Are you a sitar hero?

Three weeks until Christmas Day. The year has really flown past, hasn't it? I'm afraid the rest of the year will simply be a blur, so try to enjoy the holidays and keep everything in perspective.

Easier said than done, I know.

So, have you avoided the viruses that are going around? The cold season seems to begin earlier each year, and venturing out to concerts, school programs, family gatherings and shopping exposes us to all sorts of nasty bugs.

We have begun decorating at our house and have started shopping. Looking at the paper, it looks as if electronics will be big again this year.

I used to play video games back in the day, but really haven't made an effort to keep up. Priorities change as we age, and so does our spending. Games are replaced by bill payments.

Microsoft's X-box and Nintendo's Wii systems have produced some truly unique gaming experiences. The Wii's unique controllers allow gamers to put more of their body into the games.

A couple of years ago, a game called Guitar Hero came out, allowing all air guitarists and air bassists to literally play out their fantasies using small plastic guitar controllers. I played the game at my daughter and son-in-law's home. It was an enjoyble enough experience, but I felt pretty lame strumming a little plastic guitar.

Apparently, I am in the minority, because it seems there is a proliferation of virtual musician games. Guitar Hero comes in eight different versions and has spawned numerous other games. The other games, like Rock Band, allow you to form an entire rock band, complete with drums and a microphone.

I can understand the appeal of being a rock and roll star. There are very few of us, I imagine, in our private moments who haven't played air guitar or air drums or used whatever prop was handy for a microphone to "jam" to our favorite songs. Brilliant marketing.

Recently, I saw a commercial for another music-orientated game, developed for the Wii.

Nintendo's Wii Music takes the concept even further. There are 66 instruments that you can "play" including the violin, cowbell, clarinet, harmonica, piano, guitar, trumpet, harp, bongo drums, maracas, sitar and marimba.

There's even a game where you use the Wii remote to conduct an orchestra. The player swings the Wii Remote up and down to a certain tempo. Moving the Wii Remote quickly with no real rhythm will make the Mii orchestra play frantically, while slow, more graceful movements will create dragging notes and softer, longer tones. There are no indicators of any kind to show how well the player is performing, forcing the player to try to match the original music from memory, and experiment to find which movements give better results.

You can even play handbells.

It seems that everyone is trying to find their inner musician.

This made me stop and wonder why more children aren't involved in band and orchestra. They can have the actual experience of learning the instrument, feel the pride of accomplishment and discover the magic that occurs when the individuals of a group come together as one in an ensemble.

As a kid growing up, every one of my siblings and myself played musical instruments. My parents endured hours of torture listening to us practice, whether it be my sister learning the oboe, my brother playing the french horn, or me playing the saxophone. All of these instruments can be beautiful to listen to when played by someone who knows what they are doing, but are shear agony in the hands of a beginner.

Perhaps that's why we wait to play a "virtual" instrument. No pain of squeaky reeds of screeching strings. But without going through the struggle of learning (and make no mistake it is a struggle with many quitting before high school), we can never know the joy of performance.

But perhaps it's just a sign of the times. Maybe the virtual experience will encourage some to try the actual.

As always, I welcome your comments. You can reach me by email at tstangl@lemarscomm.net, telephone 712-546-7031, x40 or toll free 1-800-728-0066 x40.

Thanks for reading, I'll keep in touch. Feel free to do the same.