Comments on: In Rock Band, actually play Drums and Sing

By: Rantz

Rantz — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 07:18:07 +0000

I also play drums in real life. I have to disagree with you Guyz – On the harder difficulties, it is actually quite similar.

You need to ignore the non-realistic feel of the bass drum. If someone really wants the more realistic feel, they can get an electronic drum kit and get this interface (found at http://rockbandkickbox.com/store/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=2) so that they can get realistic drum pedal action.

All you have to do in order to turn your rock band drumming into real drumming (concerning the cymbals) is keep in mind what you’re hitting with each pad specific to each song. For example, some songs use the blue pad for hitting the bell of the ride cymbal and sometimes the red pad for a type of crash. Just be aware of what you’re hitting and it will come to you. The game allows aspiring drummers to see how much certain patterns are repeated in a lot of different songs (You know, the good ole money beat – Bass, hat, snare, hat, bass, hat, snare, hat, etc…)

The game has certainly helped me broaden my horizons with my own drumming because I take the time to see how the notes break down into the proper sheet music to make complete sense of what’s going on.

By: ...

... — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 11:03:17 +0000

well the drums isn’t that hard to pick up (At least for me it wasn’t)

By: Guyz

Guyz — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:16:38 +0000

Now personally I myself am a real drummer in a real band(not exactly famous) and i do a little guitar every now and then, I can’t complete a song but I can hold a chord or two. But I think that the drum beats in rock Band are only “semi” realistic compared to the real thing. I mean I play drums,bass and guitar all on expert I think because I have real experience on the cooresponding instruments. I don’t even bother with singing. but I don’t believe guitaring in this game has anything real life to do with any of it. The singing processer thing (hehe) just needs to be upgraded and more strict with the sounds of the words and not the tone. and the drumming I will explain. When you play on expert and your going to play 3 different crash cymbals on a controller with only 4 pads it conflicts itself. They just need to add a few more pads and some on cymabl stands so if you really want to play real drums you would have alittle more experience. Also if you press down on a real bass pedal onto a real bass drum the feeling has more resistance than Rock Band. Theres 2 springs bringing the pedal back, not one pushing against the force of your foot. Or mabye they should add a bass drum pad like they do in an electric drum set. I think they just need to revamp the whole idea. Almost like going back to formula.

By: Potato

Potato — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:49:15 +0000

Personally i would rather play guitar on Guitar Hero3 then in rockband because in rockband the guitar itself isnt that great as in GH3

By: Mansoor

Mansoor — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 18:46:08 +0000

I think the point of these games (and what they successfully acheive) is to introduce more people to the (somewhat dying) genre of Classic Rock.

I always thought drumming was way cool. I bought Rockband and was introduced to a whole new style of Music which is fun. It has taught me very quickly about basic beats and coordination. I am playing at hard after two weeks (not very well though) and now I am coming up against real problem with hand/foot coordination and playing offbeats and stuff. So I will be taking lessons. And my girlfriend thinks its f`ed up that I am taking coaching for a game. go figure.

-M

By: Dominic

Dominic — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 15:07:59 +0000

I wrote a piece on Guitar Hero’s simulational fidelity in respect to actual guitar playing, in which I argue that it is not as alien to the act as we might be inclined to believe. It should appear in the next issue of the Loading… Canadian journal of game studies, if it gets through the editing process. I’ll post back here with a link when it’s ready.

Also, on the topic of Rock Band, I don’t believe the microphone is more closely simulating singing than the guitar controller is for guitar (though the guitar controller certainly is worse at simulating playing the bass). It’s very easy to get through a song just mumbling into the microphone, which doesn’t teach you a thing about singing. And as regards drums, there isn’t enough footwork involved, at least at medium difficulty. I doubt the game makes a radical shift of playing at higher difficulty levels.

By: Jesper

Jesper — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 16:35:18 +0000

Naomi – yes, I was inspired after the session in NY.
I hope to log some hours on Rock Band here in Boston, but I always found actual drumming to be surprisingly difficult, so perhaps that’s just drums for you?

By: Naomi

Naomi — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:28:05 +0000

Oops, I should have said the drums are “a whole magnitude of difficulty up from the guitar.”

By: Naomi

Naomi — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 14:27:39 +0000

Jesper, you wrote this after we played Rock Band together in New York, right? You were definitely good at singing (better than Eric!) but you should have tried the drums too — maybe you have since. They’re a whole magnitude of difficulty up from the drums, probably in part due to the fact that they map actual drumming much more closely. Even a basic rock beat is pretty much impossible for a non-drummer to sit down and play, I discovered. I’m writing something soon on the various techniques that are exposed through increasing difficulties of Rock Band drumming, maybe I’ll send you the link.

I also suspect that the “realistic” nature of the drums are linked to Harmonix’ decision to make the graphical style and narrative of the game more “realistic” compared to Guitar Hero, which has gone off in the opposite direction, becoming more and more surreal and fantasy-like. But I’m not sure which direction the causality runs there.

By: Cindy

Cindy — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 20:24:31 +0000

Ah, yes this is true. I believe the current rectangles are more familiar with players of karaoke games.

I’m trained on bouncy ball, myself.