Playing instruments/music and Melee

[Pigs]

In addition to learning how to play Melee at a higher level, I am also learning how to play the guitar and studying music theory. When playing instruments it generally takes some level of coordination between the hands and brain which seems to be similar to learning tech skill and other things in Melee.

So my questions to those of you who play instruments is:

Is there any correlation between learning an instrument and Melee? By doing both could it speed up the learning process?

Is an understanding of beats and other aspects music applicable to game as well?

If there is any connection between the two, how has it helped you as a Smasher?

 

[CTL17]

I personally theorized that if you had a good sense of rhythm, you had better tech skill. So when you're playing music, if you ever get nervous, you tend to rush and start playing a little faster. When doing things in a game, when you get nervous, you could be inputting commands a little faster, which for some scenarios with strict timing, you will mess them up more often.

Maybe.

 

[Pigs]

Interesting theory, seems plausible.

When watching different people play the same characters, it seems to me that there is sometimes a notable difference in their play style which could be considered rhythm I guess. I suppose you could say that people who switch between aggressive and defensive play in matches are changing their rhythm.

 

[Wizzrobe]

I have actually thought about this as well. But I don't think playing an instrument makes much of a major difference on your Melee playstyle though.

 

[Pigs]

If not play style, what about tech skill?

 

[Phoenix~Lament]

Maybe slightly in the beginning but a person who has their tech skill down has it down regardless of any musical experience.

 

[Rockenos]

Wobbling IS an instrument

 

[CTL17]

It's not musical ability that has an impact, it's the ability to keep a beat and keep a consistent rhythm.

 

[Geenareeno]

Is there any correlation between learning an instrument and Melee? By doing both could it speed up the learning process?

Is an understanding of beats and other aspects music applicable to game as well?

If there is any connection between the two, how has it helped you as a Smasher?

As someone who playsd multiple instruments and recently learned how to play the upright bass (lots of hand-mind co-ordination and muscle memory) at a decent level of proficiency:

Doubt it.

Highly doubt it.

I don't think it has helped me, but if it has, maybe I just don't know.

 

[Nintendude]

I play piano, saxophone, flute, and trumpet and I strongly believe that learning to play an instrument and learning techniques in Melee are very similar. Consider the advice always given to pianists trying to learn a new piece - practice slowly and gradually increase the tempo, never playing a tempo at which you cannot play the piece perfectly. The reason for this advice is that if you practice with mistakes, you are learning bad habits that can be hard to undo later. This goes hand-in-hand with technique. There is good piano technique and bad piano technique. You may be able to play the same technical passages with either good or bad technique, but in the long run, a player with good technique will not only be more capable and precise, but also suffer from less fatigue and muscle strain.

I believe that this principle ties directly into Smash. Some people get aching hands when playing for awhile and some do not, but why is this the case? It likely has to do with the fact that the player with aching hands has subtle nuances in the way they execute techniques that cause their hands to fatigue more quickly. These subtle nuances can also partially explain why some players differ greatly in tech skill even though they may practice just as often, if not more. I bet there are some techniques where one method of input is strictly superior to another, but people fail to realize that or are unable to re-learn a new way of executing a particular technique.

 

[The Star King]

I think they're similar, but I don't think that means playing an instrument will make you better than Melee. Like, I find a lot of similarities in Tenns, like how skills can be divided into "tech skill" (technique) and the mental game (reading your opponent, adapting). But that doesn't mean Tennis will make you better at Melee.

 

[Deadandlivin]

I'm playing guitar, I don't think it helps too much really since playing games is more about learning how to input button presses at random or as an reaction while in music you have a pattern or scale which you follow.

If you're good at playing rythmic music like progg, core or djent(hate that word) it will seriously eaze up your ability to learn by a massive margin though.

 

[Jeapie]

Is there any correlation between learning an instrument and Melee? By doing both could it speed up the learning process?

Hell yes!

To me it helped for creativity and tech skill

 

[InterimOfZeal]

In addition to learning how to play Melee at a higher level, I am also learning how to play the guitar and studying music theory. When playing instruments it generally takes some level of coordination between the hands and brain which seems to be similar to learning tech skill and other things in Melee.

So my questions to those of you who play instruments is:

Is there any correlation between learning an instrument and Melee? By doing both could it speed up the learning process?

Is an understanding of beats and other aspects music applicable to game as well?

If there is any connection between the two, how has it helped you as a Smasher?

No. No.

Yes.

Pretty much, if you want to be good at Melee techskill, you gotta practice Melee techs. Your fingers WILL become more coordinated if you practice guitar, but they'll still be stupid when it comes time to really buckle down for Melee. Any "gains" are strictly mental.

However, understanding rhythm and pacing, and how to force your opponent to play "off beat", or how to throw off their groove is probably the single most unspoken skill in fighters. If you know how your opponent paces themselves, it's much easier to guess what they're doing. If you're able to force them to play at your speed, then most players will feel awkward, as if their character is moving "clunky". This makes them focus on themselves, rather than you, and makes it much easier to predict how they will respond to certain situations. If you keep it going long enough, some people will experience anxiety/a claustrophobia of sorts, and they tend to make errors they would normally never make.

Soyeah, practice Melee for Melee. Use music to understand how you can change the tempo of a fight, and apply it to your gameplan asap.

 

[Pritch]

Professional jazz saxophonist talking here (and piano player).

I don't really feel like the actual skills I've gained as a musician have particularly helped my melee abilities. I mean, yeah, you move your fingers fast and in a coordinated manner. But it's not like any of the physical motions translate over to help with muscle memory and there's literally no contextual similarities (which would help build associations of "when x happens my finger twitches like y" - sort of muscle memory but not really).

The thing that does help tremendously though is the practice techniques I've picked up from learning to play music - stuff related to repetition and breaking what you're trying to learn down into managable chunks, things of that nature. In that sense my experience with music has helped me out, but that's about it really.

 

[Blu]

I couldn't agree more with Nintendude. Having played piano for over ten years (to the point where I was performing at state competitions here in FL), I'd be an idiot if I wasn't able to discern the similarities between Melee's coordination and the coordination necessary to play an instrument fluently. There are so many ridiculously slight variations in technique that, while the normal listener may not understand, make a world of difference to professionals trained to pick up the different sounds they create.

Just as an example, when I was around twelve years old I switched piano teachers. This guy was supposed to be amazing; he had several doctorates in music theory, performance, among other things. The very first day I played for him, he pointed out probably fifteen mistakes in my posture alone... things detrimental to long-term health if I was to be playing anything lasting longer than ten minutes on a regular basis. My biggest problem out of those things he picked up on was the unnecessary tension found all along and up my arms. At first I ignored this piece of advice particularly, since it was something I told him I was comfortable with and allowed my hands greater control (I was very mistaken about the last bit); it was difficult to spot anyway, as the tension came and went depending upon the piece I was playing. However, once he started pushing my limits, I realized how quickly I was getting fatigued. It only got worse as I was forced to practice daily just to stay on top of things. He was purposefully doing this to teach me just how harsh the little nuances can be to your overall level of performance.

Learning an instrument also teaches you about pace and how to learn things associated with muscle coordination in shorter lengths of time.

Your controller is your instrument. Play it well, or risk walling off improvement, or even worse, hurting your body.

 

[Pigs]

Learning an instrument also teaches you about pace and how to learn things associated with muscle coordination.

I agree. I've noticed that by learning the basics of guitar through repetition and building muscle coordination it has generally helped me with being able to think clearly about what I need to do to get certain things down in Melee.

Thank you everyone for your insightful comments.

 

[Mr. Happy :)]

I'm not exactly great at Smash in the first place; but since I picked up music seriously 9 years ago, my gaming in general has improved noticeably. Mainly in left handed finger speed and accuracy. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not.

Had I known about competitive melee 9 years ago, I may have been at this level regardless.

 

[Jockmaster]

I play drums and I can see how rhythm can play a big part in Melee, though I think it mostly comes down to learning tech skill more quickly and efficiently.
Like when me and my friends started to learn wavedashing, I was able to pick it up much quicker than them. Looking back, the technique foe WDing is a lot like many drum techniques, ones that involve a timing that cannot be too fast or slow and that must be done precisely many times in sequence to gain the proper effect.

 

[Grim Tuesday]

I got a sense of rhythm from playing drums and I think it helped a lot with Melee.

Especially the Ice Climber's chain grabs.

 

[Life]

^Exactly what I was thinking.

Aspiring music major here, in HS, came back from PA's state music festival (my third and final as a high schooler--by the way, it started on the same day this thread was posted, must have been why I missed it) and missed first chair horn at the entire event by just a couple points. So you have an idea where I'm sitting musically. (I also happen to be a very crappy piano player, LOL)

I struggled with ICs chaingrab for a while, but once I got the first two regrabs down, doing the whole thing zero-to-KO came pretty darn quickly (and now, if I wanted to learn ICs for real, it would be a matter of consistency, getting it on certain characters like Snake that are painful for some reason, and learning to actually get a grab in the first place).

Music really helps you get rhythms down. Not just yours, but your opponent's. On a generic level, studies also show that it's good for your brain, so there's that. And at least for me, music is a huge source of self-confidence, which is always a good thing (just don't be arrogant, haha).