Maybe I'm too used to games like "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero," but I didn't find much fun in "Wii Music."

"Wii Music" brags that you can jam with your friends without being penalized for wrong notes. It has more than 60 instruments to choose from, all which you play virtually using the Wii remote and nunchuk.

Here's how it works: You choose a song from the list. The song starts, with little guys down in the corner lighting up to indicate rhythm. Depending on your instrument, you shake the controllers at the speed you like, either keeping with the beat or adding extra notes. The song ends.

That's it. You have no control over what notes you play, just how many, how quickly and in what style (rock, Latin, etc.).

You can play by yourself or with friends, or with computer-controlled characters. You also can record your jam sessions and send them to friends.

The instruments' controls vary depending on the type. For example, a piano part has you swinging the two controllers up and down as if hitting keys. With a saxophone part, you hold the remote to your mouth and alternate between the 1 and 2 buttons for notes. There's also a drum mode that uses the Wii Balance Board for foot pedals.

I get that it's kind of fun to imitate playing an instrument with the Wii controllers. What I don't get is why it's supposed to be fun to just move the controllers around while the game chooses the notes. I kept playing, thinking there had to be more to it, but there's not. I quickly grew bored.

On the bright side, there are minigames that I rather enjoyed. My favorite, Handbell Harmony, assigns a handbell to each of your controllers, and you have to "ring" them as the note for that pitch scrolls across the screen. Sound familiar?

I know a bit about how real music works (I played clarinet for 10 years), and I appreciate the effort to educate, but "Wii Music" is just dull.

Maybe if I were a young kid, I might get some joy out of shaking the heck out of a controller and getting pre-created sounds out of it. As an adult, I'll be sticking with "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero."

Wii Music

By: Nintendo, for Wii

Rated: Everyone

Cost: $49.99

Score: 4/10