Metallica’s Kirk Hammet: “Guitar Hero is a no-no for me”

Iria

Swedish newspaper DN got hold of legendary guitarist Kirk Hammet when Metallica was touring Stockholm not long ago.
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Source: That Videogame Blog

Mac Daddy

I do agree that Guitar Hero and Rock Band take a bit of getting used too by real guitar players .. but it's a game and fun

Legendary indeed possibly the worst lead guitar player off all time .. Go Kirk !!
YouTube - Kirk Hammett-Embarrassing Blunder

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Judas

actually.... guitar hero is a good way to lead up to starting to play a real guitar..

it gets your tempo in check, you hands a bit more prepared, and a good idea how extremely hard it will be to play the real deal when it involves a hell of alot more.

My dad has a bloody hard time with the game simply due to trying to "play" the song and not the game... resulting in always being out of time/sync with the game (and failing)... he also plays his Gibson Dot extremely hard, so when he starts playing the game, you can hear the plastic stress on the preasure and grip he tries to play with. I swear the first time he played i thought he was going to crush the sucker.

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Vikingod

Having played guitar since I was 10, I can say Guitar Hero provides little to no benefit for the inspiring musician, aside from possibly the drummer. The guitar mechanics are totally different than the real thing, which is why it's tough for guitar players to get used to the game.

That said, just because I played Rainbow Six, I don't think I'm qualified to join the special forces either. Which is why I find these sort of comparisons to be a bit silly. It's just a game, and a really fun one at that, regardless of your musical prowess.

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Judas

It's the concept of learning the mechanics of the genre..... while just a game.. it does provide insight into the stuff.

I know one lead guitarist that actually really enjoys playing the game even though it's extremely "non complex" in comparison to his own excellent fiddling on the guitar. If only for just a bit of a fun without actually being on the job and having a concern for his own work.

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Zardon

Not in the least. Guitar hero only shows you timings basically. you dont form chords. learn any note positions or anything at all. Its for the masses and is certainly bringing the guitar to a wide audience which is brilliant, but people seemingly assume that getting 95% on expert in a complex track means you could pick up a gibson Les Paul and play along with Clapton At the Rainbow.

Its a great game, but its nothing like playing the guitar. I play both pretty well so i feel pretty confident im making this statement.

Judas

getting 100% on expert only allows you to get maybe 5% on a real guitar in a single place.

See the main problem most anyone has .. specially a newbie sitting down with a real guitar for the first time is getting the arc or your finger, and the ring finger/pinky to actually work right let alone not get tired so easily. This is where Guitar hero or rock band actually help this situation out. While a stuborn bastard will sit down with a real guitar and force themselves to try over and over again even when getting tired, most will simply give up far to quickly to do something else.

Sure your just pushing buttons as well, but you still have to get used to it, no one can just pickup guitar hero and play on hard or expert right out of the gate, quite often they can't even get their first 3 fringers to work let alone a tempo. Call it a "better" introduction to the guitar, just don't expect that after completeing "through the fire and flames" on expert to guarantee a flawless single note on a rear guitar right away or even after hours of trying.

I've played real guitar, i know the problems i've experienced and seen others experience. Some of those people pushed through and worked on it for weeks. However i personally have seen someone that has never played a guitar pick up on after playing guitar hero.. and emediately been able to resolve the initial break in issues of playing a guitar simply due to having a much better understanding then going without.

Not even a matter of an hour later, been able to ramble of a few chords and actually make it sound right. (and i'm not just picking a single person out of the bunch, theres a good number of them that picked it up far quicker then those that didn't play guitar hero or similare)


Even myself, having not played a guitar for years, and never got into the guitar, after playing guitar hero was much better able to perform the simpliest of guitar plucking tasks with little effort.

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Zardon

it really is hard to believe that one person can talk so much nonsense. 100% on expert translates to 5% real life? I sometimes kick myself for even replying to you.

Zelig

Comparing guitar hero skills to real guitar is about as useful as comparing Madden skills to real football.

This also coming from someone who's quite proficient at both the game and the real thing.

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Judas

5% real was an insignificant value... just a random low value. it had no real meaning. It equates to nothing.

I think you spend far to much trying to put a solid quantifiable factor on what i've said rather then just a interesting or non interesting discussion. I only mentioned what i've witnessed for myself of myself and others that have mentioned similare things. While true alot of it may be in the head, it is indeed part of the end result anyways.

And this isn't coming from joe blow musicians playing shitty music like a wannabe guitarist..... i know several musians whom have been playing and have a excellent history of playing for decades. So i wouldn't be saying "nonsense" like it's fact.

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Zardon

I didn't spend anytime on it actually just requoted exactly what you said, which is a scary statement. Trying to put any kind of meaning into most of your posting would require several highly trained therapists and a large case of Irish Whiskey.

I think what you mean to say is that guitar hero can perhaps help finger dexterity, which it does. nothing else bears any relation to playing the instrument. There are no notes, no strings, no bending, no positions, no muting, no harmonics. no plucking, strumming. the list goes on and on. you simply run your fingers over 5 coloured buttons and push a lever.

There is nothing even remotely musical about it, there is no improvisation, no need to learn music. Most of the world's great guitar players would be terrible at guitar hero because they are thinking in an entirely different realm.

Your comments are nonsense, you might not think they are but thats honestly quite irrelevant .... I have played in a few bands myself over the years and I am probably one of the few people here to have completed most of the guitar hero games on expert (hardly a big deal lets be honest). Guitar Hero is simply a game, playing the guitar comes from the heart.

I am sure you will continue to post your theories and ideals and rants, but hey im done. feel free to debate with the rest of the members.

Judas

i don't think we are disagreeing on anything aside from what is considered to be "nonsense"

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scipioafr

Guitar Hero got my 8 yr old to want to take lessons again, and after 6 months he's getting really good.

Zardon

Thats what it is great for ! i hear that often, and its brilliant if it pushes people to move to the real thing.

Mac Daddy

Played both Guitar Hero and Rock Band here and to me it is just a game. For some with no musical inclination or history it might be a good start for them on timing.

On Rock band in particular I find the timings "off" especially on the leads. We have attack and grace notes on real instruments but pushing a red button a 1/4 note past the start of a trill leaves me confused

I usually play drums, bass or sing on Rock Band.

On Kirk I wonder why he is smashing a game that features his band ... well perhaps he has learned whining techniques from Lars

Cool I started my brother on guitar when he was 7.

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Chaos

drumming is lots of fun once you get the hang of it and the Band concept does make it more socially inclined then Guitar Hero alone

Mac Daddy

I agree Bro I love the drums

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Judas

You can calibrate the timings of the notes to make it make more sense.... after doing this for my father.... he could actually play the game alot better.

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Zardon

that calibration is for any lag between the console and the specific panel or monitor.

Mac Daddy

Yes it is !!

Bro what I am talking about is the music itself the timings on hitting that "pick" button are not always on the beat and certainly not on time during lead sequences.

Lets take a quick example with 4/4 time the most basic of time signatures. Within that a guitar player during a lead break can use 32nd and 64th notes but they don't need to be at 1/4 note intervals (4/4 time = 4 - 1/4 notes per bar). They can start just before the 1st or second 1/4 note which is called a grace note or after in the form of a triplet or trill (Or any combination of).

So in simple terms what I hear in my ear falls later or sooner at times using this. I could pick every note with that toggle switch but it is targeted to an audience that can't ... and it is a game and for fun

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen

Zardon

you are pretty much wasting your time mac

Mac Daddy

Perhaps Z

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"My mom said the only reason men are alive is for lawn care and vehicle maintenance." - Tim Allen