View Full Version : Rock Band 3
Well, I thought about using the old RB and GH games thread, but Rock Band 3 is looking so cool that I think it deserves its own thread now. I hope to pick it up tomorrow, with the keytar if at all possible, and once that real guitar with proper MIDI out and fret detection comes out (early next year apparently), I'll be all over that too!
Good blog at the Rockband site:
http://www.rockband.com/blog/rb3-features-pro-guitar
And to top it all off, here's a 10/10 from Eurogamer:
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-10-28-rock-band-3-review?page=3
Lowest score so far seems to be IGN giving it 8.5, which reading the article basically means "might not be quite as awesome if you're just going to be using Rock Band 3 as you were using RB2, i.e. without any of the Pro stuff". Which is probably fair.
I must admit, even if I'll probably only use RB3 as RB2, I far, far prefer the eclectic range of music compared to the pure metal focus of the latest Guitar Hero release.
rendezvous
28-Oct-2010, 22:54
I had hopes that my MIDI synth would work in Rockband 3 with my MIDI -> USB adapter. Rockband 3 refuses to recognize it so I'll just have to wait until the Madcatz MIDI Pro adapter comes out :(
Yeah, I didn't expect that to happen, however unfortunate that is. But I guess with the keytar only costing 50 euro more when bought with the full game, I'm going for that one for now - my MIDI keyboard is big and not in that great shape anymore anyway. I can't wait to get that Fender though, wow. Though I just read that even that button version can be used as a MIDI device, which is very interesting.
Finally, it's worthwhile to note that the game has an option to show Pro mode guitar much like tabs, where all finger positions are indicated with numbers. I've seen some complaining about that not being in there, but it actually is, together with from Medium difficulty up showing actual chord names and such. This is a big thing for me, I'm really thrilled.
mrcorbo
29-Oct-2010, 14:33
I figured I'd wait on keys and focus on Pro Drums until the real Fender comes out and then I'd focus on that and then eventually get a full-sized keyboard to use with the midi adapter, but I have to say there are several songs in RB3 that make we want to re-assess that. Especially since the guitar still doesn't have a release date AFAIK. I might do the full-sized keyboard/midi adapter combo first. The Mustang is a no go as I am following a "no more fake instruments unless an existing one breaks" policy after purchasing the Rock Band 3 pro drum kit to replace my busted RB1 set.
For now, I'm really enjoying the Pro Drums and am using the instrument specific challenges to provide some direction that I felt was lacking in solo play in prior iterations of the franchise (obviously group play is a different dynamic and is pretty much all about having fun). I find this provides a better structure than the touring metaphor and is much more like the Guitar Hero 2 and 3 structure that hooked me in the first place.
I'm actually disappointed that they didn't go all out and include note tracking of the hi-hat pedal in gameplay (apparently it works in freestyle mode and during fills), but I guess if you can get proficient with the other 3 limbs you should have enough juice to develop the last one on your own.
Shifty Geezer
29-Oct-2010, 15:08
So there's an upcoming MIDI adaptor that allows any MIDI device to be used? If so they may find an unlikely purchase from me!
I have the game and the Keyboard -infinitely fun by the way, so yeah go for it Arwin.
What can I say..., this game is a true dream, probably the ultimate music game and candidate to the GOTY award.
I think I've never ever felt as fulfilled buying a game as I did in the case of RB3, really.
Not to mention there are 2000+ songs to choose....
A belated discovery for me !
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/rock-band-3-mad-catz-keyboard-and-midi-pro-adapter/
As the official peripheral manufacturer for Rock Band 3 instruments, Mad Catz was at E3 showing off its new Rock Band products (sans game). On the outside, the MIDI PRO-Adapter (pictured above in all three flavors) looks like a chunky, 16-bit era controller -- in fact, in can be used as a gamepad, confirms Mad Catz global PR manager Alex Verrey. Inside, the device contains the technology to convert a real MIDI instrument into a Rock Band 3 controller. (The adapter is not compatible with other music games.)
mrcorbo
29-Oct-2010, 17:54
A belated discovery for me !
http://www.joystiq.com/2010/06/19/rock-band-3-mad-catz-keyboard-and-midi-pro-adapter/
This is actually required for the Squier by Fender guitar since they will only be making the one guitar that has to work on all platforms.
AlStrong
29-Oct-2010, 17:55
Got the game... will have to get the keytar and a new drumset later though... It'll take me awhile to go through the career stuff for Guitar and Bass and er... uh... Vocals... . Riiiiiiight.
Kind of neat how they structure the career as a number of goals to complete in order to gain even more fans (like the challenges in RB2 as opposed to just playing through the setlist in different places). There certainly are a ton of menus, but it seems really cluttered... character customization (not the character creation) just feels overwhelming, but maybe I'm struggling with the new sorting of clothing compared to RB2's categories. A shame they don't import any RB2 character data.
Hoping they sort out the website-game link soon. Actually, it seems that it no longer allows Canadians to access the same US site... It's considered international, but none of the alternatives are applicable. Hope that's just a bug with the site restructure.
The graphics seem smoother too... will have to look into that at some point.
So there's an upcoming MIDI adaptor that allows any MIDI device to be used? If so they may find an unlikely purchase from me!
Yes! It should come in November!
And both the new Pro mode guitars as well as the current Keytar have MIDI out, too though the Keytar and the 102 button with 6 strings guitar at least don't need it. That Fender real guitar that's coming out is more than just a MIDI guitar too, as sensors in the frets can tell where your fingers are so the game can track you playing the right position, not just the right note. And being a full guitar that can be hooked up to any amp, AND being a MIDI guitar that I can hook up to my Roland XV-5050 module and PC, AND being a perfect learning / training instrument with Rockband 3 which has (in Europe) over 1500 songs available, the thing is effing hard to resist for me!
Support for my Guitar Hero peripherals is great, and the drumkit works perfectly also. Shame that the cable connector for my left cymbal was ripped out the other day. :( I'll have to find a way to make a new connector (mono-Jack). I could still play by setting the song I was playing up for lefty, so that the most common hit was on the other cymbal.
Now Sony, this is where you bring RemotePlay in... coz my MIDI keyboard is in another room (... and I need a really long MIDI cable ! :lol:).
Guess I have some exercising to do...
I've just played a stretch of two hours straight, arms and shoulders hurt, still using my trusty old Guitar Hero 3 guitar (WTC one doesn't seem to register hits properly). I've got to say that it's a treat to have not only non-upscaled graphics in a game like this (looking at you GH), but also the timing being pretty much flawless without calibration (also of course thanks to my receiver and tv, but still).
I'm getting a lot of songs really right even if I've never played them before (I've never played any of them before, as this is my first Rock Band game, but I've played a bunch of GH), and I'm only playing Hard and Expert (mostly Hard, but now always Expert straight away if a song has 3 dots or less, and I'm sure I'll be doing all my favorite songs on Expert).
I also somehow survived even Free Bird on my first attempt (Hard, it looked scary), and even got my first perfect solo (yeah, on the first solo obviously not the second ;) ). That second solo though, I thought my eyeballs were going to fall out or dry up, because there was no time for blinking and that thing just kept on going!
Loving the game so far. I also bought a Police pack, downloaded the free Doors DLC (which is up now), and bought the full Red Hot Chili Peppers album, which is one of my favorite albums of all time (and which is installing now).
I definitely need more friends on my (PS3) list who play this though, so patsu and Shifty, you know you want this. ;)
Wonderful game and I can't wait to take it to the next step too with a Pro mode instrument. Hopefully I can fix my yellow cymbal connector on my GH drumkit soon, and not too long after get my hands on one of the Pro guitars and use the MIDI connector to hook up some MIDI keyboard or other. Still wondering if I should get both of them or just wait for the real guitar and only get that.
mrcorbo
31-Oct-2010, 04:11
Having separate cymbal notation in Pro Mode drums truly makes a huge difference in how the game "feels" vs the prior Rock Band games. I never played the full-band GH's so I don't know how much of a difference the third symbol makes. It may only be minor.
djskribbles
31-Oct-2010, 04:22
Does anyone know if RB3 will correctly distinguish cymbal from tom if I were to use the RB2 drum set with the madcatz cymbals in pro mode? I can play most songs on Hard/Expert, but as someone who doesn't actually play the drums, I dunno when the fill is a tom or cymbal (other than listening to the note). I was gonna pass on RB3 because the on-disc tracklist doesn't interest me all that much, but that's a nice addition by itself.
edit: nm, yes it does.
I definitely need more friends on my (PS3) list who play this though, so patsu and Shifty, you know you want this.
Yeah well… you need to wait a month or two while I settle my son's waning interest in piano. ^_^
I reckon some sort of Garage Band 11 and Rock Band game can help to invigor him, but it sounds corny to my wife at the moment. :lol:
Check out some of the tutorials. It has actual music lessons in there.
I played until 4am - Blood Sugar Sex Magic is a perfect album to play guitar, bass or drums along with and the sound quality is great. I managed most songs on Expert partly because I have that album pretty much memorised! :)
Yeah, it's not a problem with the lessons. It's to make learning more fun for him instead of drilling. ^_^
I'll check out the game, the tutorials and the MIDI adaptor regardless. May be I'll get 'em for his Christmas present.
Was great to get this, especially for Pro Drums since I've always played like that anyway on an ION kit. I moved to Pro Expert without really any changes to how I play, it's just nice having it actually display the cymbals now for those parts of songs where it wasn't obvious on the first couple of plays what I should be hitting.
I think Harmonix has really done a disservice to the Rockband community with RB3 though. It seems their implementation of the keyboard and some other unknown factors has meant that all their touting of keyboards and harmonies now in Rockband really isn't completely integrated when playing with a full band.
If you play Rockband 3 with any combination of instruments that include Guitar, Bass and Keyboards then it automatically switches into an "All Instruments Mode". This mode removes vocals from being an active player and makes it Karaoke only. All the vocal charting becomes easy level, there is no scoring or overdrive for vocals, you contribute nothing to the game when in this mode, just sing along. Also you cannot play online at all in this mode which means there is no G+B+K online ever.
IMO they really fucked up Rockband 3.
Was great to get this, especially for Pro Drums since I've always played like that anyway on an ION kit. I moved to Pro Expert without really any changes to how I play, it's just nice having it actually display the cymbals now for those parts of songs where it wasn't obvious on the first couple of plays what I should be hitting.
I think Harmonix has really done a disservice to the Rockband community with RB3 though. It seems their implementation of the keyboard and some other unknown factors has meant that all their touting of keyboards and harmonies now in Rockband really isn't completely integrated when playing with a full band.
If you play Rockband 3 with any combination of instruments that include Guitar, Bass and Keyboards then it automatically switches into an "All Instruments Mode". This mode removes vocals from being an active player and makes it Karaoke only. All the vocal charting becomes easy level, there is no scoring or overdrive for vocals, you contribute nothing to the game when in this mode, just sing along. Also you cannot play online at all in this mode which means there is no G+B+K online ever.
IMO they really fucked up Rockband 3.
There are workarounds to avoid this, and they work, although they should allow singers getting scores when they play in big parties, so they need to patch that particular issue;
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?205946-Just-had-a-7-person-Rock-Band-Party-What-works-what-doesn-t-what-needs-to-change
There are more important things to fix. It's probably the best game I've ever had, and I love it to death, but the distribution in Europe has been horrible! Ill service to such a great, great game.
I like EA, but they are to blame for the lack of instruments and games here.
AlStrong
02-Nov-2010, 17:11
None of the new instruments in Canada (AFAIK) either. At least I can't order them online at the moment and won't be coming until the end of the month. :s
I caved and ordered the Fender Mustang today from amazon.de for 135 euro ... will be interesting to see when I get it, but I'm off on Thursday so here's hoping! The fact that I can use it as a midi instrument makes the price a lot sweeter for me.
Squier will be available March 1 in U.S. so I feel better about my purchase already! :)
There's a Rockband 3 demo on PSN now ... I don't know what it contains, but should be good for some of you guys to sample it!
Check out some of the tutorials. It has actual music lessons in there.
I played until 4am - Blood Sugar Sex Magic is a perfect album to play guitar, bass or drums along with and the sound quality is great. I managed most songs on Expert partly because I have that album pretty much memorised! :)
Arwin, I'm researching my shopping now. Are these the only tutorials ?
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?204561-Rock-Band-3-Video-Tutorials!
Arwin, I'm researching my shopping now. Are these the only tutorials ?
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?204561-Rock-Band-3-Video-Tutorials!
No no, I'm talking about in the game! You can check the trophy list for this game for an early impression, as a bunch of the training exercises for the Pro mode instruments have trophies attached to them. Basically the training modes for Pro Guitar teach you how to play guitar.
I think this one gives a better impression:
uQHlPAlhT9w
_YjKa7qPNL4
Hmph, what about keyboard ones ?
rendezvous
15-Nov-2010, 19:05
there are lessons for pro keys (keyboard) as well
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Is there a place I can see all the keyboard tutorials ? Did a quick YouTube search but I am going to need more refined keyword(s).
I'm trying to compare GarageBand style lessons and RB style. Thinking of a way to smuggle a cheap, weighted MIDI keyboard into the house. :-P
I guess you can say I'm doing a lesson plan for my kid.
I found a few RB3 keyboard videos/tutorials. It looks like the keyboard gameplay is also QTE based. I am looking for a different kind of keyboard games.
I don't really have a fixed idea. But I am looking for something that is closer to Yamaha's software/digital scores and may be a little bit of Garage Band's instrument tutorials. The latter is too deep but the material is relevant. I am looking for a game, not so much a lesson package.
I don't like QTE music games because the strict timing would make learning more difficult. The Yamaha scores would wait for the player and synchronize all the accompaniment with the player's pace. You really do feel like you're in control and in full orchestral support. The music was simply beautiful. Even my wife was wowed when she tried to play one for the very first time. It also has optional LED on each key to show which ones to press. Eventually the kid/adult would grasp music. But along the way they need lotsa encouragement, entertainment and rewards. The Yamaha software doesn't really have these elements built in, and the big problem is all the nice things combined cost US$10,000 and above.
Now for a console, all the computing power, AV units, speakers, LCD screen are already in place. Only the software is lacking. Once hooked, it would be a multi-year engagement too. I could use one to complement the traditional piano classes.
I haven't checked out Wii Music yet.
I found a few RB3 keyboard videos/tutorials. It looks like the keyboard gameplay is also QTE based. I am looking for a different kind of keyboard games.
I understand, but rhythm is one of the hardest things to learn in music, so it's not so bad for learning. The games themselves are pretty good with the various difficulty levels you can play them at. You can play all songs with a 'no fail' mode. I would probably teach my son music this way first. Let him focus on getting the rhythm right, and then slowly expanding the number of keys/strums/hits of the various instruments, and once he can manage simple songs, I will slowly start to introduce some theory (which you can also get from the tutorials).
The timing while difficult, is easy to grasp after even a little while. You can start training this using the non-pro modes, and just play on easy, which will only use three buttons. Then you start with focussing on just one of the three buttons (colors) to get the timing right. Once you get that, you expand to the other colors, and once you've got that down, you can start doing more complicated rhythms.
Once that goes well, you can move on to the tutorials (which then won't cause a QTE style problem) and the pro mode songs, at full speed or at a training speed (you can bring it down to something like 60% of the original speed). As the songs are categorised in difficultly from very easy to very hard, you would work through the groups of difficulty levels.
And even the non-pro mode songs keep being great exercise. I really regret that I didn't have games like these available when I was a kid - it would have helped a tonne and speeded up my learning to no end.
Another advantage of Rockband 3 is that you can play so many different instruments with it.
The Yamaha scores would wait for the player and synchronize all the accompaniment with the player's pace. You really do feel like you're in control and in full orchestral support. The music was simply beautiful. Even my wife was wowed when she tried to play one for the very first time.
I agree that's a nice feature, but not necessarily great for learning to be honest . Rhythm is hugely underestimated, and just playing the old 5 button fake guitar in these type of games has improved my skill immensely. I've played in a few bands, and in the end playing the actual notes is never as hard as keeping a steady pace and staying together, rhythm wise.
It also has optional LED on each key to show which ones to press. Eventually the kid/adult would grasp music.
I had a few midi apps like that back in the day, which would show you a guitar or a keyboard (The Pianist it was called, had some great midi tracks and there was a wonderful Jazz Pianist version, and Guitarist)
But along the way they need lotsa encouragement, entertainment and rewards.
This is where I like Rockband a lot - as it scores you for your correct notes, and various little entertaining distractions involving combos and multipliers - you get an incredible sense of progress. Each time you get more stars/higher percentage or just make it through a really difficult song with no fail mode off, its a reward. Then there are the fans you accumulate, and the heaps of bonus items to adorn your band members with. Not all of those are equally interesting, but especially just working your way towards a 100% score on a song is amazing (I admit I only have a 99% here and there, no 100% yet though I think I only missed one note on Don't Stand So Close to Me).
Now for a console, all the computing power, AV units, speakers, LCD screen are already in place. Only the software is lacking. Once hooked, it would be a multi-year engagement too. I could use one to complement the traditional piano classes.
I think your family could end up liking it a lot, especially as you can play it together as well - there are up to three vocal parts to sing, drums, bass, guitar and keys.
I also think that anyone who plays music should probably learn to drum at least a little bit. All instruments have a percussive element to them, and drumming is such a great way to learn to understand that better.
I haven't checked out Wii Music yet.
Don't ....
Ah, I'm not saying rhythm game is useless. It's just that at this point, I am looking for something slightly different for my kid. I think in general kids are sensitive to beats and rhythm, but they need finger strength, coordination, etc. They usually try to go fast but I have to slow them down. May be RockBand will help, but I think I need a mechanism to slow it down. ^_^
What's wrong with Wii music ?
I'll most certainly get a MIDI keyboard for duet. Will see how it goes.
Ah, I'm not saying rhythm game is useless. It's just that at this point, I am looking for something slightly different for my kid. I think in general kids are sensitive to beats and rhythm, but they need finger strength, coordination, etc. They usually try to go fast but I have to slow them down. May be RockBand will help, but I think I need a mechanism to slow it down. ^_^
What's wrong with Wii music ?
I'll most certainly get a MIDI keyboard for duet. Will see how it goes.
From one of the best researched reviews that Ellie Gibson has ever written, as she actually has reviewed it together with a musician and a music teacher:
Wii Music isn't very entertaining and it's not very educational. There aren't enough goals for it to work as a game, and there's not enough musicality for it to work as a toy. It's not clear what it is or who it's for. One thing's for sure: it's not worth forty quid.
http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/wii-music-review?page=1 5/10.
And yes, I know that The Fight also got a 5/10, but it was reviewed by someone else, and that review didn't bring in various experts. ;)
Tough.
Thanks for the Wii Music link. I agree with Nintendo's approach sometimes (e.g., Not defining the terms "pitch" and "harmony" in the game). They should do so only if the player wants to find out more. However, in some areas, I think Jake is correct (It's ok for the player to make awful music instead of limiting the outcome by algorithms).
It's a very difficult topic (Make a sustainable game to teach/appreciate music). May be kicking off with a simple PSN music game is good start.
Some news about next week DLC:
DLC 30 Nov 2010
Pack Lynyrd Skynyrd 560mp
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Saturday Night Special” X
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Sweet Home Alabama (Live)” X
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “Tuesday’s Gone”
Lynyrd Skynyrd – “What’s Your Name?” X
160mp c/u
.38 Special – “Hold On Loosely” X
Bad Company – “Can’t Get Enough” X
Those marked with an X support Pro Guitar.
On a different note, I've been playing RB3 more lately and despite I've been playing music games for 3 years know I find it great, especially because of Pro instruments. I'll let you know if I get a bit tired, but for now, I'm really enjoying it and will have to go back and play it some more right now.
mrcorbo
27-Nov-2010, 00:48
Ah, I'm not saying rhythm game is useless. It's just that at this point, I am looking for something slightly different for my kid. I think in general kids are sensitive to beats and rhythm, but they need finger strength, coordination, etc. They usually try to go fast but I have to slow them down. May be RockBand will help, but I think I need a mechanism to slow it down. ^_^
I think the lower difficulty levels of RB3's Pro mode are an ideal mechanism to enforce slowing down and focusing on technique and rhythm. I see one of the great obstacles that beginning musicians have to overcome is that when you first start and have little or no skill the sounds you are able to produce are extremely boring and unrewarding. It takes a lot of drills and lot of learning simple melodies before you can play something that you might actually enjoy.
RB3 OTOH, when asking for the same simple notes, rewards the player by outputting real music (maybe even your favorite song). It has been my experience so far as I push farther and farther into Pro drums that I am much more motivated than I have ever been before in multiple attempts to keep working to become more skillful. I'm drilling on the lower difficulties in the hope of one day being able to step up to expert level and play the parts for real, but it doesn't feel like work like it always has before.
Yes, that's the effect I hope to create for my kid. Hide the drilling and reward him over time. My key concern is the simple QTE mechanics may lose steam quickly. How varied is RB3 exactly ?
I was thinking of complementing RB3 with something else but the other software are rather deep.
In some cases, competition between siblings work but he's the only child right now.
mrcorbo
27-Nov-2010, 03:50
Yes, that's the effect I hope to create for my kid. Hide the drilling and reward him over time. My key concern is the simple QTE mechanics may lose steam quickly. How varied is RB3 exactly ?
I was thinking of complementing RB3 with something else but the other software are rather deep.
In some cases, competition between siblings work but he's the only child right now.
It's as varied as the number of tracks available with a part for the instrument you are playing. The real art to what Harmonix does is their note tracking. Somehow even the vastly simplified tracking for lower levels still contains something of the essence of the original music.
To give a more concrete example:
Take a song that has a a progression of chords. The real track may have you hit one chord 8 times over 1/2 of the phrase followed by a different chord 4 times and a third chord 4 times. On easy, you might see one note that you hit once for half the phrase before you hit a different note followed by an interval half as long before you hit the 3rd note to complete the phrase. On medium, you might hit two notes 4 times over half the phrase followed by two different combinations of notes twice each, etc. In the above example, even with the vastly simplified tracking of the easy level, it still represents the chord changes and the timing of those chord changes and something of the character of the original music can still come through.
As for something to create competition, there's always the star rating and the percentage of correct notes given at the end of each playthrough of a track. It's pretty easy to set personal goals of, "5 stars on every "Warmup" level song on Easy difficulty" or 100% on a specific track.
How different is the iPad RB demo, compared to the PS3 one ?
My impression is probably skewed by the iPad demo.
mrcorbo
27-Nov-2010, 06:07
How different is the iPad RB demo, compared to the PS3 one ?
My impression is probably skewed by the iPad demo.
After watching a video, (So I can only speak about the gameplay. I have no idea about the depth RB for IPad contains as compared to the console version) the Ipad gameplay is slightly simplified. On RB, as with GH before it, when you get to Hard you have to deal with a fifth note, Medium has 4 and Easy 3.
Also, completely missing is the tactile feedback you get from the instruments. In the case of the non-pro guitars they may be vague approximations of the real thing, but they're better than nothing. Having a lot of experience playing a real stringed instrument definitely helped me be comfortable with the mechanics of coordinating my right and left hands as well as being comfortable doing hand position shifts to be able to hit all five notes on the guitar. It's actually kind of comparable to the way the Easy mode tracking evokes the real song.
The drums feel infinitely more realistic than that and on Pro drums, on a complete kit (even on Easy), you are expected to be able to perform one of 8 possible inputs in the rhythm the track demands. Unfortunately they don't support tracking of the hi-hat/double kick pedal, so it doesn't fully equal the experience of playing an electronic drum kit. :/
And the keyboard.....is a keyboard with one fairly major omission. RB3 only supports using one hand on keyboards. This means that RB3 can only really serve as an introduction to the instrument. You will at some point have to move on in order to develop the use of the left hand and right hand together.
Honestly though, the biggest thing that seemed to me to be missing from IPad RB is the "Band" part. Playing this as a group makes it infinitely more enjoyable for everybody. It's a great family/party activity.
Thanks for the extra help ! I am indeed looking for something he can do alone. When I'm home, I can usually get him to play Piano with me. :-P
EDIT: Hang in there, RB ! I am working my way to get a new (cheap but weighted key) MIDI keyboard first.
I finally got the Mustang Pro Guitar controller today! First thing I did after assembling was trying the MIDI stuff. It worked better than I expected! Every string has its own channel, so you can put a bass sound on the bottom two strings and solos on the top, or use various settings and filters depending on your taste. You can use the square and cirlce buttons to shift an octave up or down really quickly. The only bummer for that is that you can't really do hammer ons/pull offs with it (though you can put it into a mode that does this, but that has other downsides of then not needing strums at all and having no fade away), or of course pitch bends. But other than that I like it, and I didn't expect it to be able to detect velocity when plucking the strings, but it does (though not a great range or precision for that). I like it and it works well with my rusty XV5050.
The onto the game. The training modes are decent if a little frustrating, as they can be a bit aggressive in pausing the tutorial to point out your holding the wrong fret or string, which for me personally holds back the learning, but could work well for others who just don't realise what they are doing wrong. There is a pretty substantial amount of training in the game and I benefit from it even though I've been playing a long time.
I found that the actually playing songs works great when you know what to play roughly both from reading the highway and remembering the sounds, but when you don't know the song well enough, then when you miss the notes you can't hear what you're actually doing, and that is hard - I learn to play along with songs by ear, and when I both can't hear the original song, and can't hear the actual notes being played, that makes learning really difficult! I'm pretty sure I'll get used to it soon enough though, but it basically requires to you learn to read the notes from the highway really well.
I have no real issues otherwise - technicallly everything seems to work well and lag-free.
Harmonix became independent:
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211766
Over at GAF, I said I hope to see more quality music software from them in the future (not just QTE based ones). Got a bunch of hate replies. ^_^
I really mean it.
mrcorbo
27-Dec-2010, 17:13
Over at GAF, I said I hope to see more quality music software from them in the future (not just QTE based ones). Got a bunch of hate replies. ^_^
I really mean it.
So did they. :razz:
Follow up on my Pro-Mode impressions (from GAF):
The Mustang does HOPOs, to the best of my knowledge. They're just treated as SysEx commands. I don't know if there's anything, hardware or software, that can handle them besides RB3 at this point. But then, I'm not big into MIDI, so others may know better.
Well, like I said it can do them, but then that requires you to be in a different mode (one where you can do the Van Halen type stuff, by not having to actually use the strings at all). Other than that though, the implementation is pretty good.
My biggest problem with Pro Mode in general is that, yes, not hearing what you're doing wrong is a killer. I know they want the guitar sound to match and all, but I'd settle for cat noises just to hear what I'm playing :\
Yeah. I have to say though, I am getting used to it slowly. It basically requires you to memorize the positions and find them nearly blindly. This is a bit of a bugger in the beginning, but it does make me play better. This game is also really good for my plectrum work - I have always been more of a finger picking style player, but although that works much better than I expected (and is in some sense easier for determining where your fingers are on the strings than a pick), I'm trying to use a pick right now to improve that part of my playing.
I worked my way through most of the tutorials now and 95%'d one of the songs in there, and worked my way through the first two tutorials and started on the advanced tutorial now as well. They are generally pretty good, I have to say. The one that I stopped at and was giving me a hard time is the one with barred chords, as my fingers easily slip to the next frets and the buttons are really sensitive.
I don't quite like how aggressively the tutorials stop you when you make a mistake and wait until you get everything right again. I can see why it does that, but it just seems to do that a little too agressively.
As for the regular song playing, I initially thought I would just go for Extreme right away and that this would be easier to learn because it matches with what I hear, but now that it has become more about learning to read the notations first, I have settled to do some Medium work first, and that's coming along fine now.
A final little annoyance is that the chord numbering modifier is reset each time I boot up the game, so I have to keep switching it on. I really do prefer that mode for reading, and wish it would be standard.
mrcorbo
27-Dec-2010, 19:11
Recycling content? You should write for a gaming news site! :lol:
I've been unable to play as much RB3 lately as this time of year gets very hectic both personally and professionally. I tend to just want to veg out and play games I don't have to focus on as much. My progress up to the point where I started playing less had been pretty steady on Pro drums and I was most of the way through the Medium tier. Had some issues on parts of some of the later songs on this tier (not enough to fail), but overall I'm still able to sightread most of what I'm playing and get 90+%. I also tried out freestyle mode to play along with some of the music tracks stored on my PC and found that I could do a very credible job on some of them (Aerosmith's "Dream On" is a favorite). I plan to get back in full steam ahead after the holiday and see if I can get through Hard tier. Then, once I get to Expert, my plan is to not only complete each track but go for 5 stars before I move on since at that point I should be learning the full notation (alas, minus the high-hat pedal).
rendezvous
20-Jan-2011, 19:02
I just got my Midi Pro controller which I'm planning to use with Yamaha AN1X and Rockband PS3.
I don't have much time to play with it today but if you have any questions about it I should be able to have a look at it during the weekend.
mrcorbo
20-Jan-2011, 19:35
I just got my Midi Pro controller which I'm planning to use with Yamaha AN1X and Rockband PS3.
I don't have much time to play with it today but if you have any questions about it I should be able to have a look at it during the weekend.
I'd be curious to hear some general impressions about ease of setup and use..
Still playing this game loads and loads. Awesome game. Starting to master my first Mustang / Pro Guitar mode song (Don't Stand So Close To Me).
rendezvous
20-Jan-2011, 21:45
I'd be curious to hear some general impressions about ease of setup and use..
Setup couldn't possibly be easier. Plug MIDI cable from MIDI out on the keyboard to the controller and plug the controller in the USB port of the PS3. That was all the setup needed.
The adapter has the controls you need in the game including a boost button.
You can clip it onto a belt or have it on a flat surface, the rubber feet makes it stay in place.
The pitch bend controller on the keyboard also worked without a hitch.
The only cons I've noticed so far is that you can't control the game navigation UI (e.g. selecting tracks or go to the next song with the keyboard, you need to use the controller) and that the controller smells bad.
As i expected it gets enormously much harder when you have some 20-30 keys you can press instead of the 5 on the guitar.
As i expected it gets enormously much harder when you have some 20-30 keys you can press instead of the 5 on the guitar.
Matter of being used to it though - I played it at a LAN party the other day and managed to do Hard and Expert on some songs first try (not flawless, but still), using the Keytar. I was surprised at how easy it was, but most stuff in Rockband seems pretty much made for one hand, and playing keyboard is so much harder when you are used to trying to learn to play two handed stuff.
Pro-Guitar is WAAAAAAY harder. :shock: Good to hear though about the MIDI controller - although I liked the keytar, I think I'd prefer a keyboard of my own that me and my kid can also get sound out of without having to plug it into something and play full piano stuff on. Though all things considered, the keytar is only some 20-30 euro more than the Midi adapter, so I may get it anyway eventually for convenience / wireless sake.
AlStrong
20-Jan-2011, 23:40
mm... yeah, I've got the keytar. Haven't had much time since I got it, but I did find it rather awkward to use two-handed the couple songs I tried out briefly. I just found it difficult to sync with what I was seeing on screen (for pro keys) for some reason. I'll get around to trying it again sometime, but it was a bit demoralizing. :p
mrcorbo
29-Mar-2011, 20:25
So, it's been a while since I talked about my RB3 experience. After using the Pro Drums extensively I found that playing with the plastic guitars was so comparably unsatisfying that when someone else wanted to play drums (and I always make it guests' choice) I wasn't really having much fun. There were some exceptions like Meatloaf's "Paradise By the Dashboard Light" which on Expert Bass is actually really challenging and fun and the Bass parts of songs in general feel like a better analog than the guitar parts do, but I used the enjoyment and use I've gotten out of my Pro Drums setup to justify my purchase of the Fender Squier and Midi Pro adapter. I missed out on the first batch of pre-ordered guitars so didn't receive mine until a little over a week ago.
So far I found the best way to approach learning is to go into the Career mode for Pro Guitar and do each goal. This provides a nice mix of skill-based drills and learning of songs to keep the process from getting too monotonous. And given the STEEP initial learning curve, I didn't need to deal with monotony on top of the difficulty. :/ It didn't take long for the callouses to develop, though during one night of me stubbornly trying to complete a section of drills I found that my left-hand fingertips were all black-and-blue. It's been over 15 years since I seriously tried to play a stringed instrument and I forgot that there was some pain involved! I also since then had broken my left wrist and never fully realized how much flexibility I had lost as a result. I'm pretty determined to push through all this, though, and ATM my biggest obstacle is something else I had forgotten about playing a stringed instrument -- strings break. I had just finished learning Marilyn Manson's "The Beautiful People" and was having some fun playing it with the mute off (you generally want to play the guitar with the mute engaged as the freely-vibrating strings will screw up the guitar's strum detection and bone your score) when twang went my "A" string. And of course I never thought to buy replacement strings and haven't had a chance to go to a music store to buy more.
So that's where things stand now. I find the Career - My Goals structure to be very helpful in keeping my interested and motivated to learn new skills and hope to develop a good repertoire of songs (on Medium difficulty) so that the next time I have a friend or friends over to play I can acquit myself well and then to continue building from there. Now -- back to trying to get my fingers into unnatural positions.
Great! I'm jealous you got both the Squier and the Pro Drum kit, and I have to make do with the GH3 Drum Kit and the Mustang ... :evil: Nah, not really, I'm actually still quite happy with both!
Add me on PSN if you're on PS3 (niwrA).
Also, the next download pack is mine! Though more for Black Magic Woman than this nightmare. ;)
filiXfgPsUY
Add me to! (tuna74)
I like the pro drums as well, but I am pretty crappy on the guitar. Want to get a pro, but that seems like quite a time sink...
mrcorbo
29-Mar-2011, 21:11
Great! I'm jealous you got both the Squier and the Pro Drum kit, and I have to make do with the GH3 Drum Kit and the Mustang ... :evil: Nah, not really, I'm actually still quite happy with both!
Add me on PSN if you're on PS3 (niwrA).
Also, the next download pack is mine! Though more for Black Magic Woman than this nightmare. ;)
Unfortunately 360 here.
I think there might be a keytar in my future. Heck I have 3 mics, a Pro Drum kit and an old GH2 guitar. I may as well complete the set. :grin:
I couldn't agree more about Black Magic Woman. A must have. It was even good on GH3 in fake-plastic and Neversoft form.
Ok so it is not as great as the version in GH3, but the Pro mode makes up for it. In fact, I also really love the Pro Bass chart. Tried it twice and am now ranking 4th in the world ... :p The drum chart is great as well. And that other 60s song with the flutes at the end is fantastic for drums too, and normal guitar has you play some brass, hilarious, and great song.
Great! I'm jealous you got both the Squier and the Pro Drum kit, and I have to make do with the GH3 Drum Kit and the Mustang ... :evil: Nah, not really, I'm actually still quite happy with both!
Add me on PSN if you're on PS3 (niwrA).
Also, the next download pack is mine! Though more for Black Magic Woman than this nightmare. ;)
filiXfgPsUY
wow that looks like hell :lol: Clearly "guitarpro" seems better suited for this kind of speed as you have a beter chance to spot patterns. Still I find the idea to learn new songs through a game interesting but the cost of the 102 "buttons" plastic guitar seems prohibitiv to me. Does it feel good/ correct (I suppose you play guitar too as otherwise the pro mod would be a hell of a challenge not too speak of dragon force, why not Shawn Lane while we're at it :lol: ).
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=426419
Bestbuy and amazon apparently sell Rockband now for $20. If you don't have it yet, now is the time!
I think expert mode in 3 is more difficult than 2. I get a bit pissed when I am thrown out of a song....
rendezvous
05-Apr-2011, 18:11
You can select somewhere not to be thrown out if your meter reaches the bottom.
I've done it, but I can't remember where.
AlStrong
05-Apr-2011, 20:16
No fail mode is in the options. You need only turn it on once, and it'll still keep track of your scores. I guess they figure that if you need it, it won't really harm the scoreboards at all. :p
Don't know if all guitar players on this board also play rockband, but this is a really cool app (GuitarPro) that is free today:
1a8zYihtMH4
mrcorbo
09-Apr-2011, 18:41
So, I've completed the Medium Pro Guitar section of the Career Mode and had tried to move on to the Hard Pro Guitar section. As of now, Bar Chords + more prominent 4th finger use are combining to put this out of my reach. I instead have settled on going into the Training Mode and learning all of the songs on Medium and am having better luck with this.
I actually really like the multiple structures available in RB3 for progressing though the game. When I have hit a wall and become frustrated with one set of challenges I have always been able to find another set waiting that got me back feeling like I was accomplishing something and that has been key to me remaining motivated.
One thing I would have liked when learning a song is if there was a setting that caused the track to pause at each missed note instead of the default where it will sometimes continue past mistakes. When you are repeatedly missing one specific sequence of notes/chords it would be more efficient to be able to focus in on that sequence every time it came up, IMO.
Yeah, the training stuff could do with some more customisation. It tries to do what you say automatically but it doesn't always succeed.
Personally I agree about how nice it is to take different paths. I really recommend playing Pro Bass for learning Pro Guitar. You can usually play it on Extreme fairly easily, there are no barred chords or difficult solos and lots of repetition, and you can play all the notes you hear. I love it. I'm now picking up some Pro Guitar songs again and its much easier, so tge training works.
mrcorbo
10-Apr-2011, 00:17
Yeah, the training stuff could do with some more customisation. It tries to do what you say automatically but it doesn't always succeed.
Personally I agree about how nice it is to take different paths. I really recommend playing Pro Bass for learning Pro Guitar. You can usually play it on Extreme fairly easily, there are no barred chords or difficult solos and lots of repetition, and you can play all the notes you hear. I love it. I'm now picking up some Pro Guitar songs again and its much easier, so tge training works.
I'll try that. Thanks for the suggestion.
I wish some Dev would do a similar pro mode to a DJ game. I picked up DJ Hero 2 bundle thinkin it was going to be like Sega's Crackin'DJ with two turntable and all, but it wasn't to be. It was still a fun game but I thought Crackin'DJ is the better game. The thing is the control for Crackin'DJ style gameplay is in front of me, the Dev just cloned the wrong game.
With Activision exiting from the music genre, I wonder if Harmonix will step up to the plate and someone would do a nice controller for it, two full size turntable that actually spins with tonearms you can drop, fake records you can put and flip over, some faders and 4x4 drum pads inbetween would probably do it. DJ Hero controller is sort of half way there, just need to remove the buttons from the turntable and add a few things.
Enough rant, which drum to get for RB3 ?
AlStrong
10-Apr-2011, 06:37
Enough rant, which drum to get for RB3 ?
I've been using the RB2/Beatles drums. I need to get the 3-cymbal expansion, but I can't find it anywhere at the usual retailers here in Canada. It's bizarre...
I actually prefer the GH drums because the pads are softer and bigger, but oh well.
djskribbles
10-Apr-2011, 08:00
I bought the 2-pack of madcatz cymbals for the RB2 set at ebgames/gamestop over a year ago (didn't have the 3-pack). It still shows them on their site so they might still carry them. Amazon.ca carries the new set (3 cymbals).
I prefer the GH pads as well because they seem more durable, and they don't have plastic edges. I had to replace the drum pads on my RB2 set after just a few months because they were bubbling and I was missing notes. I bought the drum silencers for the RB1 set and I've been hammering on them for years without problems.
AlStrong
10-Apr-2011, 08:51
I bought the 2-pack of madcatz cymbals for the RB2 set at ebgames/gamestop over a year ago (didn't have the 3-pack). It still shows them on their site so they might still carry them. Amazon.ca carries the new set (3 cymbals).
Oooh... Amazon finally got them? I guess I haven't checked in a month or so. :)
I prefer the GH pads as well because they seem more durable, and they don't have plastic edges.
Yeah, definitely agree there. :(
mrcorbo
10-Apr-2011, 17:24
Yeah, my RB cymbals are in rough shape after heavy use. I'm regretting now that I didn't spring for the Ion kit. Of course, going in, I didn't know how much use it was going to get and the official kit is easier to take out an put away if you don't have a dedicated space where you can just have the kit set up permanently.
That said, the 3 cymbal expansion completely changes the experience in RB3. There's no going back to regular drums once you have played the game this way.
I can confirm that the Guitar Hero drumkit is very durable. There's no sign of wear on them at all. I've been using mine without any issues whatsoever for a long time now (since Guitar Hero World Tour in fact), and they work very well with Rockband 3. Also, the GH kit has pressure sensitive pads, something which isn't present in Rockband 3 afaik. If someone starts out with drumming or just wants to test it, they could do worse than pick up a cheap Band Hero or GH5/6 full band kit for a low price (I regularly see these on offer for about 70 euro). I actually like the Guitar Hero free drum modes a little better thanks to more extensive soundkits and pressure sensitive pads being properly used to offer even different samples depending on how hard you hit.
rendezvous
11-Apr-2011, 18:24
Do you know if there is any way to expand the GH Warriors of Rock drum kit to a Pro or do I have to start over with a proper RB drum kit?
djskribbles
11-Apr-2011, 18:29
I can confirm that the Guitar Hero drumkit is very durable. There's no sign of wear on them at all. I've been using mine without any issues whatsoever for a long time now (since Guitar Hero World Tour in fact), and they work very well with Rockband 3. Also, the GH kit has pressure sensitive pads, something which isn't present in Rockband 3 afaik. If someone starts out with drumming or just wants to test it, they could do worse than pick up a cheap Band Hero or GH5/6 full band kit for a low price (I regularly see these on offer for about 70 euro). I actually like the Guitar Hero free drum modes a little better thanks to more extensive soundkits and pressure sensitive pads being properly used to offer even different samples depending on how hard you hit.
The RB2 has sensitive pads, so I'm sure the RB3 set does. Even the cymbals I have are pressure sensitive.
But yeah, to help with durability of the RB2/3 drums, these (http://www.amazon.com/Rock-Band-Drum-Silencers-Nintendo-Wii/dp/B0016KGNOA) work really well, and they cover the plastic edges.
The only drum kit you should look at for a decent setup (and for really experiencing a "real" drum setup) is the Ion drum kit. Professional pads with great bounce, cymbals are decent and you can configure the layout however you want. If you can, get a Pintech TC 10" for your High hat, much better than using an Ion one for that particular cymbal.
The RB2 has sensitive pads, so I'm sure the RB3 set does. Even the cymbals I have are pressure sensitive.
Is that used anywhere in the game though?
mrcorbo
11-Apr-2011, 18:58
Is that used anywhere in the game though?
Yes, it works in freestyle mode, as does the 2nd pedal for the hi-hat. It even registers open vs. closed hi-hat when you strike the associated cymbal.
AlStrong
11-Apr-2011, 18:59
difference in volume I think... it doesn't really take much to elicit the stronger hit response (a sort of shockwave graphics emanates from the colour button).
Ok, then perhaps Rockband 3 just doesn't support it for the Guitar Hero drumkit ... will have to have a closer look at that. In Guitar Hero it was supported, and that would even have different samples for different velocities.
I definitely would like to have an Ion drumkit, but that's really out of reach for me for now. I would sooner get a Squier probably, but that's currently not on the cards either (and there are other priorities). Fortunately I am still happy with the Mustang.
But it is good to know that pressure sensitivity should be in there for the other kits at least.
djskribbles
11-Apr-2011, 19:33
Ok, then perhaps Rockband 3 just doesn't support it for the Guitar Hero drumkit ... will have to have a closer look at that. In Guitar Hero it was supported, and that would even have different samples for different velocities.
I definitely would like to have an Ion drumkit, but that's really out of reach for me for now. I would sooner get a Squier probably, but that's currently not on the cards either (and there are other priorities). Fortunately I am still happy with the Mustang.
But it is good to know that pressure sensitivity should be in there for the other kits at least.
Yeah, I tried the GH:WT drums on RB2 and the sensitivity doesn't register; I'm sure it's the same with RB3.
What do you guys think about the upcoming Rocksmith ? It allows the use of real guitar. I wonder if it'll allow the use of real drum too.
I just ordered the MIDI adapter from amazon.de, so they not only have it fully in stock but also ship it to the Netherlands. Same for Rock Band: Beatles, which I now even got for 7,50 euro. As a nice detail, on gaf there's a screenshot suggesting that we'll be able to import the songs from that into Rockband 3 in the near future.
Intending to use the MIDI adapter with a regular MIDI keyboard; though you also need it for the Squier, I am going to remain happy with the Mustang for now. ;)
Decided to go for the Yamaha NP30 Portable Grand ... very happy with it so far! But the adapter is going to take a while to get here it looks like, coming from gameseek rather than amazon. Ah well, as long as it gets here within a month I'll live (no, darnit I need it now :D)
rendezvous
29-Apr-2011, 17:04
Is far as I can see there is no pitch bend wheel on that keyboard, It is used just like the whammy bar on the guitars to build up energy on long glowing notes.
Found this guide though, which lets you, with the help of a computer, "map" pitch-bend to the keys.
http://www.rockband.com/forums/showthread.php?t=214157&page=1
I'm not looking forward to see you beating my pro keys scores as well, isn't it enough to beat me at drums? ;)
Really? I didn't know there was a score advantage to that. Never used it and the Mustang doesn't have a whammy bar either. So I guess I won't miss it for that at least!
Edit: ok I understand you can sometimes use it to extend overdrive ...
I'm looking forward to your impression, of it. Also, how many octaves does Keyboard RB3 uses in pro mode ?
BTW I tried the RB drum controller, although it plays well and can be had for cheap, the drum make noise when you hit it, that would drive a person like me insane. And proper e-Drum is too expensive to invest just for a game. So I guess I am looking at keyboard now.
I think two octaves in pro mode, c2-c4 - the manual is online and I just read it this afternoon.
As for the Rockband drums, that's a common complaint. There are extra silencer thingies you can get for them though that help a lot and I think most people get those now.
I'm looking forward to your impression, of it. Also, how many octaves does Keyboard RB3 uses in pro mode ?
BTW I tried the RB drum controller, although it plays well and can be had for cheap, the drum make noise when you hit it, that would drive a person like me insane. And proper e-Drum is too expensive to invest just for a game. So I guess I am looking at keyboard now.
By the way, even my Guitar Hero WTC drumkit makes some noise, though a lot quieter than the default Rockband stuff. The best solution is to just wear headphones. :)
The MIDI Pro Adapter arrived today I was just informed, a day before the best date given (they said between 5-23 May) so expect some impressions within one or two days!
Pro Keyboard is awesome! Very happy now. Sure, there are some early 'warmup' level songs where you think - why does this track even have keyboard in it in the first place, where it is just some nonsense synth that barely adds anything and is drowned out completely by bass and guitar, but as soon as you get to difficulty levels of 2 and up, things start to get pretty exciting and there is some great music to be played.
I am also quite pleased iwth the keyboard lessons in the game - I never took actual lessons and although I can find my way around the keyboard fairly well, these lessons are actually useful. I could get through the advanced scales lessons for instance pretty easily, but they did teach me (and in one case reminded me) the correct way to do various scales with helpful pointers about what technique to use which was in part why I managed to do them so easily. By contrast, some of the advanced chord lessons took me an hour to get.
The major downside I guess would be that the game basically only teaches you one handed play, so if you want to progress beyond that you'll need to either teach yourself to play basslines with your right hand, or get real piano lessons. But I'm having a blast, and when I played some freestyle after my long session (I think I may have played 4-5 hours straight), I was already a better player.
I had a tonne of fun with a song that has some really jazzy chords and progressions. It is very hard (even if it only says level 3 or so) and I went into training mode for it to learn the chord progressions, and am quite a bit from mastering that song yet, but it is a really great song. Can't find or remember the title, ironically, but it was very late. Will look it up. ;) It's probably a DLC song, come to think of it.
AlStrong
05-May-2011, 19:31
Nice. :) I'm actually having a hard time adjusting to pro keys because I'm used to reading the actual notes. It'll be awhile before I get accustomed to finger placement for the songs here. That said, I guess the only thing they need now is more DLC that makes good use of the keys. :p Through the Fire and Flames? XD
I just set up the pro cymbals (3). Pretty fun. erg.... just wish I could use them for GH Metallica.
Nice. :) I'm actually having a hard time adjusting to pro keys because I'm used to reading the actual notes. It'll be awhile before I get accustomed to finger placement for the songs here. That said, I guess the only thing they need now is more DLC that makes good use of the keys. :p Through the Fire and Flames? XD
I just set up the pro cymbals (3). Pretty fun. erg.... just wish I could use them for GH Metallica.
Did you already work through the Billy Joel songs? Or are they too mellow for you? ;) They seem to offer a decent challenge (haven't grabbed them yet, for obvious reasons). Are you using the tutorials to get used to them? I try to do everything on Expert right away at the moment, but clearly from Moderate onwards things are becoming quite a challenge for me already. Training mode is a big help though, and doesn't default to chord assistance that breaks up the flow as it does in Pro Guitar training, though thankfully I realised just yesterday that I could turn that off, and as a result now I've actually worked through Stone Temple Pilot's Plush on Expert training mode, which I then proceeded to score a 76% Expert score on, which I'm pretty stoked about, especially as then grabbing a real guitar and playing the song sounds pretty sweet :p. The song has special significance to me as a friend of mine used to play it in his band, so I got to hear it a lot live and it really gives me a good 'live band' vibe by association.
The song I was thinking about for keys with the jazzy chord progressions by the way was Spinning Wheel by Blood Sweat & Tears:
8vsBx3tgTlY
Really dig the song.
And finally as a bonus I went to check out a music school nearby with my son and although it was closed I ran into the owner. They are offering Duo instruction, which means you play one instrument and another student plays another instrument, and the teacher plays yet another instrument, and you get instructions both on the instruments and on playing together. Sounds pretty awesome, and its only 10 euro per 30 minutes, so I'm definitely checking it out. I was expecting to go there to drum, but actually as the school has a drum background, there is a lack of every other instruments for these type of lessons. He has two drummers who are at a high level that he doesn't have any suitable other players for, and I think I may be at a high enough level with most instruments (definitely guitar) to fit in. Sounds like a great way to brush up on my instruments and meet people to play with, so I'm definitely going to give that a go!
AlStrong
06-May-2011, 18:55
:) Cool.
Yeah, I've gone through the training mode. I'm just having a hard time adjusting. :p I've actually got some of the Billy Joel songs (not all). :)
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