Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T16:50:17.994Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Schizophonic Performance: Guitar Hero, Rock Band, and Virtual Virtuosity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2009

KIRI MILLER
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article addresses Guitar Hero and Rock Band gameplay as a developing form of collaborative, participatory rock music performance. Drawing on ethnomusicology, performance studies, popular music studies, gender and sexuality studies, and interdisciplinary digital media scholarship, I investigate the games' models of rock heroism, media debates about their impact, and players' ideas about genuine musicality, rock authenticity, and gendered performance conventions. Grounded in ethnographic research—including interviews, a Web-based qualitative survey, and media reception analysis—this article enhances our understanding of performance at the intersection of the “virtual” and the “real,” while also documenting the changing nature of amateur musicianship in an increasingly technologically mediated world.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of the Society for American Music , Volume 3 , Issue 4 , November 2009 , pp. 395 - 429
Copyright
Copyright © The Society for American Music 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adorno, Theodor W. “On Popular Music.” Studies in Philosophy and Social Science! 9/1 (1941): 17–48.Google Scholar
Alexander, Leigh. “Analyst: Three Expansion Packs Possible for Next Guitar Hero.” Gamasutra.com (1 August 2008), <http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=19682>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Anderson, Kyle. “Even Better than the Real Thing.” Spin 23 (November 2007): 104–10.Google Scholar
Arsenault, Dominic. “Guitar Hero: ‘Not like Playing Guitar at All’?” Loading . . . 1/2 (2008): n.p.Google Scholar
Artguitar.com. “ArtGuitar.” <http://www.artguitar.com/servlet/StoreFront>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Attali, Jacques. Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Translated by Massumi, Brian. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, [1977] 1985.Google Scholar
Auslander, Philip. Liveness: Performance in a Mediatized Culture. New York:Routledge, 1999.Google Scholar
Auslander, Philip. Performing Glam Rock: Gender and Theatricality in Popular Music. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Babuscio, Jack. “Camp and the Gay Sensibility.” In Gays and Film, ed. Dyer, Richard, 40–57. New York: Zoetrope, 1984.Google Scholar
backseatstuff. “Dueling Banjos Guitar Hero 2.” 10 April 2007, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wfdgY5ZYDk>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Berger, Harris M.Metal, Rock, and Jazz: Perception and the Phenomenology of Musical Experience. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1999.Google Scholar
Brownstein, Carrie. “Rock Band vs. Real Band.” Slate, 27 November 2007, <http://www.slate.com/id/2177432>, accessed 28 March 2008.,+accessed+28+March+2008.>Google Scholar
Brunner, Cornelia. “Games and Technological Desire: Another Decade.” In Beyond Barbie and Mortal Kombat: New Perspectives on Gender and Gaming, ed. Kafai, Yasmin B., Heeter, Carrie, Denner, Jill, and Sun, Jennifer Y., 33–46. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burrill, Derek A. “Check Out My Moves.” Social Semiotics 16/1 (April 2006): 17–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Butler, Judith. Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. New York: Routledge, 1990.Google Scholar
Christgau, Robert. “U.S. and Them: Are American Pop (and Semi-Pop) Still Exceptional? And By the Way, Does That Make Them Better?” In This Is Pop: In Search of the Elusive at Experience Music Project, ed. Weisbard, Eric, 26–38. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
Collins, Karen. Game Sound: An Introduction to the History, Theory, and Practice of Video Game Music and Sound Design. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 2008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991.Google Scholar
Dahlen, Chris. “Harmonix Music Systems.” A.V. Club, 18 July 2008, <http://www.avclub.com/content/interview/harmonix_music_systems>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Dance Dance Revolution. Tokyo: Konami Corporation, 1998.Google Scholar
Demers, Joanna. “Dancing Machines: ‘Dance Dance Revolution’, Cybernetic Dance, and Musical Taste.” Popular Music 25/3 (October 2006): 401–14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Devitt, Rachel. “Girl on Girl: Fat Femmes, Bio-Queens, and Redefining Drag,” In Queering the Popular Pitch, ed. Whiteley, Sheila and Rycenga, Jennifer, 27–39. New York: Routledge, 2006.Google Scholar
FallenSeraph. “SG Paint Job! check it out.” 8 February 2007, <http://www.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6333>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
freddiew. “Guitar Hero 2 Rush YYZ on Expert.” 28 October 2006, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ua3hZXfNZOE>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
freddiew. “Hellanor Brozevelt on MTV TRL.” 8 and 13 April 2008, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yJSFVCODc6o>, accessed 14 August 2008.,+accessed+14+August+2008.>Google Scholar
freddiew. “True Guitar Heroism.” 17 April 2008, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFVyQSmf_RY>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Frith, Simon. Performing Rites: On the Value of Popular Music. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1996.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gee, James Paul. “Learning by Design: Good Video Games as Learning Machines.” In Digital Media: Transformations in Human Communication, ed. Messaris, Paul and Humphreys, Lee, 173–86. New York: Peter Lang, 2006.Google Scholar
Grubb, Kevin. Recorded interview with the author. Providence, R.I., 22 July 2008.Google Scholar
GuitarHeroTab.com. “GuitarHeroTab.com—Complete guitar tabs for Rock Band and Guitar Hero,” <http://guitarherotab.com>, accessed 20 August 2008.,+accessed+20+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Harmonix Music Systems. Guitar Hero. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Red Octane, 2005.Google Scholar
Harmonix Music Systems. Guitar Hero II. Sunnyvale, Calif.: Red Octane, 2006.Google Scholar
Harmonix Music Systems. Rock Band. Redwood City, Calif.: Electronic Arts, 2007.Google Scholar
Harmonix Music Systems. Rock Band 2. Redwood City, Calif.: Electronic Arts, 2008.Google Scholar
Harmonix Music Systems, House of Moves, and Sneaky Rabbit Studios. Karaoke Revolution. Redwood City, Calif.: Konami of America, 2003.Google Scholar
Hartlaub, Peter. “Rock Band, Guitar Hero III Video Game Do Rock, but Real Is Better.” San Francisco Chronicle, 27 November 2007, <http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/11/27/DDGNTHTE7.DTL&hw=hartlaub+guitar+hero&sn=001&sc=1000>, accessed 28 March 2008.,+accessed+28+March+2008.>Google Scholar
Hiatt, Brian. “Secrets of the Guitar Heroes: John Mayer.” Rolling Stone, 12 June 2008, <http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/21004549/secrets_of_the_guitar_heroes_john_mayer/2>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
iamchris4life. “Through the Fire and Flames TTFAF FC 100% 987,786,” 3 June 2008, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5GpRJItqjw>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Itzkoff, Dave. “Rec-Room Wizard.” New York Times, 10 August 2008, <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/arts/television/10itzk.html>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Jones, Steve, and Kevin, Featherly. “Re-Viewing Rock Writing: Narratives of Popular Music Criticism.” In Pop Music and the Press, ed. Jones, Steve, 19–40. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2002.Google Scholar
Katz, Mark. Capturing Sound: How Technology Has Changed Music. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2004.Google Scholar
Kay, Rob. Recorded interview with the author. Cambridge, Mass., 17 October 2007.Google Scholar
Liz, Jose. “Harmonix's Rock Band Reaches $1 Billion in U.S. Sales; Sells 40 MillionSongs.” PGNX Media, 26 March 2009, <http://www.pgnx.net/news.php?page=full&id=17091>, accessed 8 June 2009., accessed 8 June 2009.' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Liz,+Jose.+“Harmonix's+Rock+Band+Reaches+$1+Billion+in+U.S.+Sales;+Sells+40+MillionSongs.”+PGNX+Media,+26+March+2009,+,+accessed+8+June+2009.>Google Scholar
Marcus, Steffen. Recorded interview with the author. Providence, R.I., 5 August 2008.Google Scholar
McGeary, Sean. Recorded interview with the author. Providence, R.I., 6 August 2008.Google Scholar
McGovern, Charles. “The Music: The Electric Guitar in the American Century.” In The Electric Guitar: A History of an American Icon, ed. Millard, André, 17–40. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
McSwain, Rebecca. “The Power of the Electric Guitar.” Popular Music and Society 19/4 (Winter 1995): 21–40.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, Moe. “Introduction: Reclaiming the Discourse of Camp.” In The Politics and Poetics of Camp, ed. Meyer, Moe, 1–22. New York: Routledge, 1994.Google Scholar
Millard, André, and McSwain, Rebecca. “The Guitar Hero.” In The Electric Guitar: A History of an American Icon, ed. Millard, André, 143–62. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Kiri. “e-interview with Freddie Wong.” Guitar Hero: A Research Blog, 2 November 2007, <http://guitarheroresearch.blogspot.com/2007/11/e-interview-with-freddie-wong.html>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Miller, Kiri. “Grove Street Grimm: Grand Theft Auto and Digital Folklore.” Journal of American Folklore 121/481 (Summer 2008): 255–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Kiri. “Guitar Hero & Rock Band Survey,” <http://www.brown.edu/Project/Music/guitarherosurvey2.html>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Miller, Kiri. “Jacking the Dial: Radio, Race, and Place in Grand Theft Auto.” Ethnomusicology 51/3 (Fall 2007): 402–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Leta E. “Cage, Cunningham, and Collaborators: The Odyssey of Variations V.” Musical Quarterly 85/3 (Fall 2001): 545–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neversoft. Guitar Hero III. Santa Monica, Calif.: Activision, 2007.Google Scholar
Neversoft. Guitar Hero World Tour. Santa Monica, Calif.: Activision, 2008.Google Scholar
Niles, Richard. “Wigs, Laughter, and Subversion: Charles Busch and Strategies of Drag Performance.” Journal of Homosexuality 46/3–4 (2004): 35–53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Dell, Devon H. Survey follow-up e-mail correspondence with the author.Google Scholar
P4721cX. “The Ultimate GH/RB Fender SG,” 4 March 2008, <http://www.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=54807>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Parker, James. “School of Rock.” The Atlantic, March 2009, <http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200903/guitar-hero>, accessed 24 March 2009.,+accessed+24+March+2009.>Google Scholar
Ross, Andrew. No Respect: Intellectuals and Popular Culture. New York: Routledge, 1989.Google Scholar
Ross, Michael. “The Real Heroes of Guitar Hero III.” Guitar Player 42 (February 2008): 58–63.Google Scholar
Sanders, Chris. Survey follow-up e-mail correspondence with the author.Google Scholar
Schafer, R. Murray. The New Soundscape: A Handbook for the Modern Music Teacher. Don Milles, Ont.: BMI Canada, 1969.Google Scholar
Shultz, Peter. “Music Theory in Music Games.” In From Pac-Man to Pop Music: Interactive Audio in Games and New Media, ed. by Collins, Karen, 177–88. Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2008.Google Scholar
Smith, Jacob. “I Can See Tomorrow in Your Dance: A Study of Dance Dance Revolution and Music Video Games.” Journal of Popular Music Studies 16/1 (April 2004): 58–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
South Park Digital Studios. “Guitar Queer-o,” episode 1113 of South Park (originally aired 7 November 2007), <http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/127947>, accessed 6 June 2009.,+accessed+6+June+2009.>Google Scholar
Stallock, Kyle. “Teen Breaks Own World Record in Guitar Hero III,” 1Up.com (4 July 2008), <http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3168547>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Sutton-Smith, Brian. The Ambiguity of Play. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1997.Google Scholar
Svec, Henry Adam. “Becoming Machinic Virtuosos: Guitar Hero, Rez, and Multitudinous Aesthetics.” Loading . . . 1/2 (2008): n.p.Google Scholar
Thornton, Sarah. Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital. Hanover, N.H.: Wesleyan University Press, 1996.Google Scholar
Turner, Victor, and Edith, Turner. Image and Pilgrimage in Christian Culture. New York: Columbia University Press, 1978.Google Scholar
Veal, Michael E.Dub: Soundscapes and Shattered Songs in Jamaican Reggae. Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 2007.Google Scholar
Waksman, Steve. Instruments of Desire: The Electric Guitar and the Shaping of Musical Experience. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1999.Google Scholar
Waksman, Steve. “Into the Arena: Edward Van Halen and the Cultural Contradictions of the Guitar Hero.” In Guitar Cultures, ed. Bennett, Andy and Dawe, Kevin, 117–34. New York: Berg, 2001.Google Scholar
Walser, Robert. Running with the Devil: Power, Gender, and Madness in Heavy Metal Music. Hanover, N.H.: University Press of New England, 1993.Google Scholar
Weber, Samuel. Theatricality as Medium. New York: Fordham University Press, 2004.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weinstein, Deena. “Creativity and Band Dynamics.” In This Is Pop: In Search of the Elusive at Experience Music Project, ed. Weisbard, Eric, 187–99. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2004.Google Scholar
wumpus. “Adding weights to the GH to give it ‘heft’,” 25 November 2007, <http://www.scorehero.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=40694>, accessed 19 August 2008.,+accessed+19+August+2008.>Google Scholar
Wurtzler, Steve. “‘She Sang Live, but the Microphone Was Turned Off’: The Live, the Recorded and the Subject of Representation.” In Sound Theory/Sound Practice, ed. Altman, Rick, 87–103. New York: Routledge, 1992.Google Scholar