A Noob's Guide to Using the Rock Band 3 Keyboard as a MIDI Instrument

One of the key selling points for me on the Rock Band 3 keyboard was the fact that it could also be used as a MIDI device (read: real instrument). For 80 euros ($105, yeah they like to overcharge us on stuff in Europe because they give us the US price and tack the euro symbol on it), I got not only a game controller, but something potentially more. This functionality was touted by Harmonix and game reviewer alike.

The keyboard has even been reviewed as a MIDI instrument and has been given good ratings. Articles such as this one: Hands-on: Rock Band 3′s Keytar, a Surprisingly Serious $80 MIDI Keyboard go into more specific details about the specs of the keyboard itself (a good read and a good place to find some needed information if you dig), but all these articles lack something.. something really important that the average music noob like me doesn't know or understand. I guess I falsely got the impression that the MIDI option for the keyboard was a great thing for beginners, boy was I wrong. That's where this blog comes in.

Thanks for the Birthday Wishes & Videos!

You know the Rhythm Gaming community gets a lot of crap recently about how they are "ruining the game" or "take everything too seriously" etc. Honestly it really depends on what part of the "community" you are looking at. If you focus on the noisy troll-y bunch, or the "in your face" ones, this might often be the case, but it's not true about everyone.

The community is awesome and there are lots of good people and players who belong to it. We think about each other, speak often on via twitter, various forums and other social networks. The reputation is ill-deserved.

Anyway, my 26th birthday was on December 8th last week (I'm old D:)... I was really surprised and touched by the amount of birthday wishes I received not only from the Rhythm Gaming community, but by the gaming community in general.