I now realize that before I had Guitar Hero I was kind of music dumb. After playing GT and reveling in the challenge and concentration it takes to move from one level to another, I now hear and appreciate the music I have so long loved much differently. I hear more notes, understand transition and can now link what I hear to actual finger movements that make sense. I realized this the other day when I was driving and listening to a Led Zeppelin song and unconsciously noticed my fingers stringing the notes rather smartly on the wheel. Simply put - pre GT my brain did not have the synapses connected to hear/see music differently.
I am proclaiming that GT is the official killer of the commonly seen "air guitar" gesture. I look to myself (post GT) and my five year old as proof. Without guitar lessons and pre GT most people had no idea what it means to play - thus the idiotic "air guitar" simulation. Now, when my five year old son simulates himself playing on GT, his movements are smooth, fingers moving with purpose and at reasonable speed. There is no foolish stance, hands rushing or general sense of music dumbness about it. For me the same - when I simulate playing GT (when I am driving) the movements are smarter than before. If you play GT, you have an idea of what it means to actually pull off a song and the physical requirements to do so. I know this is a long way from the real thing but for someone who was becoming sort of deaf and dumb to the medium, GT has been a great door opener.
So here is a quick list of how Guitar Hero has changed me:
- Hear music better and differently - overall.
- Appreciate guitar notes and how to manipulate i.e. strumming.
- Hear and appreciate transition and what it takes to execute them.
- Reengaged my left pinky finger from being neglected and a second rate digit.
- Re-appreciation for songs and parts of songs I have always known and liked but grown somewhat deaf to.
- Hand eye coordination better.
How about you? How has Guitar Hero changed you? Feel free to light up the comment box:)
