On October 20, 2008, Nintendo launched their newest game for the popular Wii gaming system, Wii Music.  When I first got it, I thought it was either going to be like Guitar Hero, where you have to hit a specific note at a specific time or like American Idol Karaoke (which I also want lol).

Let me start by saying I come from a very musical family.  My father has the gift of perfect pitch and can also pick up any instrument and play it, even if he never has before.  My brother Chris plays piano and Mark can play the drums and is also a DJ.  While I can play a few tunes on the piano, my specialty (if you can call it that) is singing.

From the time Jake was born I could tell he had the music in him.  This kid can’t resist a beat.  For as long as I can remember, he’s been rockin’ out.  When he was about 7 months old, he was asleep in his car seat and a classic Metallica song came on the radio.  I looked in my rear view mirror and saw him ‘banging his head’ to the music in his sleep.

We have toy guitars, microphones and pianos.  Jacob sings, dances and plays any instrument he can get his hands on.  Wii Music was the natural choice when it came to getting him a game to play.  As soon as he saw the cover he started jumping up and down, talking excitedly about what instruments he wants to play.

This game is rated E for everyone and it’s the first game I’ve ever played that means that literally. You can’t lose.  It’s for every person who’s always wanted to learn an instrument but thought it would be too hard.

The game starts off with a quick basic tutorial.  Following that, you simply choose your instrument and play.  It’s like an air guitar you can hear.  My son is 3 years old and he didn’t even need me to explain anything to him.  He simply took hold if the Wii Remote and Nunchuk and started to jam.

There are over 60 instruments to choose from including a violin, drums or electric guitar and if you think this is a game just for children, you’re wrong.  When I can wrestle the controls away from my toddler, I’m just as eager to play as he is.  You can put the Remote up to your mouth and push the buttons to play a trumpet or a sax, hold both controllers in your hands to mimic a piano or start banging your hands in the air to play the drums in your very own concert hall.

Wii Music brings out the musician in all of us.  My husband lacks any musical capabilities (sorry Ry), but Wii Music doesn’t tell him that.  He walks away a star every time he plays.  The jam sessions don’t penalize you for making a mistake, it’s quite the opposite.  Wii Music encourages players to improvise on their arrangements by skipping a note – or adding 10.  Play with up to four friends or play solo, it’s up to you.  The game provides band mates called ’Tutes’ that play along to the beat you’ve created or you can choose to record each part individually then put them together to arrange the whole song exactly how you want it.

There are so many variations and options to this game, it’d take me a week to tell you everything.  I’m writing this as I watch my toddler learn rhythm and improve his hand-eye coordination by playing ‘Twinkle Twinkle Little Star’ as a rock video.  As his technique improves, new instruments and songs are opening up for him to explore.  Wii Music inspires confidence and creativity just in time for the winter months when he’ll be stuck indoors looking for something to do.

He’s been playing for an hour now and hasn’t complained or gotten bored.  Since when can a three year old do anything for an hour without getting restless?  Right now his character is in a cat suit playing something unrecognizable (but cool) with Elmo on Drums, Obama on the Tuba and Jack Black playing bass.  We’ve imported various available Mii’s through the Mii Channel, which is available to everyone who has a Wii hooked up to their wireless Internet connection.  It makes these games even more fun when you recognize some of your band mates!

You can purchase Wii Music for about $49.99.  For more information and Nintendo’s Video Gallery, check out the Nintendo website online.