16 yr Old drops out of School to focus on his Guitar Hero career

[RBA]

oh brother.


http://www.newsobserver.com/2766/story/1155589.html

[MrCinatit]

Couple things:
* I noticed the AVERAGE yearly take for some professional gamers is higher than my annual salary. That is freaking depressing.
* He is still getting home schooled. Of course, there are some who would argue that getting home schooled can only make an inverted child even more inverted.
* I can only think about the episode of South Park where Stan's dad, Randy attempted to move from a regular guitar to a Guitar Hero guitar - as well as the ensuing competitions.

[RedFanAlways1966]

the group of 20-somethings sitting at a nearby table, who applaud when Blake finishes playing along to "Through the Fire and Flames," viewed as the game's toughest song.

"It's pretty sick," says Andrew Gambling, 27, who describes himself as a casual player. "He's talented."

Play "Through the Fire and Flames" with a real guitar. Six strings, 24 frets and a pick. Do it, do it well. Then I will say he is talented. SMACK... reality can be hard-hitting.

[NorrisHopper30]

Originally Posted by RedFanAlways1966

Play "Through the Fire and Flames" with a real guitar. Six strings, 24 frets and a pick. Do it, do it well. Then I will say he is talented. SMACK... reality can be hard-hitting.

Have you ever played Guitar Hero or seen Through the Fire and Flames on it?

[Joseph]

Originally Posted by NorrisHopper30

Have you ever played Guitar Hero or seen Through the Fire and Flames on it?

I don't doubt the game is hard, but please, for the love of all thats good, don't make the argument this kid has some talent comparable to the guys who wrote and perform that song.

[NorrisHopper30]

Originally Posted by Joseph

I don't doubt the game is hard, but please, for the love of all thats good, don't make the argument this kid has some talent comparable to the guys who wrote and perform that song.

Obviously he doesn't have the talent to write and make the song, but to play that song on Guitar Hero is nearly impossible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5GpRJItqjw

Ridiculous.

[paintmered]

I just watched the video for the real song. What's ridiculous is the idea that the Guitar Hero version could even approach the true difficulty of that song.

[RFS62]

I know a few musicians who hate this game. They think it causes people to not take up the actual instrument and spend hours and hours on this game, which could have been spent actually learning how to play a guitar.

[RedsFan75]

That comment has been very widely discussed amongst some of the groups I'm a part of...

That being said, I know at least 4 people that picked up instruments because of this game. I'm giving bass lessons to one and start guitar lessons soon with another.

Personally, I can't play it for squat!

[Razor Shines]

[kaldaniels]

Originally Posted by NorrisHopper30

Obviously he doesn't have the talent to write and make the song, but to play that song on Guitar Hero is nearly impossible.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5GpRJItqjw

Ridiculous.

I'm a casual "Rock Band" player. That video just blew my mind. Sure it is hip to rag on these "fake" guitar players...but that is talent right there.

From wikipedia...I had to look it up.

The difficulty is due to the complex hammer-ons and pull-offs, and the extremely fast, intricate solos, including one that lasts around two minutes and four seconds.[citation needed] The song contains the fastest stream of notes in the entire series, with two sections of the song reaching an average speed of 26.67 notes per second.[9][unreliable source?] The player must also play samples of keyboard and computerized noises included in the song.[citation needed] There are 3,722 notes in the song.[citation needed]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Through...ire_and_Flames

[Johnny Footstool]

It is indeed a certain type of talent -- recognizing and memorizing a sequence of 5 colored dots, and possessing the dexterity to push those buttons rapidly.

[gm]

Here's a Jim Rome segment on Chris Kluwe (the Minnesota Viking's punter) who is a world class "guitar hero"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6j92JPaUGWI

St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) - August 3, 2008

VIKINGS PUNTER CHRIS KLUWE IS GAINING FAME FOR HIS MASTERY OF GUITAR HERO

MANKATO, Minn. -- Chris Kluwe stood there with his lips pursed, focusing, sweat building on his forehead. The crowd watching him chanted, "Kluwe! Kluwe!" as Vikings executives Rob Brzezinski and Rick Spielman watched him perform, their jaws open in amazement. No, Kluwe wasn't punting in a pressure situation. Holding a plastic guitar inside a Mankato restaurant as people cheered, Kluwe was engrossed in his other passion, the video game Guitar Hero on Xbox...

(Deadspin video)

http://deadspin.com/5033309/vikings-...-hero-all+star

[CrackerJack]

Yeah memorized, dexteritous button mashing is a different world than actually playing or creating music, and doing it well. That sort of "talent" has nothing to do with musicianship obviously.

I also know and/or see a lot of guys who can emulate or who have memorized a guitar solo (talking real guitar playing here) by Page etc..., and can play it to a tee, but can't create a solo or write a song to save their lives, that's any good. Their brains are wired to emulate and replicate, not create! (says Johnny Cochran)

As much as I appreciate the Steve Howe's of the world, I'll take a good singer/songwriter who can play something meaningful and create, but who isn't necessarily a master at guitar playing, any day.

Music's a funny thing, because it's art.

[Roy Tucker]

At first I thought this was a load of crap and who cares about Guitar Hero and how well they can play.

And then I thought about how I pay good money to go sit in hard plastic seats and watch men in funny clothes hit a white ball with a stick and then go run around in circles and thought I may want to shut up.