Rock Band & Its Effect on Pendleton Rock Camp

In late 2005, Activision—along with RedOctane and Harmonix Music Systems—released a game called Guitar Hero and four years later, released other types, including Guitar Hero 2, Guitar hero 3, and Guitar Hero: World Tour. Two years after the release of Guitar Hero, Harmonix Music Systems released another series of virtual band games, entitled Rock Band. Rock Band is becoming more and more popular by the day, with over five additions to the Rock Band legacy and over 1,100 downloadable songs for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii, Rock Band has shown kids our age music that our parents listened to, and made it look awesome!

Rock Band does have its downside, along with only being able to download content if you have a system that connects to the Internet, Rock Band itself is pretty spendy. Usually, when the Rock Band games come out, they cost around $150-199 though, as time passes and newer versions come out they drop in price. But whats the fun in getting a game after everyone else because you couldn't afford it when it came out? It's not.

Here at rock camp, tons of kids play Rock Band in their free time. We polled 20 people and out of them, 75% said they play the game. 70% of them said that Rock Band did not influence their choice to play music, but did open their eyes to a lot of newer music. 25% though, have never played the game, and 5% said they have been influenced to come here and play instruments because of the it.

So while Rock Band hasn't brought a lot of new students to Rock Camp, it does introduce them to new music. One kid who learned new tunes is Pendleton Rock Camper Nick, who says "you can learn how to play songs" using the game. He also learned about songs—"Living on a Prayer" and "Eye of the Tiger" being two—by playing the game.

Personally, I have found many good bands (like Modest Mouse, Duran Duran, Journey) that I would have never thought I would like by playing Rock Band. Along with old bands. And there are many unheard of bands on the game too. Along with being a good way to find bands, its a great way to have the feeling of playing music without struggling to play a real instrument.

Overall, Rock Band has had a big effect on the music generation these days, helping promote bands that are not technically “mainstream”and helping us discover the wonders of classic music along with many other things.