More Guitar Hero questions

[Kabob]

Yes, I'm asking this question and I'm not ashamed (ok, well I'm sorta ashamed). I've really never played GH before, so I guess it's sorta ok to ask.

I put my left hand on the buttons, 1,2,3,4...umm...there's 5 buttons though. How do I position/move my hand so as to hit said 5th button? Considering that I'm currently on "easy" it's not a huge deal, but if I knock it up (the difficulty that is...), how do I hit #5?

Played for just a few mins before bed (my wife wouldn't get off World of Goo...which is a good thing), it was fun but I'm confused by the hammer on and whatever the opposite is. I get the theory but my fingers just do not want to move that way...

This takes hand/eye coordination to a whole new level...

 

[bolomite]

here

 

[Platypus]

The GH3 wireless LP works with all versions of RB and GH.
http://www.joystiq.com/Instrument-Compatibility-Matrix/

 

[Kabob]

Much thanks for the extremely rapid reply!! Didn't realize it would work with all games, that's schweet!

 

[Kabob]

Can't sleep, completely new question in OP...

 

[JohnAn2112]

I learned to put my fingers on 2-5. It's much easier to stretch the index finger to hit the first button than it is to stretch your pinky to hit the fifth button.

 

[coldmeat]

I leave them on 1-4, then when orange comes in, shift them all down to 2-5. It's not the easiest way to learn, but I've found it to be the easiest way to do it.

 

[leglez]

I would suggest playing through the career on easy, then moving up to medium, then try and 5 star most of the songs on medium then move up to hard. Thats what I did, thats what I suggest to most people and by the time you get to hard your fingers just know where to go.

 

[Rage187]

if you had one of the 'band' games I would say start on easy. Then move up to medium bass. Then to medium guitar and then do the same for hard.

 

[bl4ckfl4g]

I prefer to keep my fingers on buttons 2-5 and move up to the top 4 when needed.

 

[gorcorps]

It'll come to you with practice. Nobody can tell you how your hands have to move, you have to figure out the best technique for yourself.

 

[purbeast0]

I too recently got into these games and have been having a blast and now have the whole band kit heh.

When I first tried hard i was like WTF how will i ever do this?

Now though I am 5 starring every sone on medium pretty much with like 97% or so everytime, sometimes higher.

I then tried hard mode and i don't know, something kind of "clicked" and all of a sudden I could do it. I only did like 4 or so songs, as I want to complete everything on medium first to unlock all the songs, then I'm going to go back to hard.

I put my fingers on 1-4 and would slide over to 2-5 when need be. However I still get flustered sometimes on hard when I lose my place.

I think with practice it will all come.

However ... expert seems impossible lol. It just moves so damn fast.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
I too recently got into these games and have been having a blast and now have the whole band kit heh.

When I first tried hard i was like WTF how will i ever do this?

Now though I am 5 starring every sone on medium pretty much with like 97% or so everytime, sometimes higher.

I then tried hard mode and i don't know, something kind of "clicked" and all of a sudden I could do it. I only did like 4 or so songs, as I want to complete everything on medium first to unlock all the songs, then I'm going to go back to hard.

I put my fingers on 1-4 and would slide over to 2-5 when need be. However I still get flustered sometimes on hard when I lose my place.

I think with practice it will all come.

However ... expert seems impossible lol. It just moves so damn fast.

Agreed. Practice really does make a difference. After a while you will find yourself sliding fingers up and down frets without even thinking about where your hand is positioned.

That said, the in-game intermediate/advanced guitar tutorials in RB2 did teach me a few useful techniques that I wasn't aware of when I started. I'm not sure if GH has similar tutorials available.

 

[purbeast0]

Originally posted by: MrChad

Originally posted by: purbeast0
I too recently got into these games and have been having a blast and now have the whole band kit heh.

When I first tried hard i was like WTF how will i ever do this?

Now though I am 5 starring every sone on medium pretty much with like 97% or so everytime, sometimes higher.

I then tried hard mode and i don't know, something kind of "clicked" and all of a sudden I could do it. I only did like 4 or so songs, as I want to complete everything on medium first to unlock all the songs, then I'm going to go back to hard.

I put my fingers on 1-4 and would slide over to 2-5 when need be. However I still get flustered sometimes on hard when I lose my place.

I think with practice it will all come.

However ... expert seems impossible lol. It just moves so damn fast.

Agreed. Practice really does make a difference. After a while you will find yourself sliding fingers up and down frets without even thinking about where your hand is positioned.

That said, the in-game intermediate/advanced guitar tutorials in RB2 did teach me a few useful techniques that I wasn't aware of when I started. I'm not sure if GH has similar tutorials available.

oh damn i'll have to try those out myself, i haven't checked them out. i'm playing rb2.

also i think the "easy" mode for the drums is too hard. i think the easy on drums is equivalent to the medium on guitar.

most people can pick up and play the guitar on easy (even chicks and people who don't game), however, the drums on easy, those same people seem to have a lot of trouble with.

 

[Kabob]

Thanks for the replies! I did the tutorial on GH3 but they weren't terribly in depth...helped a lil' bit.

I'm up to the jail gig on Easy, I tried doing a song on medium and I actually got between 95-97% on the two I tried. Decided I was oh so ready for medium and tried a co-op game online...it was pathetic. I think I missed every third note or so...so back to medium I go.

I tried moving my fingers to 2-5 and moving up to 1-4 when needed...still weird. Especially when I have a chord that's 2&5 or something like that...

Just for fun I tried playing the last few notes (the last section) on Expert on Miss Murder, after about 9 tries I got 70 of 76 notes (granted, there's only 2 chords and you have a moment to set up for 'em), it was rough!

 

[YoungGun21]

Originally posted by: kabob983
Thanks for the replies! I did the tutorial on GH3 but they weren't terribly in depth...helped a lil' bit.

I'm up to the jail gig on Easy, I tried doing a song on medium and I actually got between 95-97% on the two I tried. Decided I was oh so ready for medium and tried a co-op game online...it was pathetic. I think I missed every third note or so...so back to medium I go.

I tried moving my fingers to 2-5 and moving up to 1-4 when needed...still weird. Especially when I have a chord that's 2&5 or something like that...

Just for fun I tried playing the last few notes (the last section) on Expert on Miss Murder, after about 9 tries I got 70 of 76 notes (granted, there's only 2 chords and you have a moment to set up for 'em), it was rough!

I've been playing GH and RB series games for a while. So I'll lay down some tips.

On guitar, always start with your index on green, it is much easier to slide down to hit orange than it is to slide up and hit green. As you get into medium or higher, dont look at where you are playing the notes but look about halfway up the chart, it will be hard at first but once you start doing this you will be much better as you are thinking one step ahead of the music. Never look away from the screen. I've always found sitting down while I played was easier than standing up. When you get up to hard or expert, I've found strumming hammer-ons to be easier and it helps keep the beat (mainly for RB2, cause GH3 HOs were much much easier to do). When the notes get fast, strum up and down as opposed to just down (called alt-strumming).

On drums, when first starting out my friends and I found it easier to have someone play the foot pedal for us while we drummed. Doing this, you should be able to play medium in no time, then you will be able to pick up the foot pedal on easy much faster. The RB2 drum trainer helps a BUNCH! USE IT! I've found hitting the foot pedal easier if I keep my shoes on. Find some little trick you can use to help yourself keep rhythm and stay on beat (sometimes I slowly rock back and forth or tap my left foot on the offbeat, whatever helps you). I found that sitting back a bit, not right on top of the drums, helps a little cause your leg is at a natural angle for the foot pedal and your arms wont hurt as much. Getting into the music and going crazy (a controlled crazy lol) might help too.

I could go on and on about this stuff! I feel like I'm out of breath. Longest. Post. Ever.

 

[MrChad]

Originally posted by: purbeast0
oh damn i'll have to try those out myself, i haven't checked them out. i'm playing rb2.

also i think the "easy" mode for the drums is too hard. i think the easy on drums is equivalent to the medium on guitar.

most people can pick up and play the guitar on easy (even chicks and people who don't game), however, the drums on easy, those same people seem to have a lot of trouble with.

Unlike guitar, I really believe that having experience playing real drums helps on GH/RB drums. My rhythm has never been very good, and I have a difficult time getting my feet and hands to do two different things at once. I've been focusing on improving my guitar skills, but eventually I'd like to start working on drums.

 

[MikeyLSU]

best way to learn is to have your fingers in positions 2-5 and shift your index finger when necessary.

Then you shift your whole hand when necessary, but for just one note(not chords) you just shift the 1 finger and keep the rest at "home" 3-5.

 

[jdport]

On guitar, always start with your index on green, it is much easier to slide down to hit orange than it is to slide up and hit green. As you get into medium or higher, dont look at where you are playing the notes but look about halfway up the chart, it will be hard at first but once you start doing this you will be much better as you are thinking one step ahead of the music. Never look away from the screen. I've always found sitting down while I played was easier than standing up. When you get up to hard or expert, I've found strumming hammer-ons to be easier and it helps keep the beat (mainly for RB2, cause GH3 HOs were much much easier to do). When the notes get fast, strum up and down as opposed to just down (called alt-strumming).

It's funny how different people are.... because my advice on most of these points would be exactly the opposite Really it comes down to finding what works for you and sticking with it. Somethings are common, like *learn to alt strum now so you don't have to relearn when you up the level*. But the previous poster said start with your index on green because it's easier to slide to orange than to green... for me it's just the opposite. If I start with my index on the red, I don't even have to slide a lot of the times, I can just move that finger over. It's much harder to do that with the pinky. It also depends on the song though.. if the song starts out with a lot of green then i'll start with my finger on the green. He also said that playing sitting down was easier than standing up... i'm completely opposite. I've been trying since day 1 to figure out how people play sitting down. I can't do it. I feel all tied up and constrained when i'm sitting down, and forget about tilting for starpower, I can't do it at all sitting down. As for hammer-ons and pull-offs... in easy/medium/most hard songs it probably is easier to strum them as he said. When you get a ascending or descending 3 or 4 notes though that are really fast (lot of this on expert) it's far easier to do HO/PO's... trying to maintain timing at those speeds with both hands is damn hard... but you can kind of "roll" your hand in a manner of speaking to go Orange to Blue to Yellow (for example) fast and accurately.

main thing is don't give up, keep playing.. you will find yourself moving up to the harder levels. I started with medium rather than easy.... and I still recommend that. Play medium until you can't pass songs... and then if you have to you can always move down a level. This gets you working your pinky right from the beginning. Soon you'll be trying easier songs on hard.... then eventually finishing medium and working on the harder songs on hard... and then on to expert I started with GH1 barely passing songs on medium and now I only play on expert and i'm not one of those freakishly good players you see on the scorehero forums .

 

[Oyeve]

I play real bass and guitar so I am used to sliding. I slide my whole hand down to the 5th button then slide back up. I also use my pinky a lot and leave my fingers on the first 4 buttons and stretch my pinky to hit the 5th button. My issue is the GH branded guitars. They have bubbly buttons and I cant slide well with them. So I use either the RB guitars or the Fender Bass Replica guitars because the buttons are close to each other and are flat so it makes sliding much easier.

 

[Kabob]

Originally posted by: Oyeve
I play real bass and guitar so I am used to sliding. I slide my whole hand down to the 5th button then slide back up. I also use my pinky a lot and leave my fingers on the first 4 buttons and stretch my pinky to hit the 5th button. My issue is the GH branded guitars. They have bubbly buttons and I cant slide well with them. So I use either the RB guitars or the Fender Bass Replica guitars because the buttons are close to each other and are flat so it makes sliding much easier.

Since you're an actual guitarist, I have a question. Does knowing how to play the real instrument make this game easier? Do you think that learning a simple device (in comparison) like Guitar Hero would make learning the real instrument easier?

 

[chuckywang]

When I started playing on easy, I thought that the pinky would be impossible for me. Then when I gained more dexterity and started playing on medium, I thought hard would be impossible since I just didn't know what to do with my hand if an orange note came up. Now after a lot of practice, it's second nature to me.

I am firmly one of the people who slides. I start with my hand on 1-4 and slide to 2-5 when I need to hit orange. I then slide back when I need to hit green. It also helps to have some familiarity with the song. For example, if your index finger is on green and you see a red note and know that a orange note will be coming up later on, then it's good to slide your hand right then and there and hit the red with your index finger. That way you don't need to slide your hand for orange, especially if that orange note comes in the middle of a fast sequence.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: kabob983

Originally posted by: Oyeve
I play real bass and guitar so I am used to sliding. I slide my whole hand down to the 5th button then slide back up. I also use my pinky a lot and leave my fingers on the first 4 buttons and stretch my pinky to hit the 5th button. My issue is the GH branded guitars. They have bubbly buttons and I cant slide well with them. So I use either the RB guitars or the Fender Bass Replica guitars because the buttons are close to each other and are flat so it makes sliding much easier.

Since you're an actual guitarist, I have a question. Does knowing how to play the real instrument make this game easier? Do you think that learning a simple device (in comparison) like Guitar Hero would make learning the real instrument easier?

Yes and no for the first question. Easier, yes, as you have timing and "feel", no because if its a song I know and like and can play on bass or guitar I used to find myself "getting" into the song and messing it up because obviously the controller is diffrent than a guitar. BUT, once you get the feel of the controller and put aside real guitar aspects then you can and will play these GH/RB songs on hard and expert like its second nature. I am at a point in RB2 that I can play every song on expert in guitar or bass and never get under 4 stars, most songs are gold and a couple platinum.

To answer your second question, yes. My son and my GFs son BOTH have picked up and bought guitars and have been learning advently. They are learning via tabs but I am teaching my son bass. Had to buy him a cheap Dean bass and a cheap Strat because I don't want him mucking with my guitars. They are too old and valuable. I see a lot of kids and even some adults buying guitars. I frequent Guitar Center on 14th St in NYC and every time I am there I overhear at least 2-3 customers talking about rockband and guitar hero to a salesman saying their kid is interested in real guitar since playing the games. I think its great that people want to actually play a real instrument after getting hooked on a game. Hopefully most stick with it. I know many people who, as kids in the 70s and 80s, wanted to play guitar because of the radio but never stuck with it. I am glad I did.

 

[Kabob]

Heh, I'll openly admit I'm enjoying the game ALOT more than I thought I would. I always said "with the amount of time people put into the game they could LEARN the actual instrument" and vowed never to get it...until it went on sale...

Glad to see your son and GF's son getting into the real thing! Wish I had some spare time nowadays....maybe having the demeanor of a 7 year old means something but I too am suddenly thinking "hrm, maybe I should try a real guitar sometime," and that's after a whopping 2 days of GH. No illusions of stardom but it'd be fun to pick up a new instrument. Last thing I played was the trumpet back in high school and I was sorta forced by the parents to stick with it, maybe I'd enjoy a instrument I actually wanted to play...

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: kabob983
Heh, I'll openly admit I'm enjoying the game ALOT more than I thought I would. I always said "with the amount of time people put into the game they could LEARN the actual instrument" and vowed never to get it...until it went on sale...

Glad to see your son and GF's son getting into the real thing! Wish I had some spare time nowadays....maybe having the demeanor of a 7 year old means something but I too am suddenly thinking "hrm, maybe I should try a real guitar sometime," and that's after a whopping 2 days of GH. No illusions of stardom but it'd be fun to pick up a new instrument. Last thing I played was the trumpet back in high school and I was sorta forced by the parents to stick with it, maybe I'd enjoy a instrument I actually wanted to play...

Go for it! for me being ADHD really helped. I'm 42 now and was diagnosed about 8 years ago, but when I was younger in the 70s and 80s the cure for ADHD was a smack across the face. But ADHD was for me was the kind were you had to either get what you want NOW or if you got into something you REALLY got into it. Fortunately for me it was something productive or at least non destructive, especially in my teens, to get into music and guitar. Many ADHD kids need that adrenaline rush and usually do bad things. For me, music was my rush, especially at high volumes. And being raised on Led Zep, Rush, Floyd and many others I took my fasination to the level of "I want to do that and dammit I am gonna". Unfortunately it also meant I spent a LOT of $$$$. But I have been working non-stop for the last 28 years to feed my habits of guitars, games and AV equipment, not to mention computer equipment.