Has Westfield Mall opened its own concert venue? Have the Heffernans started their own Bon Jovi cover band? Not quite. The mother-daughter duo instead played several rounds of Rock Band, a popular video game, as they vied for a chance to win $10,000 with MTV’s DNA Duel contest.

The event was based on the upcoming MTV reality show “Rock the Cradle,” where the children of famous musicians compete for their own chance in the spotlight. The DNA Duel had its participants play Rock Band, a game similar to Guitar Hero. Players use a microphone and electronic replicas of a guitar and drum kit – complete with pedal, four pads and two wooden drumsticks – to emulate popular songs.

The parent-child duo with the highest score wins a trip to New York City, where they will compete against finalists from four other cities for the $10,000 grand prize.

Eric Murphy, president of the marketing company Pop2Life and organizer of the event, said they wanted to find out whether musical talent is indeed genetic.

“We’re going to prove it today – hopefully,” he said.

That proof was hard to find, however, as the younger generation’s skill with video games seemed to give them the edge over their parents. Amanda Heffernan said she had played the game several times before, but her mother Mary conceded it was her first time, as she unsuccessfully played the bass guitar for “Dead or Alive” and The Killer’s “When You Were Young.”

“It would have been a lot more fun if I was better!” she jokingly remarked.

The event was designed to appeal to MTV’s core demographics, consisting of children and adults ages 12 to 24 and 18 to 34, Murphy said. Westfield Mall was chosen partially because of its appeal to those age groups, he said.

But MTV might want to expand their demographic a bit lower, as three youngsters were the first to brave the stage during the event. Gary Bryant and Brent McDuffie seemed to be experts at the guitar, as they played guitar and bass to Mountain’s “Mississippi Queen,” but their younger sister Hailey Bryant had a tough time with the drum kit: her feet couldn’t reach the pedal. A helpful event promoter pressed the pedal with her hands while Hailey focused on the drum pads.

While their team was ineligible (their parents watched from the crowd), Gary said he was confident that his skills were improving.

“I only did it on Medium,” he said confidently, referencing the game’s difficulty level. “When I get home I’m going to try it on Hard.”