In my post on finding time to invest in yourself I mentioned that one time sink can be video games. Being a child of the 1980's I spent a lot of time on my Odyssey2 and way too much time in the arcade playing Centipede, Galaga, and Ms. Pac-Man, so I'm guilty of this too. The video game I picked on in that post was Guitar Hero
Doing well in the game requires a lot of practice, and this guy played Eric Johnson's Cliffs of Dover on the hardest level perfectly, as in no mistakes:
Guitar Hero Cliffs of Dover (opens in a new window)
I can imagine this took a fair bit of time to learn how to do. Now, on the other hand, this guy invested his time learning how to play Cliffs of Dover for real:
Real Guitar Cliffs of Dover (opens in a new window)
A much better investment of time in my opinion. It's definitely a lot easier to take on the shallow Guitar Hero learning curve over the steep Real Guitar learning curve. I can play Guitar Hero to some extent but I'm not a guitar player. I could spend 50 hours learning how to do 100% on the expert level of Guitar Hero, and all I could do would be to scroll up and down the screen, look at all of the green hundred percents, maybe save it to disk, pat myself on the back, and watch everyone around me not give a flying flip. Or I could invest 500 hours becoming a decent guitar player, or 1,000 hours becoming a great guitar player. And after 5,000 hours, I'd probably be able to shred with just about anyone. And I'd probably get lots of positive attention from members of the opposite sex, after which I'd blush, say “Aww gosh! Uhh'yukk!” and go home to my wonderful wife and daughter. ;)This goes for anything worthwhile, anything marketable, anything potentially profitable, anything of real value. The gratification and payoff is further down the road for things of value, so don't be unduly or extensively tempted by challenges that just ultimately sap you of your precious time.
Update: This issue of The Warehouse comic pretty much says it all.
That's a good point. It's a shame that Guitar Hero can't help you to learn the real thing.
I've burned a lot of time on video games myself. I think it's fair to say we need some relaxation time to kick back and play, but I know I could have accomplished a lot more last year if not for World of Warcraft…
I agree with you. Nothing is the same as the real thing. Are people really impressed with Guitar Hero prowess? Of course my folks might make the argument that my time trying to play Cliffs of Dover was a time sink for me. I certainly could have spent more time doing homework (no regrets though).
I never play video games and certainly couldn't see the benefit of mastering Guitar Hero. I would much rather learn the real thing. Just managed to get tickets to a Foo Fighters concert, thank God they didn't have guitar hero around when they were younger else there may be no band now. Investing in themselves has certainly paid off for Dave Grohl, Chris Shiflett and Nate Mendel.. Great piece of advice
I agree, but tentatively. The Guitar Hero video games inspired my husband to start learning how to ACTUALLY play guitar – something he thought was too expensive and challenging before he tried it.
And it's introducing lots of teenagers and young adults to some classic rock they wouldn't have heard any other way.
Good points!
It may inspire some folks to try real guitar I guess. An the education of listening to classic rock is a factor too. Case in point: I hadn't heard Cliffs of Dover before watching the GH video, and I really like the song now!
I have decided to stay away from games that I cannot play with a group of people. At least in playing with others I add a social aspect that makes it not as much of a time waste. I have managed to make contacts with friends of friends through playing online. This networking has helped me to get a better deal on my next vehicle and get some career advice from a guy who works in HR.
MBH~
All of Eric Johnson's music rocks – That whole album "Ah Via Musicom" is good, I like his album "Venus Isle" the best.
But if you like instrumental guitar, he is one to add to your collection.
Yeah… I'm not a big fan of most video games. As you pointed out, putting the time into learning the real deal gives you some insurance of self-improvement, and leads to the realization of genuine accomplishment. I always laughed at the TV commercial in which these cocky guys were playing a team "shooter" game on-line and getting crushed by a real group of Navy SEALs. Ummmm, no. These guys don't need to play games… they do it for real. And they train A LOT. Just like most real guitarists probably don't spend a ton of time on Guitar Hero.
You are vastly underestimating the difficulty of playing the guitar.
Anon: How so?
50 hours of practicing guitar will NOT get to to playing "Cliffs of Dover". Unless you are a prodigy.
The point of the game is to have fun and play with friends, and it's something everyone can do.
To sit around and "jam" with real musicians takes years of practice (or at least months). And, learning to play someone else's songs, isn't the same as writing your own and being a good musician.
I guess what I'm saying is that while the controller is shaped like a guitar, you can't really compare the two activities.
And I beg to differ with those that say real musicians "probably don't play guitar hero". That was obviously just an assumption. I play in a band, and I play guitar hero. And all of my musician friends love the game. They may not spend 50 hours mastering a song (and neither would I), but I can thoroughly enjoy shredding on my plastic guitar.
One more note: the buttons are not "where the tuning pegs would be". I believe there are actually little fake plastic tuning pegs. The buttons are about where the first 5 frets would be.
Guitarheroine, clever name. 😉
The social aspect is a good reason to play the game, I suppose.
One of the things about learning to play the guitar (or any other musical instrument) is that you put a lot of time in, because you want to. I think that 5,000 hours, is probably about right – that's like 2 hours a day for nearly 7 years. At that point, you probably are awesome.
You are very right. I used to play the guitar all day all the time when I was a kid. Now that I am older (thirtysomething) I don't feel like I 'have' to play at all. I couldn't rattle off COD after not playing at all for a year, but then again I can still play a lot of hard stuff that I already knew. So neither my knowledge level nor my skill level changed really. I was, in fact, an investment that I never acknowledged as such!
I agree with the Van Man – spend the time ding something useful like learning a real instrument!
Find a good Church and get plugged in. Having positive people around you and learning the word of God can help you to get and keep your head on straight.
I have decided not to play anymore video games…..bt this guitar hero seems quite interesting