Many people believe that Guitar Hero is a pathetic excuse for those who can’t play a real instrument. The Ashland Guitar Club bridged the gap this past week between gaming and real guitar with their first ever Guitar Hero competition.

The four finalists of the competition each received a prize from various sponsors. David Sheldon, a senior from the Guitar Club at the University of Mount Union, received the grand prize of a Squier guitar donated by Guitar Center.

With a guitar in hand, Sheldon said he now feels the motivation to learn the actual thing.

“I’m definitely going to try and pick up a real guitar and see what I can learn,” he said. “I thought this would be a good chance to finally own one.”

Second place went to freshman Mike Mayer, who received a gift card from Wal-mart. The third place winner received a $30 gift card to Strings by Mail and fourth place received a $30 guitar accessory package from Mikes Music Corner.

Colin Betts placed third in the competition and Aaron Hurwitz placed fourth.

Unlike the previous Rock Band contest on campus, the rules for this competition were very straightforward. Last time, contestants were not only judged on their score but their costumes, their unity as a band and the difficulty level of the song they performed.

“We spent quite a bit of time coming up with the rules for the contest and finally agreed on something simple,” Sarata said. “Most points wins, that way it is fair.”

David Sheldon dominated the competition on “expert” difficulty.

“You could pick whatever difficulty you wanted but obviously playing on the higher difficulties makes it easier to score the most,” he said.

Players faced off against each other in a bracket-structured tournament.

Adam Sarata, adviser of the Guitar Club at Ashland and Mount Union, organized the competition, hoping to recruit new members. The money raised will be used to bring in guest musicians for the spring semester.

While the competition was successful, Sarata said the weather had a real impact on attendance and hopes to have another competition in the future.

Sarata said he encourages all students with any interest in guitar to join either the basic guitar class or the Guitar Club. All skill levels are welcome. The club meets Thursdays biweekly in the Center for the Arts in room 302. Email [email protected] for more information, and be on the lookout for another competition next semester.