The "not cool" aspect of the product itself includes syncing, recording, and clustering. In order for the iOS device to recognize the notes and chords being played, it must record through either its built-in mic or an external mic attached to it. This can lead to delay and lag between the audio input of the guitar and the video output from the iOS device. The faster the song, the more difficult it will be to account for the faults in the syncing as the user's timing will not be perfectly in-time with the notes on the screen. This may be further amplified by the fact that it can be difficult for the built-in mic to pick up all the sounds coming from the guitar, thus needing the guitar to be played relatively close to the iOS device at all times. Any sound that is not recorded will be considered a missed note and an error.
User
reviews have claimed that the notes on the screen as seem clustered at
times. This is a combination of being limited to a small screen as well
as having a continuous stream of multiple notes flying across the screen
that are challenging to individually distinguish.
There
are limitations on Rock Prodigy's functionality, one of which being
only being compatible with iOS devices. That means that a large number
of people will be unable to use the application
simply due to lack of access to an iOS device, or people will have to
spend more money to purchase a compatible device, which seems unlikely
that they would do so in order
to just be able to use Rock Prodigy. More costs are added to the use of
this application as users have to buy songs that they want to play.
Each song costs a minimum of $0.99 and there is a limited number and
variety of songs that are available for users to purchase and learn. In
other words, users cannot use Rock Prodigy to learn any song that they
would like to learn as they can only buy and download songs that have
been programmed and listed on the list available for purchase. This
problem is not aided by the fact that users cannot program their own
songs into the format that is used in Rock Prodigy, thus further
limiting the number of songs users can learn.
The implications of Rock Prodigy and its technology may be harmful additions to the accelerating transition to a technological and digital-dependent society. Learning how to play the guitar from Rock Prodigy is significantly different from the traditional way of learning how to play an instrument, using sheet music. As a result, new learners will be unable to understand the theory behind music and never gain the ability to sight-read, transcribe music, or teach themselves another instrument, all of which are possible with a true understanding of how sheet music works. The learner will become too overdependent on the application and on the iOS device that they cannot play the guitar without them, making it inconvenient and inflexible.
Nicholar Carr in The Shallows discusses this idea that we are becoming overdependent on technology and further distancing ourselves from the traditional methods. He says that technology and the internet is changing the way our minds function and that he is unable to focus when reading long-passages or articles, and instead finds himself skimming and skipping from places via hyperlinks. It is sad that we are unable to grasp a full and rich understanding of things the more we rely on technology and in terms of music, we are losing the appreciation of its beauty as an expression of art.
The implications of Rock Prodigy and its technology may be harmful additions to the accelerating transition to a technological and digital-dependent society. Learning how to play the guitar from Rock Prodigy is significantly different from the traditional way of learning how to play an instrument, using sheet music. As a result, new learners will be unable to understand the theory behind music and never gain the ability to sight-read, transcribe music, or teach themselves another instrument, all of which are possible with a true understanding of how sheet music works. The learner will become too overdependent on the application and on the iOS device that they cannot play the guitar without them, making it inconvenient and inflexible.
Nicholar Carr in The Shallows discusses this idea that we are becoming overdependent on technology and further distancing ourselves from the traditional methods. He says that technology and the internet is changing the way our minds function and that he is unable to focus when reading long-passages or articles, and instead finds himself skimming and skipping from places via hyperlinks. It is sad that we are unable to grasp a full and rich understanding of things the more we rely on technology and in terms of music, we are losing the appreciation of its beauty as an expression of art.
