Guitar Hero World Tour Teaches Real Drumming

Video games sure have come a long way since the old days of Pong, PacMan and all the old favorites of days gone by. Who thought back then that one day video games could be used to teach real skills or become so realistic and technologically advanced?

Rock Band is a game that is not only fun to play, but it has been said by Harmonix Music representatives that if you can play the Rock Band drum set on the 'hard' setting, you can pretty much play the drums for real! But are you really playing the drums, or just copying the pattern you see on the screen?

If you are able to play along with the video game, that does not translate into the real world and does not mean you will be able to play a real drum kit. The real world of drumming requires the ability to read music, which is not taught in the game; fantastic coordination and rhythm. If you can't read music you may never be able to play real drums unless you are musically gifted and able to hear what needs to be done.

Most bands these days no longer use electronic drum kits such as were popular in the 80's. Real drums give the drummer more control over the volume, pitch and duration of the drum note and cymbals.

One thing real drums won't need is a Guitar Hero World Tour cymbal repair cable, as they don't have cables that are poorly designed and almost always fail.

Even a basic drum kit is far more advanced than the Guitar Hero World Tour drums or Rock Band drum kit. Not being a musical person myself, I find just the picture of a real drum kit intimidating! Imagine sitting behind a huge set of drums, knowing that you are responsible for setting the rhythm for your band and they all rely on you. If you get to that point you are obviously a good drummer, but for a novice even the Rock Band drum kit can be too much.

The basics of playing the drums is as simple as keeping the beat. If you can keep rhythm, can you play the drums? Not necessarily. A good drummer adds to the song and enhances it as well as providing a base rhythm for the rest of the band to follow. You may not always notice the drums, but if you were to take them out of the song I think you would notice for sure!

So, can Guitar Hero or Rock Band teach you to play the drums? Probably not, but they can help you with the basics. Get comfortable with the drums through the game, practice counting to four, and you are on your way to stardom!