If you have ever wanted to learn how to play guitar, you can now do so with the assistance of your video gaming console. The difficulty of learning to play any musical instrument is quite challenging and does have somewhat of a learningcurve, but one game developer is taking musical instrument integration a bit more seriously, and it makes Guitar Hero and Rock Band seem simple.
While the two hit games Guitar Hero and Rock Band have become successful enough to allow for reiterations and even other spin offs, such as Guitar Hero Aerosmith, these games still, essentially, do not teach you how to play a normal musical instrument or guitar. You could completely rock at Guitar Hero, but have no idea how to play an actual guitar.
The game Rocksmith however, a creation of game developer Ubisoft, operates a bit differently. Rather than having a plastic guitar with a few colored buttons, the Rocksmith game is controlled via a much more realistic, traditional guitar with strings.
Here is the guitar that is available for purchase for Rocksmith:
To take things a step further into the music world, the Rocksmith produced guitar is actually a collaboration effort with famous music guitar maker Epiphone. The above guitar bundle is available for around $200 USD.
Aside from this, Rocksmith developers make the following guarantee:
When we say any guitar we mean any guitar. Whether it’s the guitar sitting in your attic, your cherished faithful steed, or the guitar you have yet to buy, Rocksmith lets you plug any guitar into your Xbox 360 system. – Rocksmith
So, if the official Rocksmith bundle is not for you, you also have the option of purchasing just the game (around $50 USD) and using any guitar you’d like.
In learning how to play guitar, much of the challenge is getting your hands to cooperate, hold strings correctly, and move your fingers fast. Normally, this task can be time consuming and even a bit frustrating. With a game like this, however, there might be more of a fun factor that is incorporated into learning how to play, which would help more aspiring musicians succeed at learning how to play an instrument.
Here is a screenshot from the game that demonstrates the interface:
A bit different than other guitar or musical instrument based games, Rocksmith actually helps you to learn, and even lables the notes that you are playing.
Rocksmith has been out for a while now. If any of our site visitors have played this game, how does it operate at actually teaching you how to play a true guitar? Upon mastering this game, would you have the skills to play songs on a regular guitar setup? Feel free to leave a comment in order to help others.