What is arguably THE best music game series running today is growing into it's third installment, and as I reported last month, Rock Band 3 is growing to include keyboards!

The keyboard in question is a 25-key MIDI keyboard, and is integrated into full game play via charts like those seen in the screenshot above.

If you thought that was enough expansion for the 3rd game, you thought wrong! Rock Band 3 is also expanding to what they call “Pro Mode”, which replaces the typical color charts with real chords to get players acclimated to actually playing real instruments.  To take advantage of that, there will be (surprise!) new controllers, including a Fender Stratocaster and Fender Mustang Pro with REAL STRINGS!

Not enough to get excited about? Rock Band 3 includes 83 songs on disc (not including all the hundreds available as downloadable content), and an initial list of tracks has been revealed (RILO KILEY! METRIC! SPACEHOG! QUEEN!), which I’ve included below.

2000s Combat Baby — Metric Dead End Friends — Them Crooked Vultures Get Free — The Vines Lasso — Phoenix Me Enamora — Juanes Oh My God — Ida Maria Portions of Foxes — Rilo Kiley The Hardest Button to Button — The White Stripes

1990s Been Caught Stealing — Jane’s Addiction In the Meantime — Spacehog Plush — Stone Temple Pilots Walkin' on the Sun — Smash Mouth

1980s Crazy Train — Ozzy Osbourne Here I Go Again — Whitesnake I Love Rock and Roll — Joan Jett Just Like Heaven — The Cure Rainbow in the Dark — Dio The Power of Love — Huey Lewis and the News Sister Christian — Night Ranger

1960s-1970s Bohemian Rhapsody — Queen Break On Through — The Doors Crosstown Traffic — Jimi Hendrix

There is no set release date for Rock Band 3 yet, but with E3 coming next week, I have a hunch we’ll know very shortly when to expect the game. I’d imagine this Fall.

Sources: Kotaku & USA Today