Johnny Rotten may think of Guitar Hero 3 as a joke, but some guitar teachers would probably disagree. Dan Emery, owner of the New York City Guitar School, says that the game's popularity may truly motivate fans to learn the guitar for themselves.

Jay Skyler, a guitar teacher in San Francisco, expressed that he suddenly had a large increase of students when the game came out. Even his adult students have been expressing interest in Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Wii, PC).

Some guitar teachers, however, are worried that the game may actually kill interest in learning the real thing since people would find that playing a real guitar is harder than playing on a console. In effect, would-be students would rather excel and stick to the game.

Skyler points out though, that Guitar Hero 3 builds rhythm, if not skill with strings, saying that in the game you have to be able to follow the beat of the song and the sequence of the  buttons. In that way you build build rhythm in a musical context.

Emery also isn't worried about the effects of Guitar Hero 3, saying that it's the desire to learn that will draw students to the instrument:

When a kid gets filled with the fire of rock 'n' roll, they're going to practice four hours a day. Desire drives the guitar business. So I view (Guitar Hero) as a totally good thing.

Via CNet News