Can Rock Band Teach You To Play the Drums?

Since Rock Band was announced, AHR and I have been (mildly) debating if the in-game drumming experience would mimic real-life drumming enough to give real drummers a significant advantage or even teach n00bs some skills that could translate to a real drum kit. MTV Multiplayer has decided to test that exact hypothesis by inviting pop rockers Cartel in to take a stab at the game. The drummer, Kevin Sanders (pictured above...yes that's a man), sat down to play "Dead or Alive" on Medium difficulty... And failed. But when he tried again on Expert, he did much better. Sanders explains the paradox:

The easier [the song is in the game], it takes away what’s actually in the song. But if you actually know how the drums go in your head and you’re reading the notes [on the screen], it doesn’t really make sense in the tune. I guess the harder [the difficulty] is, the more real the song is [to actually playing it].

So the verdict is... Vague. As a bonus, if you're interested in how the drums break-down/assemble, hit the jump for a Stephen Totilo guided tour!