Guild Wars 2

I play a round of 6 songs every day. Even after I get the AP’s for it, I will probably keep playing. It’s nice to get into a friendly competition with other players trying to “win” that game. XD

this is my favorite mini-game ever in gw2. all the other PvP games? are pretty meh to me. (hard CC much, everyone?)

and i can say that i really only play this game for the pure fun of it. : )))

one small gripe i have is that when you play a few notes in quick succession, the character still only “rings the bell” once. and that throws me off. but, no biggie.

I am musically inept so i can only get the notes by seeing the dots. The musically inclined people should have no problem playing the song without actually paying much attention to the dots which i think is how some people is able to get perfect scores on the songs.

It did turn out to be more fun for me than it probably should be… couldn’t figure out how to get the timing right at first, basically because you can’t just try to match the beat unless the other two people are dead on as well – and you have to compensate for lag anyway. After getting a feel for it it’s fairly easy to complete, but still really hard to get perfect scores – especially track 5 (because it’s comparatively quite fast). Latency jitter/lag bursts hit this minigame pretty hard though – thankfully scoring 600 doesn’t do anything anyway.

What could make it even better though:

• Enter in teams of three (through the party system) if you want to make sure you’re all in the same instance – presumably it should group you at the same stage if you do that
• A second “game type” where the songs are longer – e.g. playing through the whole thing rather than just a 50-note clip. Because the number of notes are probably different for each third, you’d be scored by your entire team’s performance. Number of correct notes would actually matter and improve the reward your team gets, although I don’t think your performance relative to other teams should matter.
• Break out free play into its own “game type” – most people just wait for the time to expire currently. I get that some people might use it just to experiment or have a little fun, which is OK, but I don’t think it should be part of the main sequence.

I love the bell choir game just as it is!

It’s addictive, social, fun and presents, presents, presents!

(And I got an unbreakable bell this year!)

Happy Wintersday!

I actually enjoy the minigame. But it’s true no talent for music is needed to get it right, which I don’t care about though.

What does annoy me is waiting too long between the songs and the “masterpiece”.

Anyway it should be left the way it is. A relaxing game with low competition

I remember last year trying to get the highest score for an achievement (I don’t know if it was for the meta or a daily). That took the fun out of it.

Ceallach.8740:

^ how do you even play the game normally, then of your keyboard is such a problem ?

One can change the keymapping of skills you know. I don’t use 6 whilst playing this game either. :P

Manijin.3428:

Darkobra.6439:

Manijin.3428:

They give you the tempo before the piece begins. That’s more than lots of musicians post-high school get. We don’t need a metronome to keep the beat for us. If it was implemented to help those without any musical training or background, sure, I could see that, but those are the players who will likely switch the sounds off and rely primarily on hand-eye coordination to finish the game.

Can I ask what you’re doing that you don’t even get counted in by a conductor? I mean I’m a professional musician myself and I’ve never once had the scenario you’re saying happens.

And just so we’re clear, I consider professional to mean I’m able to live off the funds from music alone. Being good at an instrument in your room, you could be the best in the world and make nothing from it. You’re still lacking real world experience when it comes to a professional setting, organising salaries, protecting your legal rights.

Actually, I’m a professional musician as well :P It’s cool to meet others. It probably has a lot to do with conducting style, then. I’ve worked with a lot of conductors who expect your knowledge of the piece to be such that you don’t need a count in, except for maybe during the first few rehearsals to get a feel for it. However, YMMV, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Different conductors do it different ways, as I’m sure you’re aware of :P.

@jokke: Have you ever played or been a part of a small ensemble without percussion? String Quartets and Piano Trio’s come to mind (yes, the piano is a percussion instrument, but he doesn’t exist to keep the beat for the ensemble :P), but I’ve also had instances where choral directors, for whatever reason, have decided to allow the chorus to dictate their own tempo as a group for stylistic reasons. In such instances, occasionally a single person will be decided as the “leader”, but typically (in my own experience, at least) the ensemble is expected to perform as a single unit, using their knowledge of period style, tempi, and various musical markings to dictate when the music should be played, and how quickly. Should certain parts fall to artistic license in regards to the tempo (as can be the case, more often than not in music from the 1800’s through the modern day in small ensembles), then it is usually only given to one part, which would be the part to follow.

However, in a video game without the ability to give artistic license due to a scoring system, this seems largely irrelevant.

I only have one remark: I was always taught piano was a string instrument?

Zomaarwat.3912:

Manijin.3428:

Darkobra.6439:

Manijin.3428:

They give you the tempo before the piece begins. That’s more than lots of musicians post-high school get. We don’t need a metronome to keep the beat for us. If it was implemented to help those without any musical training or background, sure, I could see that, but those are the players who will likely switch the sounds off and rely primarily on hand-eye coordination to finish the game.

Can I ask what you’re doing that you don’t even get counted in by a conductor? I mean I’m a professional musician myself and I’ve never once had the scenario you’re saying happens.

And just so we’re clear, I consider professional to mean I’m able to live off the funds from music alone. Being good at an instrument in your room, you could be the best in the world and make nothing from it. You’re still lacking real world experience when it comes to a professional setting, organising salaries, protecting your legal rights.

Actually, I’m a professional musician as well :P It’s cool to meet others. It probably has a lot to do with conducting style, then. I’ve worked with a lot of conductors who expect your knowledge of the piece to be such that you don’t need a count in, except for maybe during the first few rehearsals to get a feel for it. However, YMMV, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Different conductors do it different ways, as I’m sure you’re aware of :P.

@jokke: Have you ever played or been a part of a small ensemble without percussion? String Quartets and Piano Trio’s come to mind (yes, the piano is a percussion instrument, but he doesn’t exist to keep the beat for the ensemble :P), but I’ve also had instances where choral directors, for whatever reason, have decided to allow the chorus to dictate their own tempo as a group for stylistic reasons. In such instances, occasionally a single person will be decided as the “leader”, but typically (in my own experience, at least) the ensemble is expected to perform as a single unit, using their knowledge of period style, tempi, and various musical markings to dictate when the music should be played, and how quickly. Should certain parts fall to artistic license in regards to the tempo (as can be the case, more often than not in music from the 1800’s through the modern day in small ensembles), then it is usually only given to one part, which would be the part to follow.

However, in a video game without the ability to give artistic license due to a scoring system, this seems largely irrelevant.

I only have one remark: I was always taught piano was a string instrument?

A statement I hear a lot, as well. Actually, the typing of instruments is given based on how the sound is produced: In string instruments, the string is bowed to produce a steady sound, and in percussion the sound-producing material is struck, most commonly a skin of synthetic material or leather. In a piano, the keys are connected to small, felt mallets which strike the strings inside it when the keys are pressed, thus making the piano, technically, a percussion instrument, albeit a more melodically oriented one than we are normally accustomed to.

There have, however, been recent attempts (relatively successful ones, I might add), to create keyboard string instruments, such as the Wheelharp (http://avoision.com/2013/04/25/the-wheelharp-keyboard-instrument-that-lets-you-play-up-to-61-strings.php).

Manijin.3428:

Zomaarwat.3912:

Manijin.3428:

Darkobra.6439:

Manijin.3428:

They give you the tempo before the piece begins. That’s more than lots of musicians post-high school get. We don’t need a metronome to keep the beat for us. If it was implemented to help those without any musical training or background, sure, I could see that, but those are the players who will likely switch the sounds off and rely primarily on hand-eye coordination to finish the game.

Can I ask what you’re doing that you don’t even get counted in by a conductor? I mean I’m a professional musician myself and I’ve never once had the scenario you’re saying happens.

And just so we’re clear, I consider professional to mean I’m able to live off the funds from music alone. Being good at an instrument in your room, you could be the best in the world and make nothing from it. You’re still lacking real world experience when it comes to a professional setting, organising salaries, protecting your legal rights.

Actually, I’m a professional musician as well :P It’s cool to meet others. It probably has a lot to do with conducting style, then. I’ve worked with a lot of conductors who expect your knowledge of the piece to be such that you don’t need a count in, except for maybe during the first few rehearsals to get a feel for it. However, YMMV, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Different conductors do it different ways, as I’m sure you’re aware of :P.

@jokke: Have you ever played or been a part of a small ensemble without percussion? String Quartets and Piano Trio’s come to mind (yes, the piano is a percussion instrument, but he doesn’t exist to keep the beat for the ensemble :P), but I’ve also had instances where choral directors, for whatever reason, have decided to allow the chorus to dictate their own tempo as a group for stylistic reasons. In such instances, occasionally a single person will be decided as the “leader”, but typically (in my own experience, at least) the ensemble is expected to perform as a single unit, using their knowledge of period style, tempi, and various musical markings to dictate when the music should be played, and how quickly. Should certain parts fall to artistic license in regards to the tempo (as can be the case, more often than not in music from the 1800’s through the modern day in small ensembles), then it is usually only given to one part, which would be the part to follow.

However, in a video game without the ability to give artistic license due to a scoring system, this seems largely irrelevant.

I only have one remark: I was always taught piano was a string instrument?

A statement I hear a lot, as well. Actually, the typing of instruments is given based on how the sound is produced: In string instruments, the string is bowed to produce a steady sound, and in percussion the sound-producing material is struck, most commonly a skin of synthetic material or leather. In a piano, the keys are connected to small, felt mallets which strike the strings inside it when the keys are pressed, thus making the piano, technically, a percussion instrument, albeit a more melodically oriented one than we are normally accustomed to.

There have, however, been recent attempts (relatively successful ones, I might add), to create keyboard string instruments, such as the Wheelharp (http://avoision.com/2013/04/25/the-wheelharp-keyboard-instrument-that-lets-you-play-up-to-61-strings.php).

A string instrument doesn’t have to be bowed. A guitar is a string instrument, for instance.

And a piano is both a string instrument and a percussion instrument.

MoshiMoshi.9582:

Manijin.3428:

Zomaarwat.3912:

Manijin.3428:

Darkobra.6439:

Manijin.3428:

They give you the tempo before the piece begins. That’s more than lots of musicians post-high school get. We don’t need a metronome to keep the beat for us. If it was implemented to help those without any musical training or background, sure, I could see that, but those are the players who will likely switch the sounds off and rely primarily on hand-eye coordination to finish the game.

Can I ask what you’re doing that you don’t even get counted in by a conductor? I mean I’m a professional musician myself and I’ve never once had the scenario you’re saying happens.

And just so we’re clear, I consider professional to mean I’m able to live off the funds from music alone. Being good at an instrument in your room, you could be the best in the world and make nothing from it. You’re still lacking real world experience when it comes to a professional setting, organising salaries, protecting your legal rights.

Actually, I’m a professional musician as well :P It’s cool to meet others. It probably has a lot to do with conducting style, then. I’ve worked with a lot of conductors who expect your knowledge of the piece to be such that you don’t need a count in, except for maybe during the first few rehearsals to get a feel for it. However, YMMV, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Different conductors do it different ways, as I’m sure you’re aware of :P.

@jokke: Have you ever played or been a part of a small ensemble without percussion? String Quartets and Piano Trio’s come to mind (yes, the piano is a percussion instrument, but he doesn’t exist to keep the beat for the ensemble :P), but I’ve also had instances where choral directors, for whatever reason, have decided to allow the chorus to dictate their own tempo as a group for stylistic reasons. In such instances, occasionally a single person will be decided as the “leader”, but typically (in my own experience, at least) the ensemble is expected to perform as a single unit, using their knowledge of period style, tempi, and various musical markings to dictate when the music should be played, and how quickly. Should certain parts fall to artistic license in regards to the tempo (as can be the case, more often than not in music from the 1800’s through the modern day in small ensembles), then it is usually only given to one part, which would be the part to follow.

However, in a video game without the ability to give artistic license due to a scoring system, this seems largely irrelevant.

I only have one remark: I was always taught piano was a string instrument?

A statement I hear a lot, as well. Actually, the typing of instruments is given based on how the sound is produced: In string instruments, the string is bowed to produce a steady sound, and in percussion the sound-producing material is struck, most commonly a skin of synthetic material or leather. In a piano, the keys are connected to small, felt mallets which strike the strings inside it when the keys are pressed, thus making the piano, technically, a percussion instrument, albeit a more melodically oriented one than we are normally accustomed to.

There have, however, been recent attempts (relatively successful ones, I might add), to create keyboard string instruments, such as the Wheelharp (http://avoision.com/2013/04/25/the-wheelharp-keyboard-instrument-that-lets-you-play-up-to-61-strings.php).

A string instrument doesn’t have to be bowed. A guitar is a string instrument, for instance.

And a piano is both a string instrument and a percussion instrument.

Well, yes, but it is more widely regarded as a percussion instrument than a string because the way that it is played is more consistent with the means by which percussion instruments are played.

I’ve been keeping my eye on this thread since is started but wanted to reserve my comments until I had played the minigame for a while.

As a musician and music instructor, I love this game. I agree that it’s not easy to adjust real-world musicianship to the skills needed to play this game well. I do wish it was truly the “rhythm-based activity” that’s described in the patch notes from 12/10 and not a visual response activity (although this is proving to be a lot of fun, too).

For me, I don’t see a way to make this game a musician’s experience until you circumvent the lag problem. I don’t know about you, but the response time between my keyboard input and the sound I trigger is super late. As a musician, this totally drives me nuts! Hence the need to turn off my ears (or the speakers) and focus on the visuals.

That said, I still love the game and enjoy learning to get better at it. But to say that it is at all related to the kind of internal timing a good musician needs to match beats is a bit of a stretch as long as there’s input lag. Bell Choir = cool. :-)

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: hands down my favorite mini game. I also have the flute, and am just generally really supportive of expanding the musical element of the game. Isn’t working together with others to create a complete song one of the ultimate forms of coop play? If we could get some form of this year round, with expanded in-universe songs, I would die of happiness. It’s cool to hand people instruments, it’s even cooler to show them how to play them.

I wonder if they could make a bard-type class out of these gameplay elements, or if that would be too nightmareish to figure out. I’ll keep dreaming Thanks for the instruments, ANet.