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OT – Guitar Hero Helped Me Form a Bond with my Boys
By JLP | January 25, 2008
It’s Friday and after a week of blogging about the market and subprime crisis, I thought it would be fun to do something different and way off-topic.
About a year ago, my boys started playing Guitar Hero. If you’re not familiar with the game, it’s a video game that simulates guitar playing to classic rock tunes. One day my oldest son was playing “Message in a Bottle” by the Police and he asked me if I had ever heard that song before. LOL! I told him yes, that it was very popular when I was a kid. I think he was shocked! It turned out that my son loved “Message in a Bottle.”
What’s amazing about this is that had I been the one to introduce my son to “Message in a Bottle,” it wouldn’t have had the same effect. He probably would have discounted it since it was his Dad showing it to him. I know how kids are since I was once a kid.
Anyway, I took my boys’ love for old music to heart and started picking up old CDs to replace some of the cassettes I had purchased when I was a kid. In the last year or so, I have bought:
The Police – The Police (2 disc greatest hits)
Yes – 90215
Asia – The Definitive Collection
Foreigner – All of their CDs
Journey – Greatest Hits
Styx – Gold
Deep Purple – Machine Head
Rush – A BUNCH of their stuff
REO Speedwagon – Hits
Supertramp – Breakfast in America
Peter Frampton – Frampton Comes Alive
Robert Plant – Principle of Moments, Shaken ‘n’ Stirred
Don Henley – Building the Perfect Beast, and The End of the Innocence
Simple Minds – Once Upon a Time
Not all of these discs have been hits with my boys. For some reason they don’t care for Rush or Supertramp. The rest, however, were well-received and it has been fun to find out what their favorites are. I have had a blast rebuilding my music collection.
Their interest in Guitar Hero also led them to want to learn to play guitar. Luckily, we have a friend who plays guitar and he was happy to take them on as students. I wasn’t sure if they would stick it out, but they have and I’m very proud of them. They have even “written” a song with the help of their teacher. Now they are after me to get them an electric guitar. Maybe someday…
Topics: Miscellaneous | 16 Comments »
January 25th, 2008 at 10:12 am
The song is called “Message in a Bottle”. Nothing makes you look like an old fogey quicker than misremembering song titles or lyrics.
My 11YO is a Guitar Hero master and a huge AC/DC fan. He is now playing bass guitar so there is some cross over between gaming and “real” activities.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Morgan,
Oops.
January 25th, 2008 at 10:28 am
My soon-to-be 3-year-old loves to pretend he’s playing guitar (my parents got our 1-year-old a LeapFrog guitar for Christmas and the eldest has been using that) – “Badge” by Cream is perhaps his favorite song; he also loves “Pour Some Sugar On Me” (my influence!) and “Revolution” by the Beatles. It’s so much fun introducing him to “our” music (which is obviously much more palatable to us than the Wiggles), though we do screen out most of the hip hop and other inappropriate songs. We’re thinking of getting him a PS2 and Rock Band for his birthday
January 25th, 2008 at 11:00 am
I don’t have kids, but the Guitar Hero games are fantastic. I’ve been playing guitar for about 12 years anyway, so these games are just a great way to have some fun. We also got Rock Band a while back, and I’m doing my best to learn drums. If I could just tell my foot to operate independently of my hands I’d be all set.
But that is great that this has led them to learning a real instrument. Music is one of the best things a child can learn.
January 25th, 2008 at 11:53 am
Glad to see your boys are learning that good music existed before they did. I learned that when I was about 25 and have picked up some of the stuff you have listed.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:02 pm
It amazes me that todays kids seem to love the classic rock. I checked my kids itunes collection and found Van Halen, Joan Jett, Kiss, the Stones and ZZ Top. My boy wants me to get a turntable for my old LPs.
Both my kids are Guitar Hero ‘heroes’; my twelve year old started taking drum leasons about 4 months ago and has progressed to the point I got him a used Tama Rockstar drum kit with symbols. I hooked up an old stereo and used sub-woofer in the basement. Now everyday he comes home, cranks the stereo and drums along to “Kashmir”.
If your boy learns guitar and joins a band, at least practice will be somewhere else: the drummers house! Yikes.
January 25th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I recently played the game “Rock Band”, which is like Guitar Hero except that you get instruments for the drums, bass and lead singer too! It’s addictive!
January 25th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
I cast my vote for Rock Band, too, alongside Amanda. So your boys don’t like Rush or Supertramp… perhaps they don’t like guys who sound like girls when they sing.
That’s excellent that the game inspired them to get real guitar lessons. Perhaps we need an “Orchestra Hero” game, too.
January 25th, 2008 at 2:29 pm
They bought Rock Band for Playstation 2 a couple of weeks ago. I’m amazed at how fast they catch on. I tried playing drums and I stunk!
January 25th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
I’ve played (real) drums for 15+ years, and I kept “failing” the drum parts of Rock Band when playing my nephew’s game at Christmas. Of course, that’s a tremendous blow to my rock-and-roll ego!
Seriously, I hope that Rock Band/Guitar Hero will inspire kids to take up “real” musical instruments, but they’ll have to realize that the real thing takes a heck of lot more work than a game.
January 26th, 2008 at 2:46 am
STYX Yeah!
January 26th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Don’t wait. Buy them that electric today!
January 27th, 2008 at 8:17 am
Great List: Brings me back to my college days.
January 27th, 2008 at 8:52 pm
JLP,
You and I have talked 80s music before, so I suppose you’d find it no surprise that I’ve somewhat fallen into the GH thing too, now. My 5yo daughter likes to watch me play and make a fool of myself; for my part, it really is fun. Until my 37yo fingers start to hurt, at least.
About kids ‘n’ music: It still freaks me out when I hear her pseudo-singing along with J. Geils Band’s “Centerfold.” Not sure I’ll ever get used to that.
January 27th, 2008 at 10:50 pm
Yeah Rush is a bit out there — so are you into older Rush or Newer Rush? I like Presto and Roll The Bones way more than 2112.
January 27th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
MBH,
Presto was the very first Rush I ever bought. I bought the cassette back when it first came out in 89 and then I replaced it with a CD last year. Presto is great and Roll the Bones is really good too.
Like you, I don’t care for 2112. Everything after that seems to be pretty good.
Michael,
Yeah, I don’t think I want my daughter singing “Centerfold” either.