Video Games Made Me a Better Musician? AKA Dexter's Dexterity

I just finished reading a fascinating book about video games called Grand Theft Childhood: The Surprising Truth about Violent Video Games and What Parents Can Do by Lawrence Kutner, PhD, and Cheryl K. Olson, ScD. Essentially it's all about the effect video games have on children, and whether or not they are a bad influence. Spoiler alert: they're not. But anyway, you should read the book if you're interested.

But a section towards the end sparked my interest in another way. It talked about how some athletic kids will play sports games, see a move on the screen, and then go practice it. The video game itself didn't teach the kids the move because doing it with your fingers and doing it with you're feet are two completely different things, but it still motivated the kid to go master it.

But you know what is extremely similar to playing video games? Playing the harp.

Hear me out.

Video games are all about finger dexterity. Whether you're using a controller or a keyboard, you have to move your fingers in very specific directions and for very specific amounts of time. I grew up playing flash platforms on the computer, moving around with WASD as well as using other buttons to sprint, attack, use items, etc. etc. It's taken me a long time to get used to using controllers, but essentially they're the same as well. You train yourself to use specific fingers for specific buttons, and eventually you don't have to think about it anymore.

The same goes with simple typing: after a while you don't have to think about the exact location of a key before you press it. I'm going to toot my own horn and say that I am a fantastic typer. I haven't speedtested myself in a while, but I average about 104 words per minute. I love typing. I love the sound of the keys and the feel of them under my fingertips, and how words just magically appear on the screen. It's awesome and satisfying (especially since I always had such bad handwriting).

Playing the harp, as well as the piano and perhaps other instruments, is also all about finger dexterity. You have to be able to move your fingers independently of each other. Your right hand is playing a melody and your left hand is playing accompanying notes that might be in a completely different pattern. I know, I know, it's not exactly the same as a video game. But it uses a lot of the same skills.

So does that mean that a pro-gamer could jump on the harp and be a master? Not necessarily. Other things are required. The same goes for gaming: just because you're good at the harp doesn't mean you'll be good at video games.

BUT.

I've got a crazy proposition for you. Video games might be a way for a child (or adult) to practice dexterity that could also be used for musical instrumentation. Maybe it wouldn't actually work, but it's a thought. An interesting concept to keep floating around the world.

All of this comes from the fact that I'm good at finger dexterity, whether it's applied to typing, video games, or harping. I have no idea if dexterity learned from one specific area could be applied to something different, but I don't think it should immediately be naysayed. Kids who think they suck at something, and yet excel in video games, shouldn't be encouraged to consider themselves failures. No, they may not be able to make a living off of video games. But a LOT of skill goes into gaming, and a LOT of that skill can be used outside of the game world.

This post is all over the place. I'm trying to be inspirational and scientific at the same time.

Do what you love and give yourself credit where you deserve it and play video games and play music and go crazy and try new things and find ways to turn what you love into something amazing and yeah that's all folks.

--Dexter

Wizard of Oz Music

So my two favorite classic children's stories are Alice In Wonderland and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. "Alice" is currently getting a lot of attention, what with the recent live action movie and tons of music inspired by the stories and movies. But "Oz" is a little quieter. It's kind of sad. So, naturally, I took it upon myself to accumulate as many "Oz" songs as possible and I discovered that there is no internet list of Oz songs. None. Nowhere. It's shameful.

I certainly don't expect to have found all the "Oz" songs in one night, but I certainly will go ahead and share these with you.

Home by Breaking Benjamin has actually been a favorite song of mine for a long time, and it was the only "Oz" inspired song I'd ever heard. It's amazing, so you should definitely look it up.

Don't Wake The Scarecrow by the Felice Brothers is pretty lame. It's pretty boring to listen to, and when you actually pay attention the lyrics you're just kind of like, "...aaaawkward..."

Return To Oz by The Scissor Sisters, on the other, is actually pretty cool. The Scissor Sisters usually have some rather strange music, but this song is a keeper.

Goodbye Yellow Brick Road by Elton John is the first Elton John song I've really liked. Go figure.

Old Yellow Bricks by Arctic Monkeys is very good. I've been an Arctic Monkeys fan for a while, and yet I'd never heard of this song, which is a shame.

Yellow Brick Road by Kris Delmhorst is very good. It's gorgeous, and ridiculously obscure.

And Your Little Dog Too by Hannah Fury was actually inspired by the book Wicked (which I don't recommend), but it goes fine with the original "Oz" and is very awesome and creepy anyway.

It Was Her House That Killed Nessarose also by Hannah Fury is just as creepy as "Little Dog", though not quite as good.

Those are all the "Oz" songs I've been able to find and listen to. A few others popped up during my search, but I could never find an actual version to listen to, so I don't know if they're real songs or not. But I'm not giving up my search!

--Persy

No Wonder We've Never Heard Of This Popular Author

She's popular for being bad. Check out this link:

http://booksandpals.blogspot.com/2011/03/greek-seaman-jacqueline-howett.html

Read at least a quarter of the comments and you'll know what I mean. I love how everyone jumped to the blogger's defense.

As a writer, I used to be terrified of all the rejections I'm sure to get when I finally try to publish my work, but I'm not anymore. This has taught me that rejections are good. Self-publishing authors don't get the experience that comes with a rejection, so I guess they're more likely to respond like Miss Howett -- childishly.

This is also why it's important to find as many different critics as possible while you're still in the writing phase, and make sure at least a few of them are blatantly honest about their thoughts. Don't give your work to your mom or your best friend who never reads. Find someone who knows what they're doing and isn't afraid to do. Find a lot of those someones.

But at least Miss Howett's given us some form of entertainment (and certainly got the blog more attention)! Maybe this fiasco will teach her a thing or two about professionalism and manners.

--Persy

I Would Totally Buy That Audiobook, And I Don't Even Like Books On Tape.

So if you know me at all, you know I'm what you'd call a "Twilight-Hater". This, however, is not true. I like Twilight. I don't like the Twilight saga. New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn are just awful. Terrible. Not fit for print. Gag. Okay, so New Moon and Eclipse weren't THAT bad, but Breaking Dawn was just the last straw. If Twilight had just ended with Bella getting vampified, things would've been fabulous, and they wouldn't have had to worry about the werewolves, the evil vampires, or the horrifying mutant baby with an equally atrocious name.

But I digress.

Anyway, I like Twilight, but I also love to hate it and like to make fun of it. Hence, my immense enjoyment of the Alex Reads Twilight videos on YouTube.

Alex Day is a British vlogger, also a musician, most well known (in my opinion) for Chameleon Circuit, his trock band (trock = rock + Doctor Who/TARDIS). Coincidentally, Chameleon Circuit just released a new album that you should go listen to as soon as you watch all of the Alex Reads Twilight Videos.

The Alex Reads Twilight videos are just what they say they are: Alex reading Twilight. He decides to read Twilight, and he makes a video for every chapter, sometimes reading directly from the book. It is awesome. Here's the link to the first video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L253VLwH3w

Once you finish that (and once you've listened to Chameleon Circuit's new album), make sure to check out his other videos, plus the ones of his friends (and Chameleon Circuit's other band members) Liam (littleradge on YouTube) and Charlie (charlieissocool on YouTube). It's good stuff.

--Persy