Is Rock Band appropriate for a 6yr old?

[bradskin]

My 6yr old son (going on 7) is an avid gamer. He is incredibly talented in playing ps2 and gamecube. I like sports and music. Rock Band would fulfill both his interest in video games and my interest in music. But, before I spend $170, i'd like to know if it's an appropriate game for a 6yr old since it is rated teen. He plays teen games that his mother and I have to approve. Also, do you think the game is too complex for a 6yr old?

Your opinions and advice are greatly appreciated

[GHudston]

My 6yr old son (going on 7) is an avid gamer. He is incredibly talented in playing ps2 and gamecube. I like sports and music. Rock Band would fulfill both his interest in video games and my interest in music. But, before I spend $170, i'd like to know if it's an appropriate game for a 6yr old since it is rated teen. He plays teen games that his mother and I have to approve. Also, do you think the game is too complex for a 6yr old?

Your opinions and advice are greatly appreciated

I wouldn't imagine that the game is too complex for a 7 year old, the only thing that you or his mother might want to consider is the song list. I personally wouldn't think twice that this would be a problem but opinions differ as to what sort of lyrical content is appropriate for a child, it's worth looking into the song list to see what you think about that. I believe any swearing has been removed, though.

Other than that, I don't think that there is anything else to worry about.

[Jixzer]

I think it would be okay. I guess some of the lyrics can be mildly suggestive, but overall it's not bad. It's certainly better than buying him Assassin's Creed or something. If it helps, I let my 3 year old son beat on the drums on practice mode. Overall, I think you would be okay getting it for him.

[SoulScreme]

Some of the songs would be inappropriate in an uncensored form. My only concern would be that he might wants to listen to some of the songs outside of the game and they would be inappropriate.

[bradskin]

thank alot!

[OpTiOnMaStA]

I don't even understand why this game is rated Teen to begin with. I don't remember any curse words in the songs and I have played through them all.

People are oversensitive. I think it would be fine.

[Hanover]

Vagiant's song is DEFINITELY uncensored (I believe I'm hearing the word that rhymes with duck in that song).

[SoulScreme]

Vagiant's song is DEFINITELY uncensored (I believe I'm hearing the word that rhymes with duck in that song).

I thought the same thing, but the ESRB wouldn't allow that.

[Comedian]

I don't even understand why this game is rated Teen to begin with. I don't remember any curse words in the songs and I have played through them all.

People are oversensitive. I think it would be fine.

I believe the Teen rating on the game says something about suggestive lyrics. Maybe it's that part of Gimme Shelter where the vocalist is yelling out "Rape! Murder!" over and over again. I never actually knew that was the lyric until I played it in the game. lol

Game companies are held to much stricter standards than movies or music, so lots of stuff that is just fine on the radio still gets edited out of the game. Anyone hear that silence at the beginning of the second verse of Rock You Like A Hurricane in Guitar Hero 3? Man, that annoys me.

[WildBillKickoff]

I have a 4 year old, and I would say that Rock Band is probably only appropriate if you play the game with him. Some songs have lyrics that are completely inappropriate for a child, while some songs are just good clean fun.

Some of the outfits are certainly inappropriate for my son, but nothing worse than what you'd see on Halloween. Other than some very awkward questions about lyrics, I don't see a major problem, so avoid the songs you feel inappropriate and you should be A-OK.

[killroy420]

This game is absolutely perfect for kids! A few songs have suggestive lyrics, or may be too complex (rythmically) for the youngsters. but those are easily avoided. just pick songs you are familiar with.

As for ability to play, that will depend on your six year old. i think this game is an excellent tutor to the basics of rythms. Especially the drums. I have a two year old who is always trying to bang away on the drums. she loves it, even though she has no clue what she is doing. :) I say give it a shot even if it takes a while to learn, this game has the legs to continue spinning in your console for years to come.

[Electric_Zen]

From a difficulty standpoint, I don't think there's any problem here. My son is no music prodigy, and he has a blast with guitar, drums, and vocals at the Easy level.

From a content standpoint, you'll need to make your own decisions here. These are Rock 'n' Roll songs, not The Wiggles. My son reads and sings, "Nature is a whore" in In Bloom (he has no idea what a whore is). I would not allow him to play "Welcome Home"; I find the lyrics sophomoric and gratuitous.

My recommendation is to familiarize yourself with the content of the songs, so you can decide ahead of time what you are comfortable with.

[espher]

People have addressed most of the issues. The only other thing I want to stress is that he should not play Band World Tour if he has low self confidence or is not a fast learner. It seems the game mode is broken for people under those circumstances.

[Electric_Zen]

The only other thing I want to stress is that he should not play Band World Tour if he has low self confidence or is not a fast learner.

Interesting, my son loves BWT. If you are trying to plow your way to the Hall of Fame, I agree it's probably not best for youngsters. But we just play it very casually, and love it. (Look, we won a van! Look, we won a bus! Look at the cities! :) )

[Edgehopper]

Even outside of the curse words, some of the songs have themes you might find inappropriate for a 6 year old (alcohol, war, rape, violence, suicide, etc.) If you're the sort of parent who wants to police those things, then I'd make sure he's not allowed to play alone, and restrict the song choice to the extent possible (though with the random songs, that's often not possible.) The words "*****" and "whore aren't censored as a general rule, but anything worse probably is.

So the basic question is: Are you comfortable with your 6-year-old singing:
Say It Ain't So? ("Somebody's Heinie is crowding my icebox/somebody's cold one is giving me chills")
Gimme Shelter ("Rape, murder, it's just a shot away")
In Bloom ("Nature is a whore")
Moonage Daydream ("I'll be a rock 'n rollin' ***** for you") (though this one's DLC, so you don't have to download it)
Run to the Hills ("Raping the women and wasting the men/the only good Injuns are tame")

On a first pass, those are the only songs I can think of that would bother me for a 6-year-old, but there may be others.

ETA: That being said, it's a lot more fun way to introduce a kid to music than a scary Eastern European piano teacher, and a better basic music teaching device (rhythms in drumming, pitch in singing) than most of those silly "I Can Play Guitar" products out there for kids. If I were teaching music to older elementary or middle school students, I would find a way to include it in my curriculum.

[blue_dragonzero]

This game is absolutely perfect for kids! A few songs have suggestive lyrics, or may be too complex (rythmically) for the youngsters. but those are easily avoided. just pick songs you are familiar with.

As for ability to play, that will depend on your six year old. i think this game is an excellent tutor to the basics of rythms. Especially the drums. I have a two year old who is always trying to bang away on the drums. she loves it, even though she has no clue what she is doing. :) I say give it a shot even if it takes a while to learn, this game has the legs to continue spinning in your console for years to come.

Killroy was here!

But yeah you should be okay. If you're really worried, don't let the kid do vocals. That should solve everything.

[espher]

Interesting, my son loves BWT. If you are trying to plow your way to the Hall of Fame, I agree it's probably not best for youngsters. But we just play it very casually, and love it. (Look, we won a van! Look, we won a bus! Look at the cities! :) )

Well, my guess is he probably has good self esteem.

I mean, I'm just giving that warning because even adults seem to be suffering from emotional disorders as a result of seeing "you gain 0 fans", but if your kid can take that sort of traumatic event, more power to him, because it's a kickass mode.

[blue_dragonzero]

Well, my guess is he probably has good self esteem.

I mean, I'm just giving that warning because even adults seem to be suffering from emotional disorders as a result of seeing "you gain 0 fans", but if your kid can take that sort of traumatic event, more power to him, because it's a kickass mode.

But I wants to wins the fans! I's not goin' to play this game no more!

[killroy420]

Killroy was here!


lol blue_dragon, someone knows there history ;)

Bradskin, you should d/l My Sharona, that song is great and has lighthearted lyrics ^_^ Also maybe Timmy and the Lords of The Underworld....I don't see any problems with sputtering gibberish :D. so yeah, sidestepping songs with questionable lyrics should be fairly easy. Even if "Moonage Daydream" by David Bowie has questionable lyrics, his other songs (as far as I am aware) do not.

[MaxMeanie]

My daughter is 6 and she loves Rock Band. She immediately gravitated toward the drums but gave up after getting booted out of a couple of songs pretty quickly. And so she is the lead singer in our little father daughter band 'Mind Riot'.

She can pass through most stuff on medium but there are a few songs that kick her butt like "Here it Goes" and "Dani California". It has actually helped my daughter to start to understand patience. Something a 6 year old has absolutely none of. When we first started and she failed a song she would get very frustrated. She is beginning to understand that if you want to get better at something you must practice.

There is no cursing but might be some lyrics which are to suggestive for you and your wifes taste. It depends on what you feel is appropriate. I want my kids exposed to Rock n Roll and will rarely censor stuff from their ears unless it's just absurd like some Tenacious D(see Hard F***ing). Better for her to get interested in Rock now than to have someone else get her into Hip Hop/boyband/country music later.

[Bakkster]

I have a 4 year old, and I would say that Rock Band is probably only appropriate if you play the game with him. Some songs have lyrics that are completely inappropriate for a child, while some songs are just good clean fun.


But yeah you should be okay. If you're really worried, don't let the kid do vocals. That should solve everything.

Ditto. Gameplay is great for kids, especially if they have an interest in music. It's a great way to teach rhythm and other musical principals before they take the dive into a full instrument.

And the songs are, of course, the only thing you would need to make a decision on.

[blue_dragonzero]

lol blue_dragon, someone knows there history ;)

Bradskin, you should d/l My Sharona, that song is great and has lighthearted lyrics ^_^ Also maybe Timmy and the Lords of The Underworld....I don't see any problems with sputtering gibberish :D. so yeah, sidestepping songs with questionable lyrics should be fairly easy. Even if "Moonage Daydream" by David Bowie has questionable lyrics, his other songs (as far as I am aware) do not.

Except for the fact that one of the other songs is named "Queen *****". Heroes is fine though.

[jugster]

My son is 5 almost 6 (Dec bday) and he has been playing since Guitar Hero I.

I have the belief that if they are worried about the notes on the screen they aren't thinking about the words or the nature of those words.
With RB my son is NOT allowed to sing (he can't read most of the words anyway) but he plays a mean drum and guitar.
He plays on Medium on both the drums and the guitar pretty well. My kids (11 boy, 10, girl and 5 boy) created a band in BWT and they all normally play on medium and I have most problems with my daughter singing than my two boys playing the drums and guitar. She sees the words and has to comprehind and sing those words. In Bloom is a touchy subject cause I don't want my 10 girl singing "Nature is a whore".

Every parent has to police their kids to their morals. Just because I don't have a problem with some of these songs doesn't mean you won't have a problem.
When it comes to playing the songs. A 6 year old should be able to have fun with the game and can probably complete quite a number of songs at least on easy.

[massconfuzion]

My seven year old son loves this game and Guitar Hero. I think it's an awesome way to bond with your kids and get them into real music, not like most of the garbage being played on the radio. It puts a smile on my face when my kids want me to download old tunes by Nirvana and Foo Fighters and even older songs by Motley Crue and Thin Lizzy! I believe music has an influence on ones life and this only adds to the experience! I wish something like this was around when i was young, maybe I would have followed my dreams of being a rockstar when I was playing my air guitar at my sons age if somnething like this was around to make me feel like a real rock star!

[Conner Malvecino]

I think the only concern you'd have is the lyrical content. I myself have a six-year old too and the only thing he really practices on are the drum and guitar tutorials...I think it's strictly because he's been booed off the stage too many times ;)