One of the great things about rhythm game franchises like Rock Band and Guitar Hero is that they do an excellent job getting people interested in music - whether it be current bands they've never heard of or the music of decades past. I know playing Rock Band for the last couple years has broadened my horizons and exposed me to music I probably never would have been interested in otherwise.

If you're interested in graduating from the plastic instruments of those titles to the real thing, Sheet Music Plus has you covered, with sheet music of many of the songs in those games.

According to Keith Cerny, CEO of Sheet Music Plus, "Today’s kids often get more exposure to music from video games and movies than from any other source, and it would be great if this gaming trend can be a gateway back to learning to play live music. By offering up sheet music for the songs they are exposed to via these blockbuster gaming titles, there is an incentive for them to try their hand at actually performing these extremely popular tunes."

I would have to agree. I used to play the piano myself. I took lessons for 10 years. If I still played there's at least a handful of these songs that I wouldn't mind having the sheet music for - and I'm sure I'm not alone. If you play a real instrument or are interested in learning and picking up the sheet music for some of your favorite Rock Band or Guitar Hero tracks, I highly encourage it. Getting anyone interested in music they might not have been exposed to is definitely huge praise for this genre of games and the developers behind them. The full press release and more information regarding what instruments are available is below.

Sheet Music Plus Gives Gamers the Gift of Music with Offerings from Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and More

Emeryville, Calif., September 10, 2009 – As music-driven video games continue to explode in popularity, video games and music are entwined now more than ever. The leading Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises have surpassed more than a combined $3 billion in sales creating a revival in the classic rock that defined the music 20 years ago with gamers of all ages now rocking out to bands like Queen, Rolling Stones and the Beatles. Sheet Music Plus, the nation’s leading online provider of sheet music, wants to help gamers channel their passion into becoming active musicians. Whether it’s for Rock Band, Rock Band 2, Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 2 or Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, Sheet Music Plus has the sheet music they need to graduate from rocking in front of the TV to rocking the stage.

“Today’s kids often get more exposure to music from video games and movies than from any other source, and it would be great if this gaming trend can be a gateway back to learning to play live music,” said Keith Cerny, CEO of Sheet Music Plus. “By offering up sheet music for the songs they are exposed to via these blockbuster gaming titles, there is an incentive for them to try their hand at actually performing these extremely popular tunes.”

Hal Leonard, the world’s largest music print publisher, provides Sheet Music Plus with much of the sheet music for these video games, with most of the offerings being available for the whole gamut of traditional instruments, such as drums, guitar, clarinet, flute, trumpet, horn, violin, and piano, among many others. To view these titles or to track down other songs and artists, visit www.SheetMusicPlus.com.

Sheet Music Plus provides the largest selection of sheet music in the US for all types of musicians, teachers, and instruments. Its catalog of more than 555,000 titles spans sheet music for all genres from classical, holiday and Broadway to rock, pop and new wave, making it the one-stop shop for the teachers of today and the artists of tomorrow.