Members Durango_Kid Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 So, I'm guitar player. Not great, just a hobby for a middle age guy whose body is wearing out a little from to many years of hard work and hard exercise. I was hanging out at our fire house the other day(I'm a volunteer) and some guys were telling me that due to the fact that you have a 5 piece kit in the game Rock Band, you can actually learn the drums from playing that game. I don't play video games at all and I'm sure you cannot really learn to be a solid player from RB, but is the a feasible way for me to get the feel for drums so I can improve my timing and rythem to the point where I could put down my own tracks during home recording sessions? Thanks for your input. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Mogwix Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 nah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thebloodbrother Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 yeah, you can't really learn drums from rock band but the 12 year old boys still think they can... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Durango_Kid Posted March 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 Kind of sounded a bit faqr fetched. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members thelegacy Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 it's so cute how they think you can, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zildjian@consol Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 nah a 2nd nah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members devinw Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 it's so cute how they think you can, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members theDan Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 put them on a set and they won't know what to do.It's all based on how you can react to visual images, you don't actual know what you're playing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members e-b-e Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It's great seeing Rock Band get more enthusiasts into drums/drumming/bands/instruments. But to answer your question, in my humble opinion, your mileage may vary...It's kinda asking too much for a game, to actually be used as a learning tool. It's like how a crescent wrench SHOULD work for most applications, but most of the time it doesn't adequately complete the job. You seem to always wind up needing to get a real wrench to finish. I do think Rock Band could be used to encourage someone interested in music to get their feet wet in a playful low-pressure game environment and possibly decide on picking up a real instrument. One might learn a little basic knowledge of an instrument by playing Rock Band. I don't think they will learn "the basics". You'd be better suited with a practice pad and a pair of sticks and a book/video to learn how to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SudzDrummer Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It really depends how you use Rock Band. If you focus on the visual cues and memorize your movements in a mathematical sense... you're just teaching your brain and muscles to play a pattern that never changes. If you're using it to learn drums, skip the easy levels and go straight for expert... at least that makes you think about using multiple limbs at the same time. The problem with Rock Band is there's no room to play with the beat outside of the pre-programmed parts. Sure it'll help you build a bit of limb dependancy and it'll give you some practice with your hands but in the end you're not playing drums... There are NO dynamics in rock band... it's just about hitting the pad at the right time without any thought of where on the pad you hit and how even your strokes are and man.. there isn't even a hihat pedal!! An xbox + a decent TV + rock band = close to $1000 ... just buy a real drum kit and learn the real deal! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members notamachine Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 I {censored}ing hate video games. Except for GTA Vice City of course. That game is awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members boxofrocks Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 Might get some independence and coordination from the game that's about it. Get a drumset and put on some headphones and try to play what you hear. Way harder than any video game ever made... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Durango_Kid Posted March 17, 2008 Author Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It's kinda asking too much for a game, to actually be used as a learning tool. It's like how a crescent wrench SHOULD work for most applications, but most of the time it doesn't adequately complete the job. You seem to always wind up needing to get a real wrench to finish.. Yeah, it's asking a lot from a game, but only if you think of games as something for the masses. I think it would be awesome if they could the same energy and thought inot programming instructional programs that were as well developed and addicting as these games are. Don't get me wrong,, as I said, I don't play games and I do play my guitar nearly every day but I wish there was a "game" that I could follow that would always guide me to the next level and force me start at the beggining until I got it right. Anyway, that for the accurate size-up fellas! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members zildjian@consol Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 Yeah, it's asking a lot from a game, but only if you think of games as something for the masses. I think it would be awesome if they could the same energy and thought inot programming instructional programs that were as well developed and addicting as these games are. Don't get me wrong,, as I said, I don't play games and I do play my guitar nearly every day but I wish there was a "game" that I could follow that would always guide me to the next level and force me start at the beggining until I got it right. Anyway, that for the accurate size-up fellas! That would be great to have something like that to spur you on:idea: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DanielDennis Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It's great seeing Rock Band get more enthusiasts into drums/drumming/bands/instruments. But to answer your question, in my humble opinion, your mileage may vary... It's kinda asking too much for a game, to actually be used as a learning tool. It's like how a crescent wrench SHOULD work for most applications, but most of the time it doesn't adequately complete the job. You seem to always wind up needing to get a real wrench to finish. I do think Rock Band could be used to encourage someone interested in music to get their feet wet in a playful low-pressure game environment and possibly decide on picking up a real instrument. One might learn a little basic knowledge of an instrument by playing Rock Band. I don't think they will learn "the basics". You'd be better suited with a practice pad and a pair of sticks and a book/video to learn how to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pasta Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 Seeing quite a few new people on vdrums forum who just bought electronic drums after playing Rock Band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 2xBass Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 The main problem is that it doesn't teach a mandatory skill that all drummers must have, independent timekeeping. You can just watch the screen for all the rythems, not knowing when to hit the pattern or how to keep it going if all the notes just dissapeared. It also feels messed up to play without cymbals. I was trying Enter Sandman just for fun, and twice I started to riase my hands to hit the cymbals only to realize, that they are not there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FitchFY Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 In theory, you can learn the mechanics of drumming, but as mentioned... you won't be able to "play the drums." But you may be able to keep time or hold a beat in theory. MTV put out an arcade game called "Drumscape" which was awesome. You selected the song and then drummed along to it on some bad rubber pads - lots of fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members qwertyMan Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It's all based on how you can react to visual images, you don't actual know what you're playing THANK YOU!!!!! I was having touble wording this myself. It's a different skill being able to react to what you're seeing and hit something according to that, than actually playing from your heart, or just feeling. You can learn VERY basic stuff as in a simple rock beat, but nothing really beyond that. The drums aren't even set up correctly, for god's sake! Also, most people I've seen playing rock band who don't actually play drums have some of the worst technique in the whole world. I've seen people holding their sticks with their index fingers extended down the shafts, as if they were holding a knife to cut a carrot. I've seen people holding a stick like they would a Crayon at age two (i.e. in a clenched fist), and almost everyone I've seen shoves the stick into the pad, FORCING it forward. With technique like that, and nobody to correct you, you aren't exactly off to a good start on learning how to play the drums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members turdadactyl Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 I definitely don't think you will learn to play drums from Rock Band, but there are some realistic parts that, if you can get them, would put you well on your way. I played it for the first time last week. In "Should I Stay or Should I Go" there are a couple sections where you have to play a straight-eighths beat, including the kick and also a double time beat. If somebody can nail those, there's no reason they can't translate that to a drum kit. Just put your right hand on the hi-hat instead of the "green pad." I know we all want to be protective of our beloved drumming, but hey...SOMEBODY might learn to play from this thing. And hell, if it brings back an interest in real rock, I'm all for it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members barny15 Posted March 17, 2008 Members Share Posted March 17, 2008 It's all based on how you can react to visual images, you don't actual know what you're playingQuoted for truth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Shawn76 Posted March 18, 2008 Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 I think someone who played air drums could learn more then they can from the video game.Neat concept but very misleading.I am new to playing and I didn't think it was that hard to keep times and beats.Boy,was I wrong.I am getting better though at keeping the beat going and doing a fill here and there still keeping the beat going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members twosticks Posted March 18, 2008 Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 I think someone who played air drums could learn more then they can from the video game.Neat concept but very misleading.I am new to playing and I didn't think it was that hard to keep times and beats.Boy,was I wrong.I am getting better though at keeping the beat going and doing a fill here and there still keeping the beat going. good point. My stepson recently got the game. It is as much like playing drums as a car driving game would be like to driving a car. It's not the same!! My stepson did better doing constant lazy rolls on the color pads than I did playing along to the song!! I had to actually go off beat to be sure to hit the bars on the screen!! Is there a way to increase the sensitivity of the pads? I had to wail on some pads to get it register at times. You don't learn feel and tempo right, ROCKBAND is more like table tennis and how to align your paddle with the ball or in this case, how to hit the right colored pads as it shows up on the screen, like table tennis meets "SIMON" the old 70's electronic game IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slap happy drums Posted March 18, 2008 Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 silly silly silly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BroadST Posted March 18, 2008 Members Share Posted March 18, 2008 You get as much out of Rock Band for learning to play the real drums as you do out of Guitar Hero for learning to play a real guitar. You get the timing and some basic movements but not much else. If anything, it might make someone want to learn to play either and inspire them to get some lessons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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