Road Challenges provide new ways for Rock Band 3 players to interact with their library, providing numerous tour options and performance challenges. These provide "spades" in addition to stars for good performances, and individual performances are tracked during a song to provide additional feedback to players. Along the bottom are individual menus that are part of the game's new "overshell" that allow a player to change settings without affecting the other players.

Rock Band 3 is unique in that it added support for a 25-key keyboard (left track), MIDI compatible real guitars and electronic drum kits in addition to Basic guitar, bass, drums, and vocals from previous rhythm games. Pro mode challenges lead and bass guitarists, keyboardists, and drummers with a realistic playing experience in-game, such as requiring keyboardists to use a full range of keys, drummers (center) to strike proper cymbals as noted by round gems, or guitarists (right) and bassists to use accurate fingering on the fret bar. This screenshot shows

The MIDI Pro-Adapter allows players to use MIDI instruments as game inputs for the standard and pro modes.

Lego Rock Band's gameplay is similar to that of other Rock Band games. The vocals line scrolls along the top, while the instruments have tracks at the bottom of the screen. Here, guitar, drums, and bass are all being played on the song "We Will Rock You" by Queen. In the background, Lego Minifigure avatars of Brian May (left) and Freddie Mercury (right) play along to the song.

Gameplay in the Nintendo DS version of Lego Rock Band is similar to the PlayStation Portable game Rock Band Unplugged. The DS version includes the same musician avatars, here of Queen, as the console games (with the exception of Spinal Tap).