Watch video clips of The Beatles: Rock Band intro and outro video animations.
The other day on Live Musician Central we did a review of The Beatles: Rock Band video game. One of the things we talked about was how amazing the animation was in the game. So today we’re posting up the video clips of the opening and closing animations of The Beatles: Rock Band so you can see for yourself how great they look. On our Playstation 3 system they look much better because the resolution is true HD.
The intro and outro videos were directed by Pete Candeland who is best known for animating The Gorillaz. The videos in The Beatles: Rock Band definitely have his unique style to them and they really take you into another world where The Beatles themselves rule. Continue reading “The Beatles: Rock Band Intro and Outro Animations”
The Beatles – Rock Band is an excellent video game for hardcore Beatles Fans and gamers as well.
The Beatles - Rock Band Video Game
It’s been done with with some great live bands such as AC/DC, Metallica and Aerosmith, but The Beatles Rock Band is like a dream come true for fans around the world. Harmonix has done an amazing job of bringing the music of the Beatles to life in an interactive setting, giving fans the chance to step into the shoes of any one of the Fab Four and play through their career.
From the time I popped in the game to when I had to force myself to turn it off, I was in Beatles heaven. The re-mastered audio tracks of the game sound amazing and the graphics are visually pleasing. Stages of the game are played in digital representations of the same venues the Beatles played in, such as the Ed Sullivan Show and Shea Stadium. The only stage that differs from the others is the Abbey Road recordings. Rather than show repeated scenes of the historic recording space, Harmonix created imaginative dreamscapes to represent the lyrics and tones of the music being played. Continue reading “The Beatles – Rock Band Video Game Review”
Take a fun quiz to find out which Beatle most matches your personality.
With the realease of the new ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’ game there has been a ton of hype around all things Beatles. Let’s face it, The Beatles changed Rock-N-Roll forever. At the beginning of their career, what really carried them, was the simple fact that they were one of the best live bands of all time. They’re one of my personal favorite bands and I’m really stoked to get the new game and give it a spin. The Beatles: Rock Band Limited Edition Premium Bundle has been getting 4 Star and 10 out 0f 10 reviews all over the internet.
One of the great things about The Beatles was the fact that they were truly a band but at the same time were made up of four very distinct personalities. So, to celebrate the release of ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’ I’m linking to a fun quiz titled: Which Beatle Are You?Continue reading “Which Beatle Are You Quiz”
My kids and I play Rock Band 1 and Rock Band 2 on our Playstation 3 relentlessly. There has been a really good side effect to playing these video games. My kids have become extremely interested in playing the real instruments that they’re emulating in the game. They’ve also gotten very interested in becoming performing live musicians. They are learning to play the songs that we play along with in Rock Band on the actual instruments because they are familiar with the arrangements that they focus on during gameplay. It’s really great how they’re going from gameplay to working on their musicianship.
One of the things that will be an ongoing quest for your live band is your ability to play consistently in the groove. What is a groove? That’s when your band locks into a certain rhythm which defines the overall feel of the song. There’s a rock groove, funk groove, R&B groove, country groove, jazz groove and many other types of grooves. Playing in a groove can also be called “playing in the pocket.” It all comes down to a very simple concept and that is how all the parts being played by your band interlock rhythmically. Today I’m going to tell you about a very simple but very effective way for your live band to do a groove check, or rhythm check if you will. Continue reading “How To Do A Band Rhythm Check”
Rock Band 2 Special Edition was released for PlayStation 3 on Oct. 19th. Naturally, I picked it up that day and have been playing it since. Even though there aren’t any groundbreaking updates there are several very fun updates in Rock Band 2. Today I am going to turn Live Musician Centralover to our new contributor, Skyler Rushton for a review of Rock Band 2. -Matt-
Okay there’s not really such a thing as a band prenup so I’ll explain what I’m talking about with a couple stories. One of my good friends was in a band and that band needed a P.A. System. No single person in the band had enough money to pay for the P.A. so everybody in the band decided to chip in some money to pay for the P.A. system. Everyone couldn’t chip in the same amount so a couple of the guys put in more money than the rest of the band. After the P.A. was bought and paid for, the only person in the band that could store, transport and setup the P.A. was the person that had contributed the least amount of money in the band. I’m sure you know where I’m going with this, the band eventually broke up and they were left with the dilemma of “who owns the P.A.?” The way it ended up, was the guy that was storing and hauling the P.A. just kept it and moved to a different state, never to be heard from again. So everyone else that had contributed to the P.A. was out everything they had put into it.
So you’re a musician and you want to become a live performing musician. You want to start a band and you’re not sure what instruments you need to get a functional band together. The beautiful thing about playing in a band is the fact that you’re going to be playing with other people. You won’t be a solo artist anymore when you play in a band. In fact, the definition of band is “An unofficial association of people or groups.” So I guess technically you only need two people to start a band. The first thing you need to decide is what type of music you’re going to be playing. If you decide you want to play hard rock then the lineup requirements will be different than if you are playing bluegrass. How many people you have in your band can really affect your band chemistry as well. Musician’s tend to have large personalities and the more you add, the more interesting and challenging things can become. Let’s take a look at some typical band lineups.
One of the funnest but most difficult things you’ll have to do as a band is decide on a band name. It can be extremely frustrating deciding on a name that everyone in the band agrees on. Instead of agreeing on a name that everyone loves, it almost always comes down to a name that everyone doesn’t hate. So how can you pick a name for your band?
The first thing you need to do is come up with a list of potential band names. How do you choose band names? There is really no rule as anything could be used as a band name. I would suggest looking at the type of music the band is playing, or the type of people in the band. Is there something that stands out about your band that you want to point out? In my band Shufflin’ Noah we had written a song called 40 Days And 40 Nights so one of the names suggested was Noah. We felt that was too generic so we decided to add the word Shufflin’ to the front of it. That was on a list that included names like Spoon Playin’ Noah, Street Rappin’ Noah as well as a bunch of others. We finally decided on Shufflin’ Noah because we wanted people to dance to our music. Continue reading “Choosing A Band Name”
As musicians, we’ve all heard the same word repeated over and over our entire carreer…Practice! I’ll tell you one thing I’ve learned, if you love to practice you’re probably not playing out very much. I personally don’t love to practice. I love it when I have a brand new instrument or when I’m learning a new instrument but that newness wears off quickly. Don’t get me wrong, I practice regularly and so should you. But don’t you like to practice when you’re having a lot of fun at the same time?
I have to tell you that the new game Rock Band by Harmonix has had a profound effect on my singing. I knew the game would be fun, whacking away on a toy guitar controller and pounding on electronic drum pads but I didn’t give the singing a second thought. When we got the game, I found the singing portion to be easy and fun. The game detects when you sing in tune, sing on the beat and say the correct phrases. Then you get scored on those abilities and if you suck too badly, you kill off your whole show. I have to admit, that’s real world when it comes to bad singing. People don’t stay at your shows very long when you have a bad singer.
Since I’ve been playing Rock Band it’s helped my singing several ways and I’ve noticed it when I’ve played gigs. These are the ways it’s helped me the most in terms of singing:
I sing a lot more in tune now.
I have tons of stamina and can sing a whole show without losing my voice.
It’s helped my timing with getting the words into the rythmic groove with the rest of the band.
I can hit high notes a lot easier now.
I can hold notes out longer and keep them in tune.
That’s just how Rock Band has helped me with my singing. It helps on the other instruments as well although not as radically. The next instrument it helps the most with after singing is drums. It doesn’t help you with technique such as the proper way to hold sticks or the proper striking technique. It does really help with hand and foot coordination. In fact, it radically helps with that. It also helps you keep a steady beat. If you’re not steady, the band gets booed off the stage. Again, true to life.
On guitar, Rock Band helps primarily with rhythm and a little bit with finger coordination. You probably get the least real-world benefit from playing guitar in Rock Band.
On all instruments, it helps you as a musician to follow a chain of notes or phrases that you must complete on the beat to be able to continue playing. This does somewhat translate into reading music notation even though you don’t have to read the entire musical staff. It does help you keep your eye on the page while playing without looking at your hands all the time.
So I’m recommending Rock Band for all of those reasons. It really is a good purchase for a musician. Is it the same as playing in a real band? Kind of, but not nearly as fulfilling as a crowded room of people going crazy over a killer performance that you really played. Does it help your live playing? YES IT DOES! So get it, I put some links in this post so you can find the game easily. Have fun!
has been getting 4 Star and 10 out 0f 10 reviews all over the internet.
by Harmonix has had a profound effect on my singing. I knew the game would be fun, whacking away on a toy guitar controller and pounding on electronic drum pads but I didn’t give the singing a second thought. When we got the game, I found the singing portion to be easy and fun. The game detects when you sing in tune, sing on the beat and say the correct phrases. Then you get scored on those abilities and if you suck too badly, you kill off your whole show. I have to admit, that’s real world when it comes to bad singing. People don’t stay at your shows very long when you have a bad singer.