat.
• Background Music - This is the biggest one for me.  In the game you can practice any song.  You can pick the entire song or a piece of the song.  You can play at regular speed or slow the song down.  Here's the kicker - go to practice a song and then pickup your real guitar and jam along.  Now you a professionally recorded song without guitar that you can jam to.

Non guitarists:

• The real thing - Once you get good at the game, you have mastered speed, timing, and finger movement.  From there you should be able to start taking guitar lessons and have an advantage to quickly breeze through the basics.
• Inspiring - Pretending to play and have the feel of an audience cheer you on may inspire you to actually learn the guitar.

All:
The music - Exposes you to new music.  While I knew most of these bands and songs, I never heard the song "John the Fisherman" by Primus.  That song rocks.

Ideas for guitar hero 3:

• Hopefully the makers of the game will include tableture options in practice mode so real guitarists can learn how to play the songs on thier guitars.
• A midi device to play under the frets of a real guitar to play the game using a real guitar and having to play the actual notes.
• Sell the CD's of the music for guitarists where in stereo is the music with guitar but selecting left channel has no guitar (or just realease the discs with both versions - with and without guitar tracks)