Enabling creativity or devaluing it?

An interesting link was sent to me today, concerning the union of EA, MTV and Harmonix to produce 'Rock Band', a collaborative online music game allowing people to play guitar, bass, drums and vocals together either in the same room or over the net. As far as playing music together in the same room idea goes, sounds a little bit like what bands have been doing for the last...well....2000+ years. The difference of course is that you are not really playing an instrument...but does that matter?

Some would argue the music industry has been going this way for years, with miming, sampling and endless covers proving that the ability to perform a song is a very different aspect to the song itself. But then perform is a loose term too. I mean you could say pop bands give a good performance through their dance routines, and its not often you actually get a DJ with keyboards and a drum machine at a night club. However, while their is an acceptance over the use of live music in pop, hip hop and dance music, rock has maintained a very traditionalist viewpoint. Which is why a band like Keane can cause a few feathers to be ruffled.

Typically speaking most bands are accustomed to having their sound augmented by samples these days, whether its because its impractical to tour with the London Symphony Orchestra or the sound itself is the product of digital jiggery pokery, this is something we the public have come to accept. But when can you take this too far? Keane are a band consisting singer, keyboard player and drummer. Listen to their songs and you'll be thinking, but can't I hear a bass line, guitar etc? and indeed you would be right. But while other bands might typically get session musicians for their live performances they have opted for the sampled approach. So should we be happy, as after all the live performance will have components every bit as sonically pleasing as the record, or are we paying £20 a time to witness a glorified karaoke version?

On the other end of the spectrum I also went to see a Led Zeppelin cover band last week, Whole Lotta Led. As an admirer of the music this was a great opportunity to see it performed, and I was totally blown away by their ability to re-create the Led Zep found, and my thoughts turned to the fact that maybe the band were 'wasted' as a tribute act. Any guitarist who has the ability to digest Jimmy Page solos and reproduce them near perfectly is certainly incredibly talented. But of course, the ability to play an instrument does not mean you have the capability to create it.

And it was with this in mind that I entered the world of Guitar Hero. As someone who plays the bass (all be it rather badly), I was initially very hesitant in trying it. Surely this devalues the process of making music? But then, I'm not using this as a creative tool, merely one for performance, and yes ultimately you can play things more easily than with a 'real' instrument, but guess what...it was fun.

So instead of these innovations devaluing the creative process, maybe they are just making it more accessible? Maybe the capabilities of the mind to produce something new and creative, will no longer be hampered by a lack of co-ordination. But instead, creation of music and its live reproduction will become as polarised now as indeed the different music genres are, and just because an instruments sound is analog (for now), does not mean its exempt from this debate.

As for the true greats? These will always be the people who have the ability to combine both talents, but maybe through this progression the de-coupling of the two abilities will now make music more accessible for all.