Rock Band to Real Band

I have been playing the hell out of Rock Band 2.  I very much enjoy it as it’s quite fun and challenging.  I’m also willing to bet that games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero are helping the music industry quite a bit as most likely people are getting exposed to music they have never considered before (I know I have been)..  But what might me more important is that people are getting exposed to the notion of making music..

In an era where school music programs are on the decline (or completely gone) I can’t think of anything more important for the music industry as a whole than getting kids interested and/or hooked at an early age..  This is the perfect venue!

They just need to bridge the realism gap..   Rock Band (and guitar hero, band hero, etc..) are great games, but they aren’t realistic at all..  For the guitar and bass you are producing notes by strumming a single piece of plastic and pushing one or multiples of 5 buttons..  As you graduate through the difficulty levels things get harder in that the waterfall of Chiclets come faster and the fingerings are more difficult, but you don’t actually progress towards being able to play a real instrument..

How cool would it be if instead as you progress through the difficulty curve the game got more realistic the harder it got..    In order to pull this off they would need to basically ship the game with a real guitar or a device that hooks into a real guitar such that it responds to the console in a way expected by the game… Instead of pushing a single button, maybe sense that we are actually pushing a cord or even a single string..   And once you get to the end of the difficulty curve you’re playing the song..   How awesome would that be?!

Suddenly not only would Rock Band be a kick ass game, but it would also be a must have teacher that could train you to play your favorite songs (for only $2 a download.. or whatever it is..)..

Once you have a device that hooks into a guitar or drums it should be fairly simple to make that device work for other instruments..

Imagine if you will, “Piano Hero!”  or maybe “Violin Hero!”   It would allow you to play a game with you instrument of choice, and go a long way towards teaching you to better play that instrument..

You think “Band Hero” is fun?  Try “Symphony Hero!” hah

There are so many possibilities here.. I seriously hope that they don’t squander this..  They could spark a whole new revolution around music making if they really wanted to..

The Sonic Infusion

My music tastes range far and wide, but when it comes to some tunes to play in the background while working I find that good techno, house, or trance serve me the best.  I can really get into a groove when listening to this music..  Oddly enough it helps me focus on my work and blocks out the distractions nicely..   My productivity probably triples when I can code to the beats..

Typically I would listen to some Classic or Vocal Trance on DI.FM (Digitally Imported Radio) a service I happily pay for because it did such a good job of keeping me focused on my work.  A while back I stumbled across the Sonic Infusion while browsing the podcasts available on iTunes and I’ve been hooked..

The Sonic Infusion is a free podcast put out (about once a month) by Spencer Gordon consisting of skillfully mixed and current Progressive, House and Trance music from all over the world ranging in length from 1 to 3 hours..  And it’s great!  At this point I have listened to all 120 episodes and he is only getting better..  What blows me away is that he does this for free..  He puts it out there solely to promote his and the other artists’ work, and is completely worth the listen.  The quality is high enough that if he put CD’s out there I bet people would buy them..

I realize this post is a shameless plug, and as such not something I typically do.. But man its worth it..  This guy is great as is the product he puts out..  I listen to one of his episodes (randomly) every day just to get into the groove and help me focus on my work.. (Which is in all likelihood completely NOT what he had in mind.. hehe  Hey it works for me!!)  Give it a listen, and to Spencer I say thanks man..

You can check it out here:  The Sonic Infusion or by going to http://www.thesonicinfusion.com/

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The Warcraft movie due out in 2011 to be directed by Sam Raimi promises to be horrid.. Sorry.. Live action wont do the seriese any justice..

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By god they can train some dogs..  Well done guys..

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