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Denver, 9:05 AM
Sun Nov 22
17 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/17/09
11/16/09
Go for it Shiggy. I'll go preorder it in the morning. #wiimusic
11/16/09
11/16/09
11/16/09
11/16/09
Back when I was a youngster, we used tambourines, triangles, bells, and even maracas for our music education. Now your gonna tell me the rugrats are goin' to be usin' Wii Music?!
*grumblegrumblegrumble* #wiimusic
11/16/09
Let me be clear in stating that I am not advocating nor denouncing Wii Music as a tool for music education. However, is it possible to use it as a stepping stone for children to become interested in actual musical instruments?
(I have never played Wii Music.)
11/16/09
Wii Music is less than worthless for learning how to play instruments.
Imagine Guitar Hero or Rock Band, but without all the "accuracy", "precision", and "simulation" of those games.
Basically- you flail your arms, and the game makes noise. #wiimusic
11/16/09
11/16/09
It's less about teaching them how to play and more to get them interested in music to the point where they seek out actual training. #wiimusic
11/16/09
11/16/09
11/16/09
That's what a Miyamoto "failure" sells like. I'll bet any of the developers that got laid off in the last six months wished they could have failed like Miyamoto does. #wiimusic
11/16/09
Yeah oops. #wiimusic
10/09/09
10/09/09
I used to be dead-set against music games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. I thought they were a waste of time and that kids should be practicing real instruments instead. Yes, I thumbed my nose at the music game genre and then put on my monocle and sipped a cup of Earl Grey.
A few summers ago I worked at a local band/orchestra/guitar retail store to pocket some money to pay for tuition. In the span of 2 1/2 months, I sold over $15,000 in guitars primarily to kids between the ages of 10-15. I'd never quite seen a run on guitars like this before. In my usual banter with customers while they're looking at instruments, I usually ask what's inspired the customer/recipient (in this case, mostly kids) to want to pick up the guitar. Answer in a shocking majority of purchases:
Guitar Hero and Rock Band
Fast forward to last winter where I'm student teaching with an elementary music program. I brought my Wii and a copy of Wii Music in as sort of a treat for kids who behaved well during class. Once every other week or so I'd let them play Wii Music for the last half of class (and every day during lunch when the weather outside was foul I'd have the music room open for them to play as well). A week or so after starting this I get a phone call from a parent that goes something like this:
Parent: Would you happen to know where I can rent a trumpet?
Me: Sure, here's the name of a music store I work for and contract with. Might I ask why you're interested?
Parent: Oh, [Child's name] said he enjoyed that Wii Music game you let him play during lunch so we went and bought a copy for home. He played a lot of the instruments in it and really liked the trumpet, we asked if he'd like to learn to play for real and he jumped at the chance.
I'm not sure if music games can actually teach music (though I think there's possibilities to teach rhythmic feel which is wonderful), but what I am sure of is that these music games have opened up a lot of possibilities for kids who would otherwise be uninterested. As far as I'm concerned, if music games can pull kids into music and perhaps inspire them to pick up real instruments, they are nothing short of successful.
10/09/09
10/09/09
Or better yet, in musician terms, a gateway drug.
10/09/09
10/09/09
Perfect for people like me!
10/09/09
Edit: OK, never mind.
10/09/09
10/09/09
That is all.
p.s. I have a picture but for some reason uploading is not working for me today.
10/09/09
10/09/09
Personally I think the Dreamcast was the first to pioneer both formats. Rez used music as a companion that accompanied you throughout the game. Although the interactions did not depend on music so to speak, the game became synonymous with beat creation.
Space Channel 5 was one of the first games based solely on music user interface reactions. Simon Says, but much much cooler. I might be wrong here but you could even go as far to say that SC5 was the precursor to the DDR game fad that was so popular at one time.
Wipeout is another that turned a corner in terms of musical involvement. Although it did not use music as a mechanism for gameplay, it was if I recall the first game to publicly market itself based upon what music the game actually contained. The game tailored itself around the electronic music explosion that hit the US and Europe during the mid 90's. At one point Sony showcased the game in trendy nightclubs across the country. The Soundtrack was as big of a hit as the game itself.
I won't venture into what Guitar Hero and the like has achieved or what the latest and greatest is, but it is nice to reflect on how Video games have proven to be an outstanding medium in terms of reaching out to people that would otherwise have no desire to pursue music in other ways.
*Whistles some Ocarina of Time tunes*
10/09/09
After explaining that it was video game music, he said "Why don't you play video game music like guitar hero?"
So there we have it, after a brief discussion he believed that all the songs in Guitar Hero was just well, from guitar hero.
I wanted to share.
10/09/09
Then I realized that maybe this kid is only new, and he had only played music games so far.
Then I reread the last paragraph, highlighted the "13 age" part, and sighed again.
10/09/09
10/09/09
10/09/09
Isn't that the song Battlestar Galactica wrote to use as a homing beacon? Whos this Jimi Hendrix guy, he must have copied them. :P
10/09/09
10/09/09
however, it's a good alternative for the 95% of the population who won't ever do that.
05/21/09
During Nintendo's interview process, everyone had to sit through an hour long presentation by Iwata, 20 minutes of which were spent on making Miyamoto seem like a deity.
They rattled off what games he has made, how much revenue he has generated, they showed off pictures of him being knighted in France, and all the people who line up to meet him wherever he goes.
This was extremely early on in the interview process, when the company was trying to sell itself to prospective employees, and what I took away from it was, 'One of the benefits of working at Nintendo is that you get to be in the presense of Miyamoto.'