GrrlGotGame and I are totally hooked on Rock Band, particularly the Band World Tour where we can play cooperatively (she's on vocals, and I play either lead or bass guitar).
As I hit the wall (since I'm not all that good a shredder, but feel that this shouldn't be an impediment to having fun with the game), I've been collecting tips that I'm passing along in the hopes that it will make the game a little easier for you to enjoy, too.
Alas, the Prima guide for this one is mostly useless: It's more concerned with what kind of rock pose you might adopt than how you hold your fingers on the guitar frets, though it appears to be an adequate reference for the songs that came with the game and whether they have good drum parts or big rock endings.
Here's what I've collected so far by talking to more accomplished friends, reading forums and blogs, and from firsthand experience:
General tips:
As I hit the wall (since I'm not all that good a shredder, but feel that this shouldn't be an impediment to having fun with the game), I've been collecting tips that I'm passing along in the hopes that it will make the game a little easier for you to enjoy, too.
Alas, the Prima guide for this one is mostly useless: It's more concerned with what kind of rock pose you might adopt than how you hold your fingers on the guitar frets, though it appears to be an adequate reference for the songs that came with the game and whether they have good drum parts or big rock endings.
Here's what I've collected so far by talking to more accomplished friends, reading forums and blogs, and from firsthand experience:
General tips:
- Make sure you calibrate if you have an HDTV or just find you that can't hit anything and don't think it's because you suck. There are some presets (which worked fine for me) or you can go manual for more precise tuning.
- If you're planning to play the Band World Tour, have at least one player go through a solo tour to unlock a wide range of songs. Otherwise, your mystery sets will be limited to the same few songs until you progress enough to open up more.
- Any songs you buy online go immediately into rotation, so by all means indulge if you see something you like. "Buddy Holly" by Weezer is great fun to play and a nice complement to "Say It Ain't So" (which is already in the game). They make a good pairing when you pick your own set.
- PS3 owners, beware. The guitar from the Guitar Hero III won't work here, thanks to Activision's short-sightedness and greed. But if you have an Xbox 360, you can pick up Guitar Hero II or III to get a second axe for playing simultaneous lead and bass guitar in co-op modes.
- Learning that you can (and should!) continue to hold down the lower notes when playing the higher notes (except for chords) makes Easy mode a snap to pick up and master with just three fingers on the frets. In fact, with a little practice you'll probably find it impossible to fail most songs in Rock Band - which, on the whole, is easier and thus more fun for amateurs than Guitar Hero.I find it very relaxing to play on Easy, so use it when you just want to unwind.
- When playing Band World Tour (co-op), you will be limited to about 50,000 fans if anyone plays on Easy. If you are stuck and can't handle the Medium songs with lead guitar, try bass. These tend to be simpler (though not always!). Even if you still miss some notes, it may be enough to get the fans needed to earn a jet and unlock another continent for play. Some later venues have a skill level cap (Medium or better), but there's still quite a lot you can do on Easy as a Band while you practice on Medium in your solo career.
- It's been suggested to me that you can play the higher skill levels with three fingers (instead of four) by shifting your hand up and down in three note increments. The secret seems to be remembering how you have your hand positioned - are you on green/red/yellow, red/yellow/blue or (if you go beyong medium) yellow/blue/orange. If you're comfortable playing with your pinky, you can use the same approach but shift your hand only once to play the five notes instead of twice. Experiment to see what works for you. I'm still struggling with this, but seem to have an easier time (on the whole) with the four-finger method.
- If you want an easier time triggering overdrive, be sure the guitar strap is looped over your shoulder - not hanging straight from your neck like a necklace. Otherwise, you're going to have to work to shift it up and probably miss a note, which is a waste of overdrive.
- Don't bother with the whammy bar except for glowing notes, where you'll get collect more energy by using it. Otherwise, it might trip you up for no real benefit - unless you really love how it sounds or you get bored.
- Don't stretch for notes you can't hit. The key is modulation. You can sing in a lower or higher key than your real-world counterpart as long as you modulate your voice to hit the on-screen guide. You don't even have to get the words right!
- You'll need to improvise in the empty flowery sections to unleash overdrive (and possibly save a bandmate who's fallen!) but you can hum or simply say "yeah!" or "how's everyone doing tonight?" If it doesn't work, speak up - you may need to shout. But you don't have to sing like a diva, unless you want to.
- Some songs have a percussion section, so get your mike ready. If you're left-handed, be sure to select lefty flip for microphone. You'd think that it shouldn't matter which palm you slap the microphone against, but GrrlGotGame reports she was turning her hand into hamburger trying to play the cowbell on "Don't Fear the Reaper" until she changed this setting.
- Pro tip: The kick drum is more comfortable to play if you keep your foot flat with the pedal depressed until you see a note coming. Then simply lift your foot and push it back down to hit it. That way your foot isn't straining above the pedal most of the time as you wait for a note to play. I've tried it and it seems to work quite well.
- If you have to ignore some notes to get through a song, favor the red (snare) and kick drum (pedal). These are the crucial ones to keep the beat and, if you're playing co-op, their absence is more likely to throw off your bandmates than if you miss a cymbal.
- If you don't want to trigger overdrive, do not hit the oddly shaped green note at the end of a fill section. It's sometimes better to wait until you have it fully charged to unleash it, or - if you're playing co-op - preserve it in case you need to resurrect a bandmate who is faltering.
- Playing the Rock Band drums on Expert is apparently about the same as playing them in real life. So if you can do it, start a band already! For reasons that should be obvious if you ever hear me play, I won't be taking this path myself. But I will keep rocking out in the game since it is seriously fun!
Comments (7)
I found another helpful vocalist tip. If the microphone doesn't seem to register your voice, make sure it's plugged in when you boot the console. Apparently, this can make a difference. We leave ours plugged in all of the time since it's not a valid controller and thus doesn't interfere with other games at all.
If you do this and you're still having problems, be sure to check calibration and try another headset, such as the Xbox Live headset. (You'll tap the A button for percussive sections.) If you still can't hit anything, you're probably tone deaf. Give up and try another instrument.
-=Gamewatcher
Posted by Gamewatcher | January 3, 2008 8:38 PM
Posted on January 3, 2008 20:38
I've collected a few more tips. First, GrrlGotGame reminds me that vocalists should always have water handy. Keep hydrated. Seriously, it helps.
I have been corresponding with Bill Harris of Dubious Quality (dubiousquality.blogspot.com). He's been a huge fan of Guitar Hero since the first one and now is taking on drums in Rock Band. His suggestions (if you know him at all, you'll realize he's too lazy to post something himself):
I also asked Bill about the suggestion to play with three fingers (since I had been struggling with it) and how many fingers he uses: "Four. I have absolutely no idea how anyone could play with three. I've never even heard of doing that before."
But the next day I spotted a helpful post by RickXTN in the Rock Band forums at Gamefaqs.com:
OK, so he's still using his pinky (or will when he switches to Hard) but the technique sounds useful. And I suspect this is what my friend was suggesting.
One thing I've found as I continue to improve at guitar is that I'll often stop holding down the in-between buttons if I'm doing a pattern that I know doesn't contain red, for instance. When I know a red is coming (or when I see it), then I'll get ready for it as long as I'm not playing a chord - in which case I'll wait until I right before the note hits to switch.
Another tip: You can cut long notes short to get ready for the next one. You'll lose a few points and the note will get cut short (which sounds like you messed up), but you won't get penalized like you would if you missed a note and lost your multiplier.
I sure hope this helps. I'm practicing the hell out of Enter Sandman on Medium - which is killing me, though I almost got through it tonight. I bombed out at 89% complete. Ouch! But songs that used to vex me like Wave of Mutilation on Medium are now easy. And I just five-starred In Bloom on Medium like it was nothing.
-=Gamewatcher
Posted by Gamewatcher | January 11, 2008 12:00 AM
Posted on January 11, 2008 00:00
Oh man I hear you on Enter Sandman. I can five star almost all those songs on medium however, Enter Sandman slays me. Failed at 95% once as well. Woo woo.
The other thing that gets me is the long stretches of notes on songs like Next to You and the Bowie song. I think I need to use the alt strum method on these stretches but cant get used to it.
Posted by Mike | January 23, 2008 7:00 PM
Posted on January 23, 2008 19:00
I finally got through Enter Sandman on Medium, but it was tough. I practiced it a lot and even then failed a bit before slipping through.
As I said in the Rock Star review I just posted, I've nearly perfected the three-finger strum on Medium and I'm replaying all of those songs. In most cases, it feels more natural to move my index finger between the green and red notes (and my scores are almost all higher!) - but there are exceptions. GrrlGotGame and I were playing Band World Tour tonight and decided to do some random songs on Medium and it threw us Green Grass and High Tides. It was painful! That song has stretches where I think four fingers is the only way to pull it off. And she had never sung it (her solo career is lagging) so I ended up saving her at least once.
Another song that messes up the three-finger system on Medium is the new Bang Camaro song from the February OXM disc. And Buddy Holly. There was one more; I think it was Go with the Flow.
I'm also struggling with the fast note streams. I'm getting better at them, but if I can't feel the rhythm of the song I'll usually lose sync. I'm wondering if I played drums for awhile if it would improve my guitar play, since it might strengthen my ability to keep time in the songs.
-=Gamewatcher
Posted by Gamewatcher | January 23, 2008 11:55 PM
Posted on January 23, 2008 23:55
OK, so today I made Enter Sandman my bitch. Well, that may be a bit of an overstatement. But I can now get through it reliably.
All I did was practice the hell out of it. I started at 50% speed and played through the whole song and then repeated, incrementing 10% each playthrough, until I made it through 90%. Each pass through my notes hit percentage dipped a little, but I also refined my technique. The key seems to be to play some sections on Green-Red-Yellow, stretching for the occasional Blue and others by switching between the two positions. Never used my pinky. I'm in the high 80s when I play at regular speed (I skipped out of practice mode and went back to solo career, where I scored in the 50K range). So now I can make it through the song without even using overdrive as a Hail Mary maneuver, instead using it for a score boost when my multiplier is high.
Now I'm ready to take on the Hall of Fame Induction set list with GrrlGotGame on Medium. Also, I'm almost done playing every song in the game (including Rio and Tokyo) a second time through on Medium. I think I've retrained myself sufficiently to play pinky-less on Medium to be more successful on Hard mode with my pinky reserved for those Orange notes.
-=Gamewatcher
Posted by Gamewatcher | January 30, 2008 11:51 PM
Posted on January 30, 2008 23:51
Great post... I'm also addicted to this game. Still can't beat the chilli peppers song snow.
Posted by Alex | July 26, 2008 11:46 PM
Posted on July 26, 2008 23:46
The three finger system will let you down on alot of songs of hard ALOT For instants when play enter sandman you will see alot of green in a row and one point in the song and then suddenly a blue with a orange hammer on note right next to it. There are also many songs in the bonus tour that require you to move your 4 fingers over and keep them there for most of the song. So get use to your index(pointer) finger being at red and try to teach yourself the reach over to green technique. Hard isnt that hard after awhile the orange button doesnt get used too much at first but the Flirting with Disaster song solo on hard is absoulty crazy so if you have trouble with hammer on and strum offs you need to practice this (that basically the whole solo and its really fast) Ive made it through every song on hard but that and i made it threw 24 songs on expert. JUST KEEP TRYING it took me at least 20 trys to make it threw enter sandman on hard
Posted by supercoolname
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September 1, 2008 9:53 PM
Posted on September 1, 2008 21:53