Since the invention of Guitar Hero and similar computer games, it is no longer necessary to imagine what it would be like to play along with the Beatles — you can come together with them in the virtual (虚拟的) world.
Bill Wyman, former bass player in the Rolling Stones, has pointed out that music video games discourage kids from learning to play real instruments. My own experience suggests quite the opposite.
Last year, I bought Guitar Hero III for my 14-year-old son, Jack. Jack quickly mastered the process and entered a hard period of playing the game.
A few months later, while I was away on tour, a couple of his friends came around with a real electric guitar. Playing Guitar Hero had taught them how to play the track. Now they wanted to see if they could apply that to the real thing. Jack's friends taught him how to play his favorite songs using just his index finger (食指) on the bass string. He got it right away.
Guitar Hero had helped him over the first difficulty for guitar players — how to strum (拨弄) the strings with one hand while making chords (和弦) with the other. He never plays Guitar Hero now, preferring to rock in the garage with his mates.
Despite my attempts at getting him to learn an instrument, it was Guitar Hero that taught him the basics of playing and built up his confidence to the degree that he was able to make a recognizable sound the first time he played it.
So let's not complain about a game that encourages kids to become music fans and, in my son's case, it gives him the basic skills needed to learn how to play the guitar.
