My oldest wants to be a rock star when she grows up (one of many things on her list). To spur her along, we'd like to buy Rock star or guitar hero for her upcoming bday. I'd like to get a bundle pack with everything, especially since she wants to learn the Guitar and drums. But it will be a gift for the whole family. Is there anyway I can do this? Do I give her something small that is just for her and then give all of us the game?
And which is better, guitar hero or rock star? I use to do the former before I had kids and I liked it well enough, but I guess rock star has a keyboard now? That sounds fun, since I actually play piano.
My daughter is turning 6. I cannot find any drum instructor or guitar instructor for her. They all tell me she is too young. So, I thought a video game until we could get her lessons would be a good idea. We do have a real guitar in the house, and tons of different drums..bongos, gathering drums, etc. As soon as we have a bigger house, she will start piano lessons. My hope is to have her fluent in reading sheet music by the time she is old enough for drum lessons. In any case, love all the judgment and lack of answers to my real question. Real helpful :-)
My original plan was to buy her drums until all the instructors told me she is too young.
So I guess I'll do what I asked, buy the game as a family gift with something small that is hers alone.
If she wants to be a legitimate musician, neither game is going to do her any good. Get the games for the whole family, and get her a REAL instrument with some lessons to go with it.
I liked rock star, thought it was fun... But I still tend to prefer Guitar Hero.
Though, I think I would be bummed if I got a game for the whole family for my birthday, just because it's something everyone would like. To me, "family" gifts should be given at Christmas.
If your DD wants to be a rock star, I think it would be better to buy her a REAL guitar, and a few lesson books. You can find pretty decent tutorials online to learn to play, so she could teach herself if she has the commitment. If not, guitars are still fun to play with. :)
(P.s. My uncle can do amazing things with a real guitar... But he can't play guitar hero to save his life. Lol.)
My son LOVES Guitar Hero. He is really, really good at it.
But it is a video game. The guitar has buttons, not strings, it's NOTHING like a real guitar. There's no music reading involved either, just colors and buttons, that's all. He has spent hundreds of hours playing this game but if you handed him an actual guitar he wouldn't know what to do with it.
Just so you know, theses games do NOT teach kids how to play instruments!
Rock Band is more fun for multiple players, we've had a lot of fun as a family playing that.
What about getting her a quarter-size acoustic guitar and some lessons, so she can learn an instrument for real? These would be exclusively hers to use and learn-- a very personal gift.
get the rock hero thing and get one of the other "games" to go with it. rock hero had a lot of different editions so I am sure rock hero has the same thing right? so give the bundle pack to the whole family and her own specific "game" to use with the bundle pack. sort of like you can buy ps3 system with a lot of different games to use on it.
I am not 12 but I can tell you I would be pissed to open "my" birthday present only to be told that hey it is really for the family.
You should rent her a guitar and buy her some lessons. That way she'll learn to play for real. And she won't have to share her "birthday present that's really a purchase for the whole family."
You actually think those games teach you how to play the guitar or drums? Bahahahahaha Seriously that is funny. It is a video game, you push a sequence of buttons, doesn't matter how you push them just that you push them.
What you end up with is what happened to half my friends, their child asks for a real guitar and lessons, takes them for a month and loses interest because that is a real skill.
If the Guitar Hero or Rock Star is to be for the entire family, then it is clearly not her birthday present.
I would give her something personal that is HER birthday gift and recognize her on her special day.
I don't know how old she is but a lot of kids would not buy that story if it were presented to them and they would feel as though they did not received a birthday gift at all.
We have the Guitar Hero system and our daughter loved it. It got a lot of use every time she had friends over. We got our money's worth out of it. We also have a Casio keyboard that was use a lot as well.
sounds awesome!
but i wouldn't give the family gift to her for her birthday. she needs something that's just hers.
have fun!
ETA there is no 'too young'! i got my baby brother drumsticks when he was this age and he is an AMAZING drummer now and has toured europe. get her an instrument!
:) khairete
S.
All honest to goodness "Rock Stars" need to know how to play an instrument and to read music.
Get her lessons, real lessons. and either an electric keyboard.. She can use headphones so she does not disturb the house hold when practicing.. Or get her a guitar. Is she interested in you teaching her the piano?
I was going to also suggest you or your husband could also build her a small "stage" to perform on. It will make practicing even more fun.
Why not just give the videos games as her present? Just because its her birthday gift doesn't mean the whole family can't use it. My family knows I love video games so one year on my birthday they bought me a Xbox, Kinect, a bunch of video games, Rock Band, and Guitar Hero. Now all of those are my gifts, but, the whole family uses it and I don't mind or care.
So I vote for giving the videos games as her present, and if you decide not to, in the future don't hand out "family gifts" on your child's birthday. I don't know about your daughter but that wouldn't sit well with me.
Another MMP member suggested-- "Rocksmith" for X-Box. Plug a real guitar into it and it gives lessons, teaches riffs, and whole solos
Although they won't teach her to play the real instrument, they are good for learning how to move your fingers without looking at them - just like I tribute my fast typing skills to learning piano - hand/eye coordination and learning to use your fingers without looking at them.
I don't do any of these games, so I have no idea which is best - just wanted to counteract some of the comments below.
I don't, however, think you should give her a "family gift" for her birthday. Give her the "something small" on her b-day and then the weekend that follows buy the game for the family. Getting a "family gift" for your birthday is like not getting a b-day present at all!
