Week 6

One of the main reasons I chose to play Rock Band this semester was because of the heavy influence of rock music involved in the game. I have always had a passionate interest in classic rock music, thanks to the influence of my Dad. Not only have I played classic rock songs by the Who, the Rolling Stones, and Journey, but I have learned to like the modern rock songs as well. When I originally played this game it was for the classic rock songs, and so I could feel like I was actually playing these hits that I have jammed out to countless amounts of times in the car. Now that I have played these songs on Rock Band, I feel as if I have truly learned to play these songs through the active learning this game provides. Not only do I get to play these rock songs I have always loved, but I am able to learn about them as well. For instance, when you pick a song to play, it tells you the album it was on and when it was recorded. This was new information to me at first and I enjoy reading these facts. Also, I can now detect the different instruments in each part of a song. Having played Rock Band for a while now and getting used to the sounds of different instruments, I have been able to hear and appreciate each one separately, a new trait I have acquired and use when I listen to all rock music.

Week 5

Recently, I have been focusing more on my career mode because I feel this is where I have learned the most overall. While playing individually, I feel that this active form of learning has given me a sense of how to actually play musical instruments. While pressing four colored buttons on a plastic guitar doesn't truly compare to playing a real guitar, it has given me the feeling that this video game is almost reality. Not only do I feel like i've learned to play musical instruments, but I have definitely learned how to detect a beat or rhythm in a song. Also, I have learned the importance of timing involved with music, something very complicated, that I never realized before. By practicing these songs over and over again, just like a musician, I am learning to become more familiar with songs, making them easier and more natural to play each time.

Week 4

Playing Rock Band is becoming a more challenging process than I thought. So far, I have tried out all of the instruments, mainly focusing on guitar. But now that I have been playing more songs, I have changed my strategy to playing this game. At first I was going to play every song on guitar, then bass, then drums, then sing for each. Now that I have completed about 30% of the songs available on my career mode, I have decided to go back and play each instrument for the ones I have completed with the guitar. While playing these songs with guitar took me a good amount of time to complete, playing with the other instruments will be much more of a challenge, as I find the drums and bass harder to play than the guitar, and definitely require a little more musical talent to play. This will be a tough process, but I must achieve this goal before I can move on to new songs.

Week 3

Entering the third week of playing Rock Band, I have come across some interesting aspects of the game. Last week I was focusing on my career mode and was playing as many new guitar songs as possible. But now, I have tried involving my friends in the game. One nice feature about Rock Band is that you can have up to four players connected at once to create a real life band. My friends and I would alternate instruments, but I would stay on guitar most of the time because this is the instrument I feel most comfortable with. With me on guitar, my friend Ryan playing the bass, my friend Dan on the drums, and my other friend Brandon on the microphone we sounded like we were actually the Rolling Stones. Playing multiplayer mode is very fun and I will definitely play this way in addition to career mode in the future.