freelanceralph

The recent explosion of video games were players can act like musicians may be fun. However, it is nothing compared to playing the real thing.
My daughter and I play real instruments…she’s a superb young pianist and I’m an avid guitarist with average talent.
She plays in school concerts and take time every day to hone up on her skills. I like to play along with her as backup. If she doesn’t let me play along, I jam with my stereo.
Her friends are turning more and more to guitar hero and rock band video games that do not in any way involve actual reading of music and proper hand positioning. As they go more toward that the start to walk away from real musical training.
Music is one of those glorious gifts that everyone can enjoy. Some are listeners and some are players. However, we all share this great experience in our daily lives.
If everyone ends up faking actual music, we all lose.
The video games are fun and even cool if kept in proper balance and perspective.