Guitar Hero - HELP!

[Uteena PMS]

I've had Guitar Hero 2 for quite some time (maybe about a year), but I never got into it. I started medium, and finished on that difficulty in GH2, and I recently bought Gh3 to be able to play with friends online.
I've been practicing intensely since I got it (I think on Thursday or Friday), and the guy I've been playing with is so darn good and also a very good teacher!
But I still turn to you guys for some help.

First of all, this is how I play:
* 3 fingers (my little finger is no good, can't use it much and only do it if I HAVE to ie. green/red + orange)
* Up to now I have only strummed downwards, not both ways
* GH2 guitar
* Still playing on medium, I can do a few song on hard but I'm really not there yet. At all. :D

Ok, so my questions are:
- Should I start strumming up and down? Some say I need to, to be able to do manage the game on expert, but it's sooo hard getting used to something totally new. Any thoughts on this?
- To activate star power, how does the "sensor" or whatever work? Does it work on how far I move the guitar? Or doe it work more like how much upwards I bring it? Like say I play with the guitar 90 degrees to me lest. Do I have to move it maybe 30 degrees, or do I have to move it more to get it completely up to my face, or how does it work? I'm trying to understand how it works, because I suck at bringing it up and keep playing, and I always miss some scores when I do that.
- Will training bass make me a good guitar player, or will I have to start playing more leader guitar?
- When is it appropriate to move on to hard? Should I master medium before I move on? Might just be a questions about preference, I realize that, but maybe someone has something to point out that I haven't thought about and should take into consideration.

I had a few more, but I forgot about them right now. Most probably more to come though. Hope someone can help a poor (wannabe) guitar hero,

EDIT: Oh yeah, I play on X360!

[NeoViper9889]

"Should I start strumming up and down? Some say I need to, to be able to do manage the game on expert, but it's sooo hard getting used to something totally new. Any thoughts on this?"

Only time you really need to strum both ways is when the nots are touching each other. Maybe if they are even a little ways away, but still going quick enough that you can't hit them with just strumming one way. Those are the only real times that you need to strum both ways.

"To activate star power, how does the "sensor" or whatever work? Does it work on how far I move the guitar? Or doe it work more like how much upwards I bring it? Like say I play with the guitar 90 degrees to me lest. Do I have to move it maybe 30 degrees, or do I have to move it more to get it completely up to my face, or how does it work? I'm trying to understand how it works, because I suck at bringing it up and keep playing, and I always miss some scores when I do that."

I beleive you only need to bring it up so its around shoulder height for it to activate. If you find this hard, and can't play, wait until you have a little restspot, then activate it.

"Will training bass make me a good guitar player, or will I have to start playing more leader guitar?"

There are only a few songs which are actually harder, or more notes on bass. One off the top of my head is Miss Murder by AFI.

"When is it appropriate to move on to hard? Should I master medium before I move on? Might just be a questions about preference, I realize that, but maybe someone has something to point out that I haven't thought about and should take into consideration."

Just whenever you can think you can move up. Best thing is to try moving up, even if you do crappily. The main thing about hard is moving between blue and orange with your pinkie. Seeing how you don't use pinky, you then need to be able to move your ring finger from yelow to orange. One tip on getting your pinkie stronger is you try playing songs on easy, but slide your fingers to the left once, so your no longer using your index finger and your using your pinkie on yellow.

[H2O SkywalkerX]

- Should I start strumming up and down? Some say I need to, to be able to do manage the game on expert, but it's sooo hard getting used to something totally new. Any thoughts on this?

well i play on expert and single strum down, and only double strum when it's a line of notes, think of knights of cydonia, that song is almost a full double strummer. i do think that it would be much easier for me, but i dont think double strumming is needed no.

- To activate star power, how does the "sensor" or whatever work? Does it work on how far I move the guitar? Or doe it work more like how much upwards I bring it? Like say I play with the guitar 90 degrees to me lest. Do I have to move it maybe 30 degrees, or do I have to move it more to get it completely up to my face, or how does it work? I'm trying to understand how it works, because I suck at bringing it up and keep playing, and I always miss some scores when I do that.

i think that it isn't how high or how far you tilt it, it's just like a flick thing. if your holding it horizontal, just try flicking it up really fast, or (this doesnt work with the gh2 guitar) you can also hit the select button with your palm. that's how i did it in gh1, when the gh2 guitar came out i actually taped a rig on there so i could still do it, but ended up just "raising the axe" eventually.

- Will training bass make me a good guitar player, or will I have to start playing more leader guitar?

training bass? like only play bass? no that would probably make you worse. bass in most songs are just the same repetitive notes over and over, a few songs exceptions of course but for the most part that's what it is. plus in the long run bass is much much easier than guitar.

- When is it appropriate to move on to hard? Should I master medium before I move on? Might just be a questions about preference, I realize that, but maybe someone has something to point out that I haven't thought about and should take into consideration.

i say try expert, you cant get better if you dont challenge yourself, yeah you may fail and feel bad and not want to play, but just remember practice makes perfect and the harder songs you play the better you'll get. i started gh1 on expert, i think that's what made me as good as i am (now im not good enough to beat ttfaf, but better than average).

also another thing, if you only use your first 3 fingers, you better have amazingly fast hands and fingers because you wont be able to do expert that way. i know it's hard and your pinky is gonna hurt but the more you push through it and keep going the tougher your fingers will get, i played all day the other day and the tips of my fingers were flat and hard, i love it!

good luck! just keep at it and practice, if you want someone to try hard with feel free to message me :)

[PMS Lammy]

I don't think I have much to add to what the previous posters have already said, but perhaps an extra, agreeing opinion will reinforce the good advice that's already been provided. :mvsmile:

Strumming up and down (aka 'alternate strumming' or simply 'alt-strumming'): This is a matter of personal preference. There are certain songs (like Misirlou and Knights of Cydonia), or even just certain sections of certain songs where alt-strumming is absolutely essential to hit most of the notes. But in most situations you can stick with exclusive downstrumming only and be fine. In Expert, some people switch over to alt-strumming ALL the time so as to be consistent. Other people only alt-strum for situations when it's necessary [this would be me!]. Regardless of which way you go, you'll eventually have to learn how to alt-strum a little if you want to get high scores.

Activating star power: This may depend a bit on the sensitivity of your controller (some people complain about their controllers being too sensitive, and others not sensitive enough), but I find that it registers more effectively if you tilt *quickly* as opposed to slowly. It's normal that you find yourself messing up sometimes when you tilt the controller, but don't worry about it. With practice you'll get better and it won't be a problem anymore. Or you could try to use the "Select" button instead for higher precision of activation, but you might find yourself messing up trying to hit that too!

Training on bass: Although I agree that training on lead guitar is the best way to improve, I actually think that training on bass when you're just starting to learn your way around the orange button could actually be useful - depends on the song though, as some bass parts are too repetitive and won't really help you. Bass parts can also be good if you have difficulties staying on rhythm and want to practice keeping a steady beat.

Move up to Hard whenever you're able! There really is no better way than jumping in, so I'd say don't worry about perfecting Medium yet. Start on the easier Hard songs and see how far you get. Then just practice, practice, practice.

About using 3 fingers: Some Expert players play with only 3 fingers and do fine but they really have to move their hands around a lot. Unless you have a medical issue, I would actually recommend trying to strengthen your pinky finger, for example by playing some difficult Medium songs without moving your finger positioning during the song. Even if you mainly stick to your 3 strongest fingers, it really does make things a lot easier if you have the option of using 4 when songs get really hairy.

Feel free to PM (or just keep this thread going) if you have any more questions!

[PMS Slaughter]

I've notice that alot of people have the problem of using their pinky. Mine was like that at first and wasn't comfertable at all! But to make it easier for yourself you should try to use your pinky. I moved to hard after a few days, you just have to jump into it. You will suck real bad at first but trust me one day you'll play a song it will just CLICK and bam! you got it :)


Good luck!

[IXI GothiK IXI]

Iv beaten the entire GH1 on expert, including bonus songs. Entire GH2 on Expert, all bonus songs except for jordan, which if i remember correctly back when i played that game i could get around 55% on.

gh3 i have beated all but Raining Blood on expert, so i still havent beat the career >.<

and a few of the bonus songs are just ridiculous. then again i dont play as much as i used too.

the pinky, yeh just start using it, i move my whole hand down one so my pinky hits the orange, and then move it back up if i needa hit green right away. its something that will come to you. when i first started playing, i literally could not hit the red and blue keys at the same time, my fingers just wouldnt do it. but i kept playing the song that made me do that, and once i hit it once, it just clicked and wala. i was good to go. just spend time on it.

when your comfortable with medium, as in its not really a challenge anymore, id say take up hard. even if you dont beat the first song you choose, just pick another. they really arnt that different in difficulty if you ask me.

hope that helps =]

[FullMetal H2O]

yeh uteena don't worry too much bout the strumming, i normal just heave it upwards when i get a little rest note but saying that i rarely use star power normally only use it to help me get through a song if i'm playing career. i wouldn't bother practicing the bass really try slowing the songs down in practice mode tho that helped paper doll do a couple of songs.

Also get the free bonus songs man i'm loving the dropkick murpheys trackpack <3