Music-Games:

A Look Into The Effects of Music Performance Simulation on the Music Industry

Kurtis Smejkal (301110480)

2010-04-07
CMNS 321
TA: Joel Blok (7:30-8:20 PM Tutorial)
Introduction

For years, the distinct differences between musical performance and digital play have kept

music-based video games from reaching a critical viability amongst both fans of music and video

games. Arguably, despite attempts in the past, it’s the performance of Rock Band and Guitar Hero

that has not only proven to be a success within in the video game realm, but has also provided a new

platform for experiencing different types of music. While the music represented in the game appeals

to generations of yore, it also allows users who may be unfamiliar with some of the artists, a chance

to engage with the songs and artists in ways that have for so long, not existed.

Despite the viability and popularity of these music games, they’ve been generally ignored by

many in the academic community. Which is why this topic contains so much untapped potential,

for within the easy-to-play nature of the game, coupled with the synonymous five coloured buttons;

lies an interesting dichotomy into the relationship between society and music. While music (from an

economic standpoint) certainly benefits from games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band, it can also be

argued that while these games offer what the developer, Harmonix, calls “[an] awesome feeling [of

performing music] to people who aren't musicians, who would never get to have it'.” (Gamasutra,

August 2008). Upon first examination, it would appear that contrary to the statement of the

developer, these music games limit the music covered to almost a stifling cover of the musical

composition. Despite being initially viewed as a limitation on the creativity in music, I aim to prove

that this is ultimately not what these games come to represent. That what they come to represent is

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exactly what the developer states, being that the games offer a chance to explore the experience of

performing music in a way that, while shallow, gives insight into how performing music is

experienced by musicians and society at large. By creating this distinct platform for which the game

and music come to share technological expression, economical potential, and cultural unity; it then

begins to show that the effect of games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band do not just effect one

cultural industry, but rather many—and by effect, these platforms have a profound effect on the

music industry as a whole; and provide a new perspective into the importance of music simulation

games in popular culture.

Preface

It would be ignorant of me to not acknowledge the groundwork laid by past music games.

It’s important to note how from a historical context, Harmonix; who developed the original Guitar

Hero and then handed off the franchise to developer Neversoft so that they could develop Rock Band;

laid the ground work for many music based video games. Games like Frequency, Amplitude, and

Karaoke Revolution; all seemingly added an integral part into the formula of what would become

Guitar Hero. Even video games like PaRappa the Rappa used the similar technique of drawing a

correlation between the audible and the visual. The problem however (as has been the case with

many video games) is that the technology has yet to catch up with use-value, for as mentioned by

Karl Marx, “a perspective on value which treats commodities in terms of their actual utility.”

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(Sterne, 2006; Pg. 830). By examining video games from the use-value perspective, we can identify

Guitar Hero as being a product which has matched its vision with the right technology. This has

created a sensational level of acceptance for the game, making it both the most viable example to be

studied. Something to keep in mind is that in this paper, I will sometimes refer to Guitar Hero and

Rock Band as not just games, but platforms. I (and the authors I look into) see these games as new

ways to experience music. So in that sense, it feels appropriate to consider the games as something

more along the lines of a platform for experiencing music.

“It’s not a real instrument”

One of the largest criticisms levied against the musician experience simulated in games like

Guitar Hero and Rock Band is that the five button guitar controller is inauthentic in trying to

replicate a real electric guitar. In that argument exists an oversight that fails to recognize the primary

elements of what makes music so definable. In the article Guitar Hero: "Not like playing guitar at

all"? By Dominic Arsenault, the author discusses how the validity and authenticity of the guitar

controller can only be examined by thoroughly breaking down and examining the major

components of music:

“At the core, [the major components of music] are melody, harmony, and rhythm. Melody can be

understood as the succession of pitch intervals (the horizontal axis on sheet music), harmony as the

simultaneity of multiple pitches (the vertical axis on sheet music), and rhythm as ‘the controlled

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 movement of music in time” (Arsenault, 2008;Pg. 7)

These three key components are what we can consider as being the basic components of

music; and are ultimately the building blocks of music that are represented within the games. In

playing the guitar controller, there isn’t a significant technological gap between the controller and an

actual guitar. For as Arsenault puts it:

“while the game controller only offers five buttons, there is a similarly sizable proportion of guitar playing

that involves only five frets at a time. What is missing from the simulation is not the 20-or-so other frets

found on a real guitar, but rather the quick transitions from one five-fret position to another on the

fretboard.” (Arsenault, 2008; Pg. 3)

It would seem that despite the criticisms, and despite not using strings; that the controller handles

melody, harmony, and rhythm in the same way as a regular guitar. The only difference being that

the strings have been replaced with coloured buttons. Despite this dramatic shift, the controller still

maintains the aspects of guitar playing that have kept the guitar in the limelight as a creative tool.

Despite maintaining the elements of what makes a guitar a musical instrument; it would be a

fallacy to assume that either this is entirely good or bad. While the argument has been put out there

that technologically, the guitar is similar conceptually to the controller; we can hardly assume that

this is something that is as sophisticated as an actual guitar. The controller has no strings, and

despite this; what the controller is simulating isn’t playing a guitar. But therein lies what makes these

games so successful, they aren’t simulating playing guitar, or drums, or bass—they simulate

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performing with a guitar. I’m not discounting that the controller isn’t as sophisticated as a guitar;

but to consider the quote by Harmonix, Guitar Hero isn’t so much a simulator of playing an

instrument, but rather a simulator of performing music. So while there exists simplicity in the Guitar

Hero controller, we’re given a sense that it carries more standard definitions of what an instrument is

supposed to do. This is to the degree that it emulates the experience for the person involved.

Theodore Adrono states it simply, by stating how “to be entertained means to be in agreement”

(Adorno & Horkheimer, 2002, p. 115). From a technology standpoint this makes sense, as people

engaging in this simulation of musical performance are given a technologically simplified version of

the instrument; and yet the major differences can almost be forgiven for as it allows for a greater

simulation of performance. So when the claim is made that the guitar controller isn’t representative

of a guitar, it’s an argument that disregards the fundamental ideas of what a guitar is. Which despite

its simplicity, the guitar controller functions on a similar level; a level that allows for players to

engage with the game in a way that can immerse the player in a performance like simulation. As

Arsenault puts it,

“when taken as a whole, it is nevertheless accurate since it appropriately simulates the way a guitar handles

melody, harmony, and rhythm. Guitar Hero stays at the surface level but that does not mean it cannot be

an accurate simulation” (Arsenault, 2008; Pg. 6-7).

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Transversal Promotion

It would be a considerable task to avoid the view that in our society, we are increasingly faced with

media that works together, and compliments each other. Video games and the music industry are

not much different in that regard. They are so much in tune with each other that this essay could

not afford to look away from the economic relationship that these two mediums feed off of. In

particular, it is how Guitar Hero has helped in creating a new vested interest in artists that may have

been forgotten or glossed over; that the game acts as a vessel to promote these artists within the

games. Back in 1982, in an editorial for Billboard magazine, Clive Davis wrote an article titled "You

Can't Hum a Video Game" which reassured the music industry that video games would not eat up

the spending power of the youth market that made the music industry so prosperous. The irony in

that article, is that almost two decades later we have a video game promoting a record, song, or entire

artist all together; and (in some cases) the songs in the games can sell more than any other forms of

music sale and distribution. This association with video games has lead to huge sales boosts for some

of the major artists. For instance, Weezer, released their song “My Name is Jonas” alongside Guitar

Hero 3; and after the release of the game, The Blue Album received a tenfold increase in sales

(Gamasutra; September 2008). This theme of increased sales as a result of Rock Band or Guitar Hero

is not a rare sight. In the cases of artists like Guns N’ Roses, Metallica, and Motley Crue; these

bands have all used Rock Band and its platform to launch their new music. Motley Crue

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debuted their single “Saints of Los Angeles” on both Itunes and as downloadable content for Rock

Band. In Rock Band the single sold 48,000 copies compared to the 14,000 copies sold on Itunes

(The New York Times; 2008). In response to the success of the bands sales, their management team

mentioned how this success may be attributed to the interactive nature of the music, for as their

manager states: “I credit Rock Band for bringing in the younger audience,” Mr. Kovac said. “The

people who downloaded that song aren’t just listening to it, they’re interacting with it.” (The New

York Times; 2008).

While each Rock Band game has had a variety of different artists and songs, it’s The Beatles:

Rock Band that has dared to do more than any other title. This may be a bit of a stretch, but The

Beatles, while a great band, seem to always be ignored by generations that didn’t grow up with the

Fab Four. During a media event in LA, Paul McCartney asked, “Whoever thought we would end up

as androids?” While his joke was generally perceived as just a simple joke, there is some implicit truth

to what he’s saying. In an article from the IEE Spectrum Magazine, the author describes how

“this is the Beatles’ first step into the digital entertainment domain. Apple Corps, which manages the

rights to the band’s original recordings, has long been reluctant about selling songs through online stores.

Now the video game deal might convince Apple Corps that it needs to explore other distribution channels

to keep the band relevant.” (Kushner, 2009)

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 While we have discussed how these games provoke a sense of curiosity in its users, spurring

sales and creating a new vested interest in the artist in question. By that same notion, the same video

games offer a convergence point, to which the music and new media meet. This conjecture helps the

music industry by actively recreating interest within a new forum for sound and performance. Much

like globalization and music, video games and music seems to have an equal effect of spreading

music. Alas, not spreading music across space, but rather time. In converging the music into these

games, they create new ways of encouraging us to explore music. In relating the technology of these

games and their hardware to the economical success of a game like Guitar Hero; we’re shown how

the accessibility of the game not only allows for people to perform and become a rock star, but it also

promotes the artists and songs within the game; which in turn spurs sales for record companies. In

this paper, I’ve tried to construct these varying backgrounds that situate the music games amongst a

technological and economical view; now however, we need to examine how Rock Band and Guitar

Heroes promote social unity through the simulation of performance.

Playing Together: From Karaoke to Rock Band

In comparison to games like Doom which were emphasized around the time of the

Columbine shootings; much of the music industry, including the early games of the genre (Pappa the

Rappa and Dance Dance Revolution) were framed as the polar opposite of a game like Doom. While

Doom relished in shooting, killing, and (supposed) anti-social behaviour —Dance Dance Revolution

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came to represent social norms, fun, and a certain “appropriateness” that Doom was lacking. Fast

forward to the current decade, and now that same representation is occurring. The hardcore are

continuously seen as the distanced group while music games come with a preset invitation for others

to join. While Guitar Hero is a decidedly solo game, it’s the games successor, Rock Band that has

cemented the title as a true representation of spectatorship.

The goal of this paper is to show how popular these titles are in simulating the performance

of music. By creating an authentic (if somewhat simplistic) controller and creating an economical

relationship with the record industry; the true measure of how well this simulation recreates the thrill

of performing music can persistently be seen as having history in other spectator-esque music. In

karaoke, the singers (at first) will sing something with a friend. So by creating this group dynamic,

“the group members collaborate in appealing to the audience, [synchronizing] their movements in

relation to the audience, [evaluating] one another’s conduct from the perspective of the audience”

(Smith, 2002; Pg. 65). To examine a game like Rock Band, the game plays off of the very same social

nature that makes Karaoke so popular. If people enjoy singing Lady Gaga’s “Poker Face” out of

tune, then playing a horrible rendition of Baba O’ Riley doesn’t seem that far off. In an interesting

way, both Guitar Hero and Rock Band showcase a different method of socializing. While Rock Band

is associated with the group dynamic of Karaoke, Guitar Hero is associated with the same passion

that drives Dance Dance Revolution. These different types of game play significantly alter how they’re

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interpreted by the society at large. In his work, The Gutenburg Galaxy: The Making of the

Typographic Man, Marshall McLuhan discusses how in so many ways, changes in society are

intrinsically tied to technological development. (1962, Pg. 41.) In many ways, McLuhan understood

these trends in culture; and as is the case with Rock Band, the game has changed to include so many

different roles. When Guitar Hero came out it became synonymous as the guitar performance

simulator, and Rock Band certainly furthers the social nature of music consumption; for as Jacob

Smith states, the history of these games:

“Demonstrate that the synergistic relationship between playing music and playing games might not be a

fad but a continuing enterprise with a growing fan base... when media technologies leave a gap for a very

specific audience behaviour, that gap can always become the space of an astounding range of active and

creative response and that music and dance” (Smith, 2002; Pg. 81)

It’s this involvement of the active participant that encourages new ways of interacting with

music. While these games, from a socio-cultural perspective, borrow from their predecessors; they

still continue to innovate by creating new modes of bringing people together for a music and digital

play.

Conclusion

Throughout this essay, I have ventured to prove that what Harmonix says about their

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product is true. It doesn’t simulate playing an instrument, it simulates the notion of performing with

that instrument. My attention to Guitar Hero started with the release of Guitar Hero II. At the time,

I worked for an online video game publication. It would be a rare case for our entire team to settle

on one game that we can play against each other every night. For the first time in a long time, we as

cynical games journalists were amazed at how simple, and yet complex it was. We could spend four

hours off the clock playing through The Who’s version of “My Generation” live at Leeds or playing

through a large section of AC/DC. There is no denying how much Guitar Hero and Rock Band has

decreased in market due to an extreme market saturation which concluded with over 21 Guitar Hero

titles and 15 Rock Band titles. At the time of Guitar Hero’s debut however, there were no other

games that could compare to what these games were doing for both video games and music. In this

essay the technological similarities between the controller and guitar, the economical impact of these

games on album and digital downloads sale; and finally, how the social aspects of these games are

both distinct from each other and yet an evolution from the past games that they came from.

Ultimately the question is: Are music games authentic to the source material that they are based off

of? The answer, as far as this essay is considered, is yes. Considering how

“even when there are fewer options, playing these games can feel like a genuinely musical experience: the

controller is no longer a trigger but a percussion instrument, the player stops thinking in terms of locking

on targets and instead tries to feel the groove” (Smith, 2002; Pg. 65)

All considering, if we think about authenticity as being the claim submitted by an artist or

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band, then can these games be considered a mass submission? A large collective vote of all the

different sub-genres of Rock, all of which come to represent some level of engagement and

excitement with the power of performance; then what Rock Band comes to represent is not

necessarily just the performance of music, but rather the authentic feeling of performing music. The

excitement, the grand and energetic movement; all of that existed before within Karaoke; but now it

would seem more than ever our society is given a forum for which video games become a transversal

vessel for providing new (and old) generations with both great music, and exciting new ways to

engage with said music. Much like how NHL 10’ lets us be a hockey player, or how Call of Duty 4

allows us to role-play as a soldier; Rock Band and Guitar Hero allows us all to perform like rock stars.

As long as that freedom of self expression within the medium exists, then new ways to perform will

be created. Yet, whatever direction these games take, they’ll still need to be the instrument for

simulation, for as how Jacob smith puts it, “the video game console is a kind of instrument. It’s an

instrument of motion in a virtual environment.” (Smith, 2002; Pg. 65)

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University Press.

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McLuhan, Marshall. 1962 The Gutenberg Galaxy: The Making of Typographic Man; 1st Ed.: Univ. of
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