wii music

Almost as heartwarming as the story about the senior citizens enjoying the Wii at retirement communities, Nintendo has just announced that it is partnering with The National Association for Music Education to bring Wii Music into the classroom.

Spanning across 51 cities, Nintendo will have music teachers use the game to help children get enthused about music and teach them about song structure, rhythm, and tempo.

I think as long as Wii Music is used in a manner that complements music lessons, then I'm all for it, but used solely on its own, not so much. That's like giving a class a Wii Fit to play with and calling it gym class.

After being given the chance to be a music-making kitty cat in Wii Music for the Wii, my first impressions of the game were pretty positive. But as much as strumming, stroking, and striking my Wiimote and Nunchuck to simulate instrumental music can be, I wasn't overly thrilled about the lack of competitive edge. I'm all about fun games without competition, but similar to the rest of you, it's rewarding when you get points (even if it is for getting a few keys correct). I just happened to catch this Wii Music commercial on TV last night and I couldn't help but have one of those moments where I thought — maybe it isn't so bad after all. What do you think? Did the commercial make you more interested in the game?

After I got my party on with Raving Rabbids and had my fill with the Personal Trainer Chef Edition, it was time to rock out with the Wii!

Wii Music (coming out Oct. 20), is Nintendo's answer to Rock Band, but is only similar to it in the sense that you're standing-up and interactively making music. Elements of competition are removed, and replaced with the ability and encouragement to play songs any way you want.

Using the Wiimote and Nunchuk controls, you can choose among a ton of instruments like piano, violin, guitar and the cat and dog (you read that correctly), and then play with your friends to make stylized versions of classic songs. The music is a bit more midi-sounding than Rock Band or Guitar Hero, the avatars just Miis, and all the songs super family-friendly, which makes Wii Music a really great option if you want to expose kids to a music game, but aren't that comfortable with the graphics and songs that the other games provide.

Check out the video to see it in action and hear what "Material Girl" would have sounded like if Madonna were a kitteh cat!