Why I Love Guitars? » Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero III World Tour

admin — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:37:39 +0000

Guitar Hero has become a cultural phenomenon in the world of computer video games. The guitar, software, and accessories are availabe in all gaming platforms including Wii, Playstation, Xbox, etc. Guitar Hero is a series of music video games published by RedOctane, in partnership with Activision. The series is notable for its use of a plastic guitar peripheral to simulate the playing of music, represented on-screen by colored notes that correspond to fret buttons on the controller.

Heidi Klum Guitar Hero

Their has recently been a controversial advertisement with model Heidi Klum playing Guitar Hero in her undergarments! The games support individual play as well as cooperative and competitive modes for two players. The series has used a range of both licensed and independent rock music tracks from the 1960s, throughout the decades to the present, including many master tracks from the bands. In total, six games have been released for video game consoles. Games have also been released for mobile phones and the Nintendo DS handheld gaming system.

History

The series was originally developed by Harmonix Music Systems from 2005 to 2007. Then development duties of the series were transferred to Neversoft, whose first effort, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock was released on October 28, 2007 in North America.

The Guitar Hero franchise has become a cultural phenomenon, making many appearances in popular culture, and the games have become extremely popular as party games and hobbies. The series has sold 23 million units, earning $1.6 billion in retail sales.

Guitar Controller

Guitar Hero is unusual because it comes packaged with a controller peripheral modeled after a black Gibson SG guitar. Rather than a typical gamepad. This guitar controller is the primary input for the game. Playing the game with the guitar controller simulates playing an actual guitar, except it uses five colored "fret buttons" and a "strum bar" instead of frets and strings. The development of Guitar Hero was inspired by Konami's GuitarFreaks arcade game, which at the time, had not seen much exposure in the North American market; RedOctane, already selling guitar-shaped controllers for imported copies of GuitarFreaks, approached Harmonix about creating a game to use an entirely new Guitar controller.

The concept was to have the gameplay of Amplitude with the visuals of Karaoke Revolution, both of which had been developed by Harmonix. The game was met with critical acclaim and received numerous awards for its innovative guitar peripheral and its soundtrack, which comprised 47 playable rock songs (most of which were cover versions of popular songs from artists and bands from the 1960s through modern rock). Guitar Hero has sold nearly 1.5 million copies to date.

Guitar Hero II Release

The popularity of the series increased dramatically with the release of Guitar Hero II for the PlayStation 2 in 2006. Featuring improved multiplayer gameplay, an improved note-recognizing system, and 64 songs, it became the fifth best-selling video game of 2006. The PlayStation 2 version of the game was offered both separately and in a bundle with a cherry red Gibson SG guitar controller. Guitar Hero II was later released for the Xbox 360 in April 2007 with an exclusive Gibson X-Plorer guitar controller and an additional 10 songs, among other features. About 3 million units of Guitar Hero II have sold on the PlayStation 2 and Xbox 360.

The final game in the Guitar Hero series to be developed by Harmonix was Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80s for the PlayStation 2, which was released in July 2007. This final game version, changing the visuals from Guitar Hero II, and shortening the song list with no bonus songs was not as well received by reviewers.

Transition

Transition Both RedOctane and Harmonix were experiencing changes in 2006. RedOctane was bought by Activision in June while it was announced in September that Harmonix would be purchased by MTV Networks. As a result of the two purchases, Harmonix would no longer develop future games in the Guitar Hero series. Instead, developing would go to Neversoft, a subsidiary of Activision known for developing the Tony Hawk's series of skateboarding games.

Neversoft

Neversoft was chosen to helm the Guitar Hero series after Neversoft founder, Joel Jewett, admitted to the RedOctane founders, Kai and Charles Huang, that his development team for Tony Hawk's Project 8 went to work on weekends just to play Guitar Hero. In 2007, Harmonix and MTV Games released a new music title through rival publisher Electronic Arts, called Rock Band. It expanded upon the gameplay popularized by the Guitar Hero series by adding drum and microphone instruments, allowing players to simulate playing songs as bands, though this functionality has now been implemented in Guitar Hero World Tour.

Guitar Hero III:

Legends of Rock was released in late 2007 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, PC, and Mac platforms. The title is the first installment of the series to include wireless guitars bundled with the game and also the first to release a special bundle with two guitars. The game includes Slash and Tom Morello as playable characters in addition to the existing fictional avatars; both guitarists performed motion capture to be used for their characters animation in the game.

Guitar Hero III World Tour (aka Guitar Hero IV)

Guitar Hero World Tour, previously named Guitar Hero IV, is the fourth full game in the series and was released on October 26, 2008 for PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii. Analysts had expected that future Guitar Hero games in 2008 would include additional instrument peripherals to compete against Rock Band. Guitar Hero World Tour was confirmed as in development following the announcement of the merger between Activision and Vivendi Games in December 2007. Activision's CEO Bobby Kotick announced on April 21, 2008 that Guitar Hero World Tour will branch out into other instruments including vocals. Guitar Hero World Tour includes drums and is packaged with a new drum set controller. A larger number of real-world musicians appear as playable characters, including the great Jimi Hendrix, Billy Corgan, Sting, and Ozzy Osbourne. Guitar Hero World Tour also features the creation of custom songs that can be shared with others.

On September 4, 2007, Billboard announced that the band Aerosmith was "working closely with the makers of Guitar Hero IV, which will be dedicated to the group's music." On February 15, 2008, Activision announced that Guitar Hero: Aerosmith, an expansion game to the series, would be released on June 29, 2008.

Guitar Hero: Aerosmith is developed by Neversoft for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, while the Wii version of the game is developed by Vicarious Visions and the PlayStation 2 version is developed by Budcat Creations. The game features a track selection composed of 60% of Aerosmith songs, with other songs from Joe Perry's solo work or artists that have inspired or performed with Aerosmith, including Run D.M.C. Also in the works: Activision's 2008 SEC filings cited that they plan to release Guitar Hero: Metallica by the first quarter of 2009.

By all expectations Guitar Hero will once again be the number one selling computer video game of the year in 2008. The Guitar Hero phenomenon lives on!==========Paul E. Steinberg is webmaster of Laptops And Computers. He has a degree in computer technology and over 20 years of field experience. His site has very helpful articles and user guides including Guide to Gaming, and Guide to Laptops.

20 Easy Tips That Will Put You on the Path to Being a Guitar Hero

admin — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:36:07 +0000

20 easy tips that will put you on the path to being a guitar hero

By Justin Sours
http://www.guitarmadeez.com

Practice how you play

When you practice guitar chords, scales, songs, etc., make sure that you focus on quality and not quantity. The guitar sounds a lot better if all the notes in a chord ring or you hit every note in that scale with perfect timing instead of rushing through a scale or playing a chord and having some notes be muffled. Just remember to focus on playing things slow and with good technique (This is Key!). Learn whatever you are trying to learn slow and then increase the speed little by little until you get where you want to be. That's how you guitarists learn to shred or solo extremely fast. They start playing a scale or riff slow and then gradually speed it up with a metronome.

Keep your guitar out of the closet or storage

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes that a person learning guitar could make. KEEP YOUR GUITAR OUT IN THE OPEN!!! Keep it next to your bed or in your family room on a stand or anywhere where it is out of the closet or out from under the bed. If it’s out in the open, this will force you to play it and force you to mess around and practice.

Memorize the fret board of the guitar

Memorizing the fret board of the guitar can turn out to be an interesting task. There are little tips and tricks that allow you to find notes really fast. The reason why all guitarist who would like to get good should memorize the fret board is because it allows you to play create chords in different shapes, find notes in different areas of the neck and allows the guitarist to familiarize and open up to playing in different parts of the neck. Memorization of the fret board is also very beneficial in soloing and improvising.

Jam with other people with different styles and techniques

You will not believe how much your guitar playing will improve when you jam with other people. If you ever feel like you are reaching a "plateau" (you feel like you're not getting any better) in your playing, jamming with other people will definitely open you up to new tips and tricks. There's always something to learn from someone else that plays guitar no matter how good or bad they are. Also, everyone's individual style is different and the more open minded you are to other styles, the better player you will become.

Listen to new types music and try to play it

I know it’s hard, just force yourself to do it. When all else fails go back to the basics of music. A great way to do this is to listen to some classical music for inspiration. Elton John is an amazing musician and he says whenever he reaches a dull moment or block in his playing, he refers back to church hymns that he learned when he was younger.

Read guitar magazines

Guitar magazines have allot of cool stuff, but they also have allot of filler. The one thing I hate about guitar mags is that they are extremely complex (not for beginners). The articles, stories and advice are cool but some of the lessons are intense! The advanced guitar lingo having to do with intervals of certain modes and technical guitar talk gets to me sometimes. It's nice to know that stuff but ehhhhhhh..... It can be boring.

Go to concerts

Nothings more inspiring then going to a concert and seeing someone rock out on stage and totally impress the crowd. I remember a couple of years ago; I went to Vans Warped Tour. Immediately after the show, as soon as I got home, I ran to my room and tried learning allot of the songs I had heard. When I saw The Eagles back in October of 06', I couldn’t stop learning all their songs. It's amazing to be extremely inspired and motivated once again about playing guitar and going to concerts definitely rejuvenates my interest in playing guitar.

Buy concert DVDs

If you've never seen any ACDC music video or concert DVD.... then we definitely need to talk. Angus Young is an amazing guitarist and It's just amazing to see that this scrawny little Australian guy can play like he does and with such attitude and soul. Seeing that guy rip up the fret board definitely shows us that anyone can play guitar... all it takes is practice, discipline, motivation and commitment. Concert DVDs are great because they show you up close and in really good quality what exactly a guitarist is playing, unlike music videos where bands just dance around and they add in the music later. Concert DVDs are filled with raw footage of guitar playing at its best.

Always use your guitar strap

This is another biggie. When first learning how to play guitar, I never wore my guitar strap. I ended up paying for it later and basically having to relearn guitar standing up instead of sitting down. If you always play with your guitar strap on, there will be no difference to you while playing either sitting or standing. Playing with your guitar strap will also allow you to get to the "show-off" level so you can impress all your friends earlier.

A lot of people who use guitar straps find that they fall off very easy or tend to drop the guitar. There are many different types of locking mechanisms out there (I currently have two guitars that use the DiMarzio locking mechanism and it works very well)). Go to your local guitar shop and check all of them out and see which one fits you best.

Play with passion (slash)

Have you ever heard a guitar player who is a great player, but you feel that there is something missing...... THERE'S NO SOUL!!! Soul is the emotion, the love, the purpose behind guitar playing. Listen to that same talented yet boring guitar player and then compare him to Gun's and Roses guitarist or Velvet Revolver guitarist Slash. Every solo that Slash plays has so much soul, so much emotion, and so much purpose. What I want you to do is Google "Slash - Godfather theme video" or get on Napster, iTunes, kazaa, etc. and download it. This video is nuts!! Slash plays with such a great amount of solo that it's amazing. I really don't know how to explain exactly how to add soul into your playing, however I will tell you that you will understand if you choose to stick with guitar and stay committed to the instrument. It's basically playing to express yourself and not to just play because you have to or don't want to but feel you should.

Watch the clips of legendary guitar scenes or solos

Here's some instant inspiration.... Go to yahoo or Google and click on the "video" tab above the search bar and type in anything having to do with guitar solos. You will find some amazing solos along with amazing guitar tricks. One really cool guitar clip I remember is of this Asian guy playing the super Mario brothers theme for Nintendo. That guy can play that song like you wouldn’t believe. There's so much inspiring guitar playing footage out there. It's everywhere and anywhere you look, especially online. Also, checkout the movie with Ralph Maccio from the 1980's called "Crossroads"... there’s some amazing guitar playing in it.

Try tabbing out songs by ear

This is extremely helpful. Tabbing songs by ear develops your musical ear very quickly. Choose one of your favorite songs and sit next to your cd player with a guitar and a piece of paper and try to figure out the chords in the song first, and then try to figure out the riffs within the chords. Once you find out the overall "key" of the song it's easy to figure out all the riffs and chords.

Take a college music course (Beatles, history of rock and roll)

While I was at community college for two years studying to get my Associates Degree, I had taken a "History of Rock & Roll course". This course was extremely interesting. There was so much music that this class opened my eyes up to. I gained so much more appreciation for the Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Who and many more bands of that era. Those bands really did change music forever. I definitely recommend taking a class like this anywhere you can; it will definitely open up your eyes to some great music out there and help you grow as a musician.

Read biographies of guitarists you appreciate

Some musicians out there have led incredible lives. The majority of them come from nothing and in the end, become legendary guitar gods. Look at Johnny Cash; he was a rural country boy that grew up almost penniless and turned into an amazing musician through inspiration and practice. There are so many interesting stories behind bands and musicians. Here's some that I find interesting (off the top of my head): The Beach Boys, Def Leppard, Metallica, Van Halen, The Beatles and Thin Lizzy. Do some research online and try to mirror yourself with these artists. It will give you a whole new thought process to playing their songs and guitar in general.

"Steal" riffs and ideas from other guitarists

I know it sounds bad but every great guitarist does it. Clapton stole the "crossroad blues" from Robert Johnson and the Beatles used some of Elvis' ideas and expanded upon them. Every musical generation steals ideas, riffs, chord progressions from the generation before and when it comes to music... its ok. I find this to help guitar players progress a lot, especially if you reach a plateau. One of the biggest things that helped me expand as a guitarist is to learn all my favorite solos by my favorite artists. Once I had learned them, I would play the same solo over different progressions in the same key and then play the same solos in different keys all around the neck and in different scale positions. Once I did this, I had "unlocked" all of the licks in the solo and I'm now able to use them in whatever I play. Just like how in video games you unlock new characters, levels and secrets throughout the game... you do the same in music. From there you can constantly expand upon your lick directory.

Play in front of others

This is one of the hardest parts about performing music. Playing in front of others is something that just takes time. Remember to relax and don't think about everyone watching you. Just focus on you and the instrument. The more you play in front of others, the better you will get. Everyone's first time playing in front of others can be pretty gut wrenching. Just remember that it gets easier every time and that you'll get through it just fine. What you can also do is videotape yourself playing and then put it on the internet. Lots of people including myself put videos on Youtube.com or other online video sites and its up to the viewers to judge. Some people will rip your playing apart but most will applaud you for trying and really like it. The way I look at it... "Led Zeppelin didn't write songs that everyone liked... they left that to the Bee Gees" - Wayne Campbell (Wayne's World)

"What if I screw up"? Who cares?! In music, everyone screws up while playing music. When big bands record in studios they spend days, sometimes even weeks recording tracks so that they turn out absolutely perfect. What really creative people do when they screw up is to elaborate on the screw up. If you hit a wrong note, maybe trying hitting the note again within the rhythm of the song and maybe it will sound good.

The Internet and Youtube are valuable tools...

Eric Clapton learned guitar by listening to old Robert Johnson, BB King and many other great blues records on a turntable and then trying to mimick the same sounds on guitar. Eddie Van Halen would be in his room with his door closed for days just messing around with different sounds that a guitar can make just by moving his fingers around in different shapes and seeing what they sound like. Alex Van Halen (Eddies brother and drummer for Van Halen) would go on dates and leave the house listening to Eddie whale away at 5:00pm and then come home to Eddie still whaling away at 2:00am. These artists didn't have the internet! They had a cassette player or record player and plenty of time on their hands. We're incredibly lucky today to have such great resources like youtube.com and the internet in general. Youtube.com is great for learning how to play guitar. You can find lessons, people covering songs, tips and tricks and just about anything that you need to get off on the right foot when it comes to playing guitar. The great thing about Youtube guitar lessons is that "they get to the point". No BS. Each lesson is usually under 5 minutes and they give you great info very fast, because who wants to watch a 30 minute video. Guitarists attention spans aren't that long, I know mine isn't. And Finally, you have the internet. The internet has absolutely everything you could ever possibly need, including Youtube.com, lessons, information, ultimate-guitar.com (for tabs), guitars101.com (for any other type of help that you may need), etc. The possibilities are endless. The point is that learning guitar today is and should be way easier than learning guitar in the past due to the great resources we have.

You can learn any riff from any song no matter how crazy or how fast.... just slow it down

Any riff is learnable, you just have to slow it down to a pace that you feel comfortable with, learn it, and then gradually speed it up. There are numerous programs out there that allow you to do this. One very popular one is called Transcribe. You can import any .mp3 file and then control the speed of the song. Practice the riff over and over and gradually raise the speed. If you can't play the at a given speed, then slow it down 1%, if you can play it and feel comfortable with how you played it, raise it by 2%. Doing this will allow you to master any riff, any song, anything!

Try learning the difficult songs or riffs that you've always wanted to learn, no matter what level you are at and no matter how hard the song is...

This is what makes guitar fun, seeing your improvement (ie. Quick Results). I remember trying to play songs that were at my level when I first started playing guitar. Stuff like : The Animals - House of the Rising Son, and Don Mclean - American Pie. I could play them ok, but they weren't really songs that I had started playing guitar for. I wanted to play Metallica's fade to black and Eric Clapton's Crossroads. I put the other two songs aside and started working on the new ones that had inspired me to play guitar. I had spent weeks and months on them even though they were outside my playing level. I was determined to learn them. I kind of wanted to be one of those guys that can't play anything else, just cover songs note for note. If I couldn't play any other song aside from the super hard ones note for note, I'd be happy. So I spent so much time learning these songs, and I could play them.... ok... not great.... However, when I went back to playing House of the rising son and American Pie, I could play them 100 times better. I played them like a pro. Its kind of like.... as long as you challenge yourself, you'll get better. You play with musicians that are better than you... you'll get better. You lift more and more weight than your used to... you get stronger.

A great musician once said.....

A great musician once said that as soon as guitar becomes a chore and isn't fun, that's the moment that you should put your guitar down. Come back to it later. Now this doensn't mean that when your first learning guitar and you get frustrated, you should put it down and forget it. Sorry, this rule only applies to guitar players who are advanced or who have been playing for a while. It sucks and is frustrating for everyone at first so you have to stick with it. The overall point is, guitar playing should be fun. Don't turn it into a chore or a task.========23 year old guitarist from AZ. Playing guitar for 10 + years