Need some help

[cunning]

so i've been playing for a while now at 7.0 p-b random and light, and have been able to play songs up to 80 before completely murdering them but still being able to pass barely thanks to light lol. recently i've been trying to give up the habit of using light but i can only play songs from like 40 up to like high 60s fine before i completely fail them.. any advice on how i can get over the hump and play those songs past 70 without having to always rely on light?

p.s. wish i never played on light damnit

btw very first post here haha, hi. o.o

[AdamW]

play conservative. the difference between light and regular is that in regular you get penalized for picking at the wrong time, so...don't =) it's better to miss a note than to hit it but also get a penalty.

[Miesteron]

Work from the bottom up and master the basics before you tackle the harder stuff. There's no quick way to get really good (though this varies from person to person), so you just need to work on easier songs until you can comfortably S and even SS stuff. Start with the 40's and work your way up once those start to be too easy.

Unless you're really comfortable with it, I might also tone down the speed a bit. 7x is pretty fast (for me, at least), and if you can barely get through 50's-60's without light, it might help you read the notes easier by taking it down a few notches.

Just my thoughts. Everybody plays differently.

[aeriyu]

Easiest transition from Light to normal mode is to not spam on sections you aren't too sure about, whether it's hyperpicking or fast switches. A good indication you can pass a song is if you can finish it with full or 90% life

Set a goal; I say if your life ever gets below 50%, it counts as a "fail."

[Checky]

If you can't play Extreme on a song, play the advanced. This doesn't really work for basic in all cases, but it does for some, because for some songs the rating for Basic is much to easier than even the advanced. All though it's still recommended because you can learn the beat of the song. Play more, your left hand will get stronger. If you were playing 7.0x and light and passing, chances are you weren't actually reading the notes, you were spamming a lot of sections. To test, play a really easy song like Robinson without light on 7.0x and see how you do. If you can actually get most of it, then don't worry and keep on truckin. If you do miserable, switch down to 6 or 6.5. Don't worry, you can always go back later. Then, it's time to learn patterns. Find a song that has certain patterns in it that bother you, and just practice that one. For example, if you can't pass Atalante because of the staircases, practice a lot on Tocatta. But if you can't pass it because of the triplets, practice on Venus and Die Zauberflote ADV. Once you learn certain little parts, you can apply it to many songs. However, the key to playing most any songs is just knowing the beat and the number of notes that is coming. I don't mean actually read a note chart and count the notes, just remember by playing when are sections of 4's, or 5's, or if you have to start a long stream of picking on an up or downpick. For example, Tamayura, has many different lengths of streams, and it can screw you up the first time playing. But after a while, you just get the song in your head and know the next bit coming up is 3, or 5, or 8 notes, or whatever, just by the music in your head, and you don't even have to think about it. Other than that, just keep pushing yourself to play harder and harder stuff, and don't let anyone say you suck if you fail. I had to play Concertino 5 times in a row, and fail everytime, before I passed it the first time. Also don't get discouraged. If your hand hurts or your having a bad day, just rock out to some easy songs and practice your perfect accuracy, that never hurts either. In time you will get better at reading, especially because of random, and once you play the songs so much, you memorize the beats, and random won't screw you up at all (as is the case with me and Agnus, 90% rate of excellent now. because I've entirely memorized all the beats). Hope this can help a little bit, and good luck on your GF journey.

[DeusExMachina]

NEVAR NEVAR EVAR USE LIGHT!!

Well back to square 1....

1.) Double pick as much as possible. Without light you can't spam the pick, you have to be on beat at all times.
2.) Notice that you don't have to push the buttons very hard for it to register. Push buttons as lightly as possible so you don't tire yourself out
3.) If you play drummania, often times the hi hat chart will give you clues to how fast you should be picking. For example Misirlou you should be double picking at a rate equal to the hi hat. Example, I think (I didnt check) misirlou is around 190 bpm, so in the time between 2 consecutive hi hats, you should have went up and down once. Right on the next high hat is your down. Basically continue the cycle of an up down pick at the rate of the hi hat.

There is no way anyone can teach guitar freaks. Everyone plays their own special way and eventually you just have to keep playing and get a feel for it yourself.

[aeriyu]

Originally Posted by DeusExMachina

3.) If you play drummania, often times the hi hat chart will give you clues to how fast you should be picking. For example Misirlou you should be double picking at a rate equal to the hi hat. Example, I think (I didnt check) misirlou is around 190 bpm, so in the time between 2 consecutive hi hats, you should have went up and down once. Right on the next high hat is your down. Basically continue the cycle of an up down pick at the rate of the hi hat.

Y'know, I'm gonna have to use that, DeusEx XD

Usually what I do when I perfect-attack is I... follow the bass (bass drum, too), since the computer is never off

There is no way anyone can teach guitar freaks. Everyone plays their own special way and eventually you just have to keep playing and get a feel for it yourself.

True - the player him/herself has to apply the techniques and get better on their own time. Doesn't mean we can't try, though...

Like DeusEx mentioned, it's very important to learn how to doublepick (down/up) in GF, as that skill is pretty much mandatory in the higher stages. Unless, of course, you have insane endurance...

The way I grinded doublepicking into my head was forcing myself to UPPICK entire songs to get a feel for what it's like to get perfects/greats/goods... I played songs that I was fairly comfortable with playing normally, so I could experiment (and not waste money lol). After you get a good feel, try playing around with the pick on a song that's at a speed you can handle (again, songs like Robinson). Pretend that your uppick is actually down-pick; tap your feet to the beat, strum extra hard on the uppick, anything it takes for you to familiarize yourself with the feeling.

Don't worry too much if your accuracy drops -- it's supposed. When you're downpicking, each strum is pronounced; when you doublepick, the process becomes more smooth and continuous, and as a result more prone to getting off-beat. Pay attention to the music in the background -- try your best to strum in time say, every 2 or 4 beats so that even if you get some greats, you recalibrate yourself for future notes.

Another pointer has to do with picking style -- your accuracy is much better if you pick "with your wrist" as opposed to with your fingers. By that, I mean if your picking motion is controlled only by your wrist. You can finger-pick up to a fairly high accuracy on fast songs, but once you start hyperpicking... you'll start to lose yourself lol. I know, cos that's the only way I can pick atm

With enough experience, you may be able to enter a "zone" where you ignore all notes and sound, and can concentrate solely on the rhythm of the notes... by then you'll be trodding on Japanese soil <3

[cunning]

Thanks for all the replies guys. I've been playing on 7x ever since a game of guitarfreaks at RPM cost 50 cents, so I think I'm pretty confident with that. I can read onihime and agnus dei on advance fine with that speed so I think that means something :x I just never really got into playing until I found this site :P I've toned down my skill level and started playing easier songs to learn the rhythm and learning when to end a stream on an up beat or down (something I never did when playing with light :S)

As for alternate picking, I can do that on songs where its just single note switching (like agnus/onihime adv) but I can't do it on songs like Desert Rain and Midnight Sun. Wierd, huh? I just need to get more accurate with it since its not quite on par with my downpicking.

3.) If you play drummania, often times the hi hat chart will give you clues to how fast you should be picking. For example Misirlou you should be double picking at a rate equal to the hi hat. Example, I think (I didnt check) misirlou is around 190 bpm, so in the time between 2 consecutive hi hats, you should have went up and down once. Right on the next high hat is your down. Basically continue the cycle of an up down pick at the rate of the hi hat.

I don't play drummania but I find that very helpful on songs like timepiece on bass. Instead of following the notes, I listen to the drums to help me keep time.

Guess its time to go play some more.

[aeriyu]

You need to play at espot some more ;3

[cunning]

lol i usually go rpm cus its closer and I cant stand the traffic on 3 road :S

[Checky]

Go down minoru... turn right on Alderbridge.. surprise!! E-spot. We all go on Saturdays afternoon from about 1-9 ish. Come by.

[cunning]

mmm sounds good i might drop by after work tomorrow

[AdamW]

yeah, I will be there failing CiB, DD5 and Over There as per usual. =)