Learning Music from Video Games: What Game Companies Can Do to Improve on Rock Band's Formula

Good educational tools have to provide some sense of progression, because without progression, it's hard to stay motivated. This is especially true when learning an instrument. As any serious musician will tell you, there's a lot of memorization and endless repetition involved in getting good. Nobody wakes up playing guitar like Slash; Slash spent countless hours running through arpeggios as a guitar dork before he became a professional guitar dork.

That's why video games are becoming so valuable in music education. The Rock Band series introduced a real Squier guitar that works as a game controller a few months ago, offering gamers the chance to get the ultimate in-game achievement: actual skills on a real instrument.

However, Rock Band isn't perfect. In order to really offer a useful music tool, there are a few big changes that video game designers need to introduce.

Note names. The Rock Band series shows a rolling line of numbers to gamers. A 7 on a string means play the 7th fret, but why not just put the name of the note along with the number? Without note names, amateur guitarists learn guitar patterns without learning the language that musicians need to play with other musicians.

Scale repetition. Scales are the building blocks of music, and they're great video game fodder. They need to be repeated ad nauseum until they become a part of a musician's muscle memory. Next generation music games should have modes that emphasize all of the different scales and modes that musicians regularly use and award achievements or in-game progression for memorizing them.

Improvisation. Improvising is key to music, but current music games don't give aspiring musicians the chance to experiment and make their own melodies and rhythms. The Rock Band series got close with its drum controller, which allows for fills. It would be a big step forward if future games allowed guitarists and keyboardists to improvise during solo sections, then awarded points according to the variety and accuracy of notes used.

Modern music games have accomplished something absolutely amazing. They're the first step towards building video games that actually act as a significant part of a student's music education. However, they've got a ways to go before they reach their potential. Until then, musicians still need some serious guidance and actual lessons to avoid picking up bad habits from their music games.

What do you think music video games could be doing differently to teach instruments? Post in the comments section below.