Wii Music – Hands On

Stopping by the Nintendo booth, I got a couple of song in with Wii Music. The game is just as it looks – you shake the controllers for mallet instruments, strum or bow using the Wii Remote for string instruments, or press the 1 and 2 buttons for wind instruments. The game doesn’t require extreme precision, and doesn’t feature a mode at the moment to present a greater challenge for fans of existing rhythm games.

That said, the game does seem like it will have that pick-up-and-play appeal. You can literally play notes at any time and use rhythms as complex as you want, and the game will pick the actual sounded notes for you so that it sounds in harmony with the piece.

In band mode, you begin by selecting which instrument you want to play and functional part (melody, harmony, bass, percussion) you want to cover. You then pick your song, which was limited to five songs for the demo. I’m told they’re still in the process of selecting songs, ranging from Nintendo game themes, to modern pop, to classic symphonies.

While playing marimba for the Super Mario Bros. theme, you use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk as single mallets, and can play notes at the same time. I assume the same scheme is used for using the drum set in the band setting. The shared control schemes goes for woodwinds as well. While playing tuba in Dvorak’s New World Symphony, I was told I had to play the Wii Remote, pointer towards my mouth and pressing the 1 and 2 buttons – as if I was playing a trumpet. You then play louder by angling the remote upwards, and quieter by pointing downward.

To help you out, there will be a visual metronome in the bottom right of the screen, as well as audible clicks coming out of the Wii Remote speaker. Obviously the game allows freedom and leeway as to when you choose to play notes, so that metronome will help provide some stability for the game.

An additional mode in the game allows you to look at the actual sheet music for the song. You can then use it to either learn how to “properly” play along to each song, or you can compose and make your own changes to the notes that will be played.

Another mode will serve as a mixer mode for the game. You can, for example, record the trumpet melody to a song, and then play it back while overlaying a saxophone or marimba harmony. Drop a drum beat and you’ve single-handedly recorded your own song.

WIi Music will support Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection functionality. You’ll be able to record your individual performances, send it your friends for commentary, and allow them to play with the file as well. At the moment, that’s all the Wi-Fi functionality we know of, but I’m willing to bet that there are at least a few more, simple bonuses included.

The game looks like it will have several modes and features allowing for enjoyment beyond that of Wii Sports, but it’s more apparent that the simulated activity of playing a musical instrument will be dumbed-down more than the swinging of a tennis racket was.